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Epatec dwarf PC makes a capable thin client
By Michael 'STIBS' Stibane
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November 17, 2006 (8:00:00 AM)
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What can you do with a tiny 200MHz computer? We tested such a computing dwarf, the Epatec eTC thin client, and found you can save big money with this box by using it as a thin client.
The cheapest thin client computer from Berlin distributor Epatec is only as big as six jewel cases. (The same product is available worldwide from DMP Electronics.) The €139 box includes a 200MHz Vortex processor and 128MB SDRAM on an embedded board in a black and silver plastic case. The embedded board holds an SIS graphics controller, which takes away 16MB from the system RAM. Included are also the Realtek RTL 8139 100Mbps network controller, soundcard, USB 1.1, and IDE controller. You can mount 2.5-inch hard disks on the underside of the mainbord into a prepared cage. Our test computer was delivered with a 64MB disk-on-chip module, plugged into the IDE connector, and a short IDE cable with 2.5- and 3.5-inch connectors. On the backside of the PC you find ports for VGA, parallel printer, network, sound, two USB 1.1 ports, and two PS/2 connectors for mouse and keyboard. The computer is powered by an external A/C adapter. A look in /proc/cpuinfo showed the vendor_id of the Vortex processor to be SIS.
Thin on Linux
As a first test we ran the little machine as a thin client powered by the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP). We removed the disk-on-chip module so the eTC had no physical data storage to boot from. In the old-style AMI BIOS we activated the integrated PXE network boot as the first boot device and restarted the PC. It worked instantly with zero additional configuration. After about 30 seconds the GDM login screen of the LTSP server greeted us. There was just one minor glitch: LTSP hardware auto-detection configured the slow VESA mode for the graphics card; the SIS chipset wasn't detected automatically. You can correct this manually by configuring LTSP on the server.
Thanks to the USB ports you can connect external optical drives to the eTC. We installed an external TEAC 24x CD drive so we could boot the machine from a live CD. We tried to boot Puppy Linux, which works well on low-end hardware, but the external USB drive wasn't detected as the source of the compressed image with the root filesystem. We then tried the Slackware/Slax derivative Wolvix and Xubuntu. Both use the Xfce desktop, which is lightweight compared to GNOME or KDE. The Wolvix live CD booted in two minutes, and starting Xubuntu took about three minutes.
After this test we mounted a spare 2.5-inch hard disk from an old notebook and installed Wolvix on it. After two hours of sweating heavily the mini announced completion.
A second installation with a SaxenOS beta install CD finished after roughly 30 minutes. The time difference was due mostly to the installation medium. A live CD needs all the RAM for running itself and leaves little space to unpack the distro image to the hard disk. In comparison, an install CD only occupies the memory for the initial RAM disk and the installer. In case of SaxenOS, this is even a shell script. When booting SaxenOS from hard disk, it took about a minute until the GDM login screen appeared, and 11 seconds more until the Equinox Desktop loads completely. The alternative Xfce, which is also included, takes 30 seconds. The first start of the Opera Web browser in EDE takes 10 seconds. After a reboot, we tested Opera with Xfce. It took 15 seconds to load the browser with this desktop.
Cost saver
The Epatec eTC is too slow for getting real work done with a standalone install, though in emergency cases you could write a letter, send an email, or surf the Web. But as a thin client on a Linux terminal server, you get a lot of bang for a few bucks with nearly no configuration work. Igel, Fujitsu, and Wyse build comparable thin clients, but you probably can't buy them so cheap. The hardware quality is average; the plastic case is a bit wobbly. We miss USB 2.0.
Terminal servers and thin clients have big advantages in places where many computers with the same software configurations are used. Set up just one well-equipped server with LTSP, plug network cables into thin clients, boot them, and you can work. Administration is centralized on the server. You don't have to spend hours installing new programs on 20 or 100 workstations. And thin client hardware costs a fraction of a standalone PC.
Thin on Linux
As a first test we ran the little machine as a thin client powered by the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP). We removed the disk-on-chip module so the eTC had no physical data storage to boot from. In the old-style AMI BIOS we activated the integrated PXE network boot as the first boot device and restarted the PC. It worked instantly with zero additional configuration. After about 30 seconds the GDM login screen of the LTSP server greeted us. There was just one minor glitch: LTSP hardware auto-detection configured the slow VESA mode for the graphics card; the SIS chipset wasn't detected automatically. You can correct this manually by configuring LTSP on the server.
Thanks to the USB ports you can connect external optical drives to the eTC. We installed an external TEAC 24x CD drive so we could boot the machine from a live CD. We tried to boot Puppy Linux, which works well on low-end hardware, but the external USB drive wasn't detected as the source of the compressed image with the root filesystem. We then tried the Slackware/Slax derivative Wolvix and Xubuntu. Both use the Xfce desktop, which is lightweight compared to GNOME or KDE. The Wolvix live CD booted in two minutes, and starting Xubuntu took about three minutes.
After this test we mounted a spare 2.5-inch hard disk from an old notebook and installed Wolvix on it. After two hours of sweating heavily the mini announced completion.
