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linux or windows as thin client?


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#1 gvb

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Posted 15 December 2015 - 09:11 AM

Hello,

 

The last week I have been playing/messing around with linux distro ISOs and PXE booting.

 

While ThinStation looked very promising, fast and worked fine as the live CD example

I'm not able to build one that connects to the LAN.

 

Something is wrong or missing in the installer/build tool.

 

I read here that there are a lot of lightweight windows versions aswell.

 

So I was wondering if it would be a good alternative to have a lightweight windows with only the RDP client installed?

 

I read about ThinPC but it seems to be too bloated for what it is.

 

Please move it to the right subforum if it doesn't below here.


Edited by gvb, 15 December 2015 - 09:11 AM.


#2 gvb

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Posted 15 December 2015 - 09:57 AM

I'm downloading Windows 8 Embedded.

 

Thinking this would be leightweight was a bit wrong :)

 

It's a 7.5 gig download for the 32 bit files and the toolkit, sigh...



#3 Wonko the Sane

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Posted 15 December 2015 - 10:23 AM

I'm downloading Windows 8 Embedded.

 

Thinking this would be leightweight was a bit wrong :)

 

It's a 7.5 gig download for the 32 bit files and the toolkit, sigh...

Well, the "embedded" version of NT systems is not an OS.

It is a way to build/assemble one from "components".

So what you are now downloading contains the same things of a "normal" Windows 8 in a "componentized version" (which at the end of the day uses much more bytes).

The result might be (it depends on how many and which "components" you add) VERY BIG or extremely small (provided that you are willing to face the days or more probably weeks :w00t: :ph34r: of studies/attempts needed to build anything apart the "sample" builds).

In any case it will be a mass of bloat (for the functionality it offers) and will be (I would say extremely) ugly looking (if you add the GUI), or at least as ugly as Windows 8 (what the good MS guys call "visually rich" and "user-friendly appearance").

JFYI the minimal build you will be able to make will be around 1 Gb or so:

http://www.msembedde...-standard-we8s/

 

:duff:

Wonko 



#4 gvb

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Posted 15 December 2015 - 11:48 AM

thanks for the link, Wonko.

 

2+ gigabyte just to start an rdp client is serious overkill and booting that with PXE would take way too long.

 

I guess I'm better of with something else then.



#5 Brito

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Posted 15 December 2015 - 11:55 PM

Linux based maybe these ones might help:

100Mb http://puppylinux.org/

Based on Ubuntu: https://trisquel.inf...i/trisquel-mini

 

Based on Windows PE and normal Windows you find many options around the forum. There are examples of Windows XP running at 100Mb with the Explorer functional among other features and network drivers.

 

I'm not sure if ReactOS can run from RAM or boot from LAN, but might be worth looking deeper and try out: http://reactos.org/

 

:cheers:



#6 Blackcrack

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 02:56 AM

Openmandriva.org -> Linuxbased Server and an WinNT-Client as Surface for the User..

therefore it is important to be reactos very sopporting, this is a WinNT where it is truth ,

because, an open sourcecode can nothing hide ;)

 

btw, reactos have a bootmenu and there it is an entry for boot into ram..

you should take a virtualbox and check it out.. ( in any case it is planed! and stay in the bootmenu )

 

https://www.reactos.org/getbuilds

(the green button on the right side unter the 2 ones on reactos.org...)

 

 

best regards

Blacky



#7 gvb

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Posted 16 December 2015 - 07:56 AM

thanks.

 

I couldn't get puppy to boot at all over PXE. it spits out an error that it can't load its filesystem file or something.

The error is common but couldn't fine a solution to avoid it.

 

ReactOS looks very promising but it won't boot over PXE and it's just stuck somewhere.

I reported this but didn't get a workaround yet.

 

Mandrive is 1.8 gig which is too large.

 

I'm back at ThinStation which is quite light but I just need to get the networking part working.

That part is left out for some reason when building a custom one.



#8 gvb

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Posted 18 December 2015 - 12:19 PM

just an update.

 

After some hassle I managed to get a lightweight ThinStation build working.

 

It's a ~20Mb iso being booted via PXE and connects straight to the rdp server where I can enter my credentials.






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