John Pinner - Clockwork Systems

Commercial Wide Area Deployment of Linux

This talk is about Clockwork's experience in the implementation and deployment of a GNU/Linux system in a business environment. This system has been created for a major UK hire company, and consists of a Linux-based thin client depot system providing access to a central hire application server. The depot-level system is entirely Open Source and is based on Debian stable; to date it has been rolled-out to over 220 depots with 750 terminals, with 450 depots planned.

Both installation and support require zero system administrator involvement at the depots, even in the case of hardware failure. A central update server allows software updates to be pushed out to the depots automatically using Debian's apt-get.

The talk will describe how this system came about, the problems experienced implementing it (both technical and organisational), how we support it, future plans, and the advantages gained by the customer.