A second installation with a SaxenOS beta install CD finished after roughly 30 minutes. The time difference was due mostly to the installation medium. A live CD needs all the RAM for running itself and leaves little space to unpack the distro image to the hard disk. In comparison, an install CD only occupies the memory for the initial RAM disk and the installer. In case of SaxenOS, this is even a shell script. When booting SaxenOS from hard disk, it took about a minute until the GDM login screen appeared, and 11 seconds more until the Equinox Desktop loads completely. The alternative Xfce, which is also included, takes 30 seconds. The first start of the Opera Web browser in EDE takes 10 seconds. After a reboot, we tested Opera with Xfce. It took 15 seconds to load the browser with this desktop.
Cost saver
The Epatec eTC is too slow for getting real work done with a standalone install, though in emergency cases you could write a letter, send an email, or surf the Web. But as a thin client on a Linux terminal server, you get a lot of bang for a few bucks with nearly no configuration work. Igel, Fujitsu, and Wyse build comparable thin clients, but you probably can't buy them so cheap. The hardware quality is average; the plastic case is a bit wobbly. We miss USB 2.0.
Terminal servers and thin clients have big advantages in places where many computers with the same software configurations are used. Set up just one well-equipped server with LTSP, plug network cables into thin clients, boot them, and you can work. Administration is centralized on the server. You don't have to spend hours installing new programs on 20 or 100 workstations. And thin client hardware costs a fraction of a standalone PC.
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With a computer with 200 MHz processor you can build a iptables firewall.
"€139 box includes a 200MHz Vortex processor and 128MB SDRAM on an embedded board in a black and silver plastic case."
For $100 the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) has a 500 MHz processor, I think...
"€139 box includes a 200MHz Vortex processor and 128MB SDRAM on an embedded board in a black and silver plastic case."
For $100 the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) has a 500 MHz processor, I think...
You're correct; it is a 500MHz AMD Geode. But the OLPC laptop will not be made available for sale to anyone except national governments. Also, the laptop has a pretty small screen, even compared to low-end modern laptops.
This Epatec box appears to be more geared toward the LTSP-type crowd than anything else. I've been using LTSP for several years, with old Pentium-133's as the terminal (they work *great* in this capacity, BTW). Epatec's unit, paired with a nice 19" LCD screen, would be even better in such an environment and would avoid sucking up a bunch of power, while taking up much less desk space. Purchase price would be about US $400 per station.
This Epatec box appears to be more geared toward the LTSP-type crowd than anything else. I've been using LTSP for several years, with old Pentium-133's as the terminal (they work *great* in this capacity, BTW). Epatec's unit, paired with a nice 19" LCD screen, would be even better in such an environment and would avoid sucking up a bunch of power, while taking up much less desk space. Purchase price would be about US $400 per station.
For $400 you kinda can buy a Dell maybe...
I wish there was a crazy cheap PC you could buy, that cost less than $100. Doesn't need graphics, doesn't need audio. Only needs network.
I wish there was a crazy cheap PC you could buy, that cost less than $100. Doesn't need graphics, doesn't need audio. Only needs network.
Just checked out Dell's Web site. With the 19" monitor, the price goes up from $329 to $559. So. for a complete desktop station, it actually does cost more than a thin client, as we would expect.
But even though the purchase price is somewhat lower, the reasons that organizations run thin clients are not so much the initial purchase price (though that is one factor, sure), but rather the following:
1.) Security. All your user data is stored in one place...backed up, of course, if you're smart.<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-)
2.) Ease of upgrading software for multiple stations. With thin-client environments, you don't have to upgrade, say, OpenOffice.org on 40 individual stations. You just do it once, and every station sees the new version automagically.
3.) Longer life of the thin client box. The fewer parts on the station, the less likely it is to break. If it's fanless, that makes it even better. Thus, a thin client can last you ten years or more without a hiccup.
4.) You can actually take greater advantage of your server CPU's, thus saving money. Mainframe sysadmins have known about this for decades, and now we PC-types are finally getting the picture.
But even though the purchase price is somewhat lower, the reasons that organizations run thin clients are not so much the initial purchase price (though that is one factor, sure), but rather the following:
1.) Security. All your user data is stored in one place...backed up, of course, if you're smart.<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-)
2.) Ease of upgrading software for multiple stations. With thin-client environments, you don't have to upgrade, say, OpenOffice.org on 40 individual stations. You just do it once, and every station sees the new version automagically.
3.) Longer life of the thin client box. The fewer parts on the station, the less likely it is to break. If it's fanless, that makes it even better. Thus, a thin client can last you ten years or more without a hiccup.
4.) You can actually take greater advantage of your server CPU's, thus saving money. Mainframe sysadmins have known about this for decades, and now we PC-types are finally getting the picture.
They already exist. I see used Pentium II boxes at 400MHz on eBay all the time for way less than $100. Most'll even take 512MB DRAM. A lot of them even PXE-boot. You want a 768MB Pentium III-866? OK, that might cost close to $100.
We have test MicroClient JR. some time ago
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on November 18, 2006 12:28 AM<a href="http://idefix.eup.uva.es/tcos-microclient/galeria.html" title="eup.uva.es">Some MicroClient Jr. photos</a eup.uva.es> booting <a href="http://cls-tcos.forja.rediris.es/" title="rediris.es">TCOS</a rediris.es> (a thin client implementation similar to PXES or LTSP)
The hardware is the same but cost $120 (for more than 1000 units: $90).
<a href="http://www.norhtec.com/products/index.html" title="norhtec.com">Norhtec thin clients.</a norhtec.com> <a href="http://www.consoltux.com/content/view/13/33/" title="consoltux.com">Some TCOS info [spanish]</a consoltux.com>
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