[PB2K]

Hi, I have a sort of charity organisation that sends imacs to developing countries.

I am planning a few projects that involve small intranet networks, and I could use some advice about where to start.

My resources :

24 x imac G3 350Mhz Cdrom, 128mb, 20Gb
9 x imac DV 400 Mhz dvd, 128mb, 20Gb
5 x G3 B&W 400 Mhz cdrom, 256mb, 10Gb
and loads of usb stuff like keyboards, mice, zipdrives, cdburners
a very small budget, I get aid from a friendly organisation that helps with the networking

There will be 2 schools (at the least) that need a reliable network. I want the network to be really easy to maintain, like backups on ZIPdisks and cdroms. Every week the imacs should be reinstalled because I expect a lot of 'trial and error' use when I am not around to supervise the project (the local people should learn how to do that)

I know OSX, but have no experience setting up networks. Can I do this with OSX.3 Panter Server on a G3B&W? What applications do I need more to maintain a simple network?

[stefanicotine]

You would be wasting your time reinstalling OS X that often. Get Deep Freeze. Everytime your computer turns on it's EXACTLY the same as it was when you installed deep freeze. It's a really neat program. You could completely destroy the system and just a simple reboot would reset it. I recommend checking it out. I don't think it's very expensive, and you can get a trial if you want.

http://www.faronics.com/html/DFMac.asp

I use it on my work PC (it supports both OSes).

[Tuoder]

I have heard that deep freeze has a way of causing HDDs to age rather quickly. Is this true in your expirience?

[stefanicotine]

I'm pretty new to Deep Freeze. I just got hired at the tech shop half a year ago, where I was introduced to it. But we have clients (libraries, schools, internet cafés) that have been using it for ages. In fact, probably the majority of them are running Windows 98. It's treated them well so far!

You can't really say that about hard drives though. They're so fussy. You can buy the worst, cheapest possible hard drive and it will last years. Yet a brand new Maxtor or Seagate will kick the bucket in a matter of months. It happens all the time. I don't trust hard drives. I keep current backups of everything, because you just never know. So, I wouldn't believe everything you hear about Deep Freeze decreasing hard drive life, because you never know what your hard drive life will be in the first place.

Another thing to take into consideration is the reason Deep Freeze is on these computers. They're public computers, and trust me, they take a beating. Deep Freeze is the only possible way to protect them from viruses and whatever else is thrown at them. I almost cry when I see some of the computers brought in. I don't think Deep Freeze is to blame for the hard drive life; I think you can blame the general public for that one.

[Tuoder]

Originally Posted by stefanicotine 

I'm pretty new to Deep Freeze. I just got hired at the tech shop half a year ago, where I was introduced to it. But we have clients (libraries, schools, internet cafés) that have been using it for ages. In fact, probably the majority of them are running Windows 98. It's treated them well so far!

You can't really say that about hard drives though. They're so fussy. You can buy the worst, cheapest possible hard drive and it will last years. Yet a brand new Maxtor or Seagate will kick the bucket in a matter of months. It happens all the time. I don't trust hard drives. I keep current backups of everything, because you just never know. So, I wouldn't believe everything you hear about Deep Freeze decreasing hard drive life, because you never know what your hard drive life will be in the first place.

Another thing to take into consideration is the reason Deep Freeze is on these computers. They're public computers, and trust me, they take a beating. Deep Freeze is the only possible way to protect them from viruses and whatever else is thrown at them. I almost cry when I see some of the computers brought in. I don't think Deep Freeze is to blame for the hard drive life; I think you can blame the general public for that one.

Well, I realize that Deep Freeze and its competitors are just a fact of life in many places. I have seen it everywhere, and have to deal with it at school. I had just heard some bad things at the High School I went to. There were the teacher's machines that didn't have it, and they naturally had all sorts of software issues. Then there were the public (student) machines. The hardware was identical. They were little 2.4Ghz Dells. The public machines had regular HDD failures. It didn't seem random at all. I knew the guy who did the administration there. He was Mr. Pena. I knew his daughter from the school band. I liked to shoot the **** with him, because I knew I wanted to be a network admin, and that is what he was.

Anyway, it could be an isolated case. Now, at college, they use GoBack Enterprise 3, and I don't see any problems with the MPCs that they have. The Macs that they have live in a sort of servicing hell. But that is a different story entirely.

[seanc]

Just to chuck in my 2 pence, the computers at our college use HD Guard which sounds the same as Deep Freeze.