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Launchpad entry: edubuntu-k12ltsp-features
Packages affected: unknown
Summary
K12LTSP ships with several handy scripts that the system admin can run at her discretion to do things like automagically configure dhcpd, automagically configure vncts, ensure that buggy programs don't leave processes hanging around after users log out, allow users to reset broken desktop configurations, etc. We will ensure that we're aware of what all these features are and that Edubuntu supports the ones we want. (Most of these are supported in other ways already, and only documentation will be required; a title such as "Edubuntu for K12LTSP Admins" comes to mind.)
This spec deprecates https://wiki.ubuntu.com/EdubuntuResetDesktopSession
Rationale
A small handful of these scripts provide features that we may wish to include in Edubuntu and we should make sure moving from K12LTSP to Edubuntu causes no regression in administrative features.
Use cases
- Margie has been using K12LTSP for 5 years and decides to try out Edubuntu. She is accustomed to enabling features that kill users on logout, and she is accustomed to being able to specify that each user can log in only once, and that all a user's processes are definitely dead after the user logs in (or out). Edubuntu may (or may not) provide such a feature, but Margie needs to know how to find out and/or how to achieve the configuration she wants.
- Romulus has always connected to his K12LTSP server via VNC to begin a new login session and administer his server remotely. Should Edubuntu provide similar functionality? If so, how will Romulus know to use it (if the implementation is different, perhaps involving SSH or something).
Scope
This is an informational spec; most of these features are already supported and we just need to figure out how and (probably) provide some documentation.
Design
Implementation
Hacks for the real world: These will be provided in /usr/share/doc/edubuntu-server/examples, but unsupported
- gdm-kdm-purge-user.sh - this is useful because buggy applications leave processes hanging around (this is aggravated by powering off TCs without logging out correctly)
- Edubuntu doesn't want to /support/ this, because the problem is buggy apps, and this is a workaround. But system administrators can't wait around for apps to be fixed...
- gdm-kdm-purge-user.sh is run as root, so kills all processes owned by a certain user; moquist has a script that kills all the current user's processes /except/ the killing process and all its parents
- would we want to add logging capabilities to help gather data on which applications are buggy?
reset-default-desktop - sometimes users configure their desktop environments to be unusable, and they need to be clean-uppable. Thankfully, the Gnome Desktop Reset project(http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/sources/gnome-reset/, http://blogs.gnome.org/view/rodrigo/2006/1) seems to be solving this problem.
- gnome-reset is already in universe
- reset-all-desktops - this runs reset-default-desktop for all users (such as at the beginning of a new school year)
- vncts-enable.sh - automatically enable VNC connections to new login sessions
Deferred:
- dhcpd-update.pl - thin client manager will help with automagic configuration of dhcpd
Documentation to create:
- how to use XDMCP
- set SCREEN_07=startx in /opt/ltsp/i386/etc/lts.conf
- and endable in /etc/*/Xsession
- change default papersize - change system language setting
get OpenOffice to use M$ formats by default - this involves nasty OO config file editing; document this and attach the k12ltsp scripts to the wiki page (some file locations are different in Fedora, so we can make the script smarter and merge the changes with Eric Harrison)
Code
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ltsp/+bug/18595 needs to be fixed asap ("Needs to disable graphics-intensive modes for LTSP")