Open Source Operating System Client/Server Live CD

Abstract

Developing a client/server practical class for e-commerce students often requires a substantial budget and resource commitment. In addition to an appropriate software budget, activities such as installing appropriate operating system, client/server software, configuring security components such as encryption, setting up user accounts, and configuring lab systems can require significant time and labor resources. In a conventional environment, it may also require a dedicated computer lab for each e-commerce class. In a given educational environment, obtaining these resources may be difficult. To solve these problems, a client/server ecommerce Live CD using Open Source technology is developed. By definition, a Live CD is an operating system distribution that is executed upon boot, without installation on a hard disk. Typically, it is stored on bootable media such as CD-ROM. The term "live" derives from the fact that it does not reside on a hard drive. Rather, it is "brought to life" upon boot without having to be physically installed onto a hard drive [11]. It squeezes about 2GB of applications on a single standalone CD. Many Live CDs also include useful client/server utilities. We have utilized general purpose Live CDs, such as Knoppix to build our Live CD. In addition to being self configuring, Live CDs may also be reconfigured to accommodate additional tools such as programming, desktop publishing, networking, multimedia, security and related information. This paper presents an overview of developing a client/server Live CD. These includes understanding client/server operations, choosing suitable Linux kernel, configuring graphical interface, adding client/server packages, configuring login process, perform hardware detection, creating automated scripts and running the Live CD.