Scaling up Fedora Multseat, using Clustering hosts and central servers.

It is good to know how to stretch Fedora 17 multi-seat to 16 seats. now one comes to scaling this up for larger numbers of seats, or another distributed application. Library computer setups come to mind. They may be include more than one room or more than one floor. In this case, groups of Plugable seats, supported by a lightweight local host are networked to a central Server. Each local or cluster Host logs it users into the central Server via a local network.

Cluster hosts would use their limited USB connectivity as desired for an application. They get their user data from the central server. Once user is logged in, a remote session is started for them on the central server. The Cluster Host provides the login and to run its seats local desktops. All X applications run off the central server. The central Server handles Admin duties and any fixed storage used by its users. In some cases, no long term storage will be provided, a virgin homeDir being created on each login.

Each Plugable seat is virtually an individual computer. It not only has basic input devices and a display, but may have local sound i-o and per user storage. Each installation can be configured for its particular needs or policies Some places may only run a locked down web browser, to access a web based library catalog. Others may allow local flash drives, for individual data storage. Nettop Pcs may run each cluster while older desktops act as central servers. This system works around current USB, hardware, and other resource limits. It can recycle systems and hardware, becoming more efficient as as funds allow it.