PXES Universal Linux Thin Client 1.1

PXES project is a micro Linux thin client distribution. PXES will boot a real thin client or will help to convert in minutes any compliant hardware (see list bellow) into a versatile thin client.
They will be capable of accessing any XDM server presenting the graphical login screen or any Microsoft Terminal Server through RDP protocol. The actual configuration of clients is made with an easy to use graphical configuration tool, allowing the specification of clients parameters or the server to access to.
You can recover hardware that is useless running current desktop OS or office package and give it a second chance. This thin client boots from the network with PXE (Intel Pre-Execution Environment specifications) so neither boot diskette nor boot eprom is needed.
The linux kernel and an initial root filesystem is transmitted over the network (the compressed size as of version 0.4 is about 4M).
Main features:
Supported servers and protocols
- Unix/Linux supporting XDM
- Microsoft Terminal Server using RDP
- Citrix using ICA
- VNC using TightVNC
- LOCAL local graphical session with simple desktop
- LTSP or K12LTSP
- IBM Host using 3270 or 5250 emulation (soon)
- Telnet emulating ANSI terminal
- SSH
- Tarantella using proprietary protocol
- NoMachine using NX
- Thinlinc
Boot methods
- PXE network card included in most modern PC hardware
- Etherboot to boot from diskette or EPROM
- CD-ROM
- Hard disk
- DOC DiskOnChip and DOM DiskOnModule
- USB Storage
- For Hard Disk, DOC, DOM or other flash memory installation you may also use PXES HD/DOM Installer (http://pxes.sourceforge.net/enterprise/install-dom.shtml) which is part of Enterprise Edition (http://pxes.sourceforge.net/enterprise/index.php).
- You can also see the detailed information about Boot Methods.
Hardware requirements
- Processor: x86 architecture (i486, i586, i686, VIA C3, Geode, Vortex86, Transmeta Crusoe, etc.)
- BUS: PCI recommended (although ISA works)
- RAM: 32 Mb recommended (16 Mb minimum)
- NIC: see supported network card list
- Video: see supported video card list
Local devices
- Diskette
- Hard disk
- CD-ROM
- Printers parallel, serial and USB
- Serial devices (bar code reader, etc.)
- Audio
- Flash memory / USB storage
Supported operating system
- Linux
- Solaris
- AIX
- SCO
- BSD
- HP-UX
- Microsoft Windows NT4
- Microsoft Windows 2000
- Microsoft Windows 2003
- Microsoft Windows XP
Enhancements:
- Support for different boot loaders was added.
- Support for GRUB on ISO images was added.
- A correction was made in the kernel and image path in isolinux.
- A message telling the user to run "pxesconfig --updatefstab" was added.
- updatefstab was added in post.
- Support for 2.4.32 and 2.6.15 kernels was added.
- Automated owner and permission changing on specific files was added, so now the whole pxes-base tree can be checked out as a normal user.