Insight into low-energy, low-cost public access solutions for the Halifax Regional C@P Site network

It was over a year ago when discussions began over low-cost, innovative, low-energy solutions began.  The issue : the rising number of old, obsolete computers currently in use in our network. 

The goal: to find a low-cost solution for C@P sites which covers a range of target areas.

First, the ambition is to educate the public about open-source operating systems and software option, secondly the ambition is to replace aging computers while reducing, significantly, the carbon footprint of our network overall.

Our research began in November of 2008 with Linux consultant Stephen Kelly.  He is the former broadcast technician of CKDU RAdio (8yrs), as well as the author of OpenRadio, a website dedicated to open source resources for non-for-profit radios in Canada.




The first system we looked at is the Linutop.

The Linutop is essentially a mini-pc (thin client) made by First International Computer with a modified version of Xubuntu pre-installed.  The hardware is based on AMD's Geode processor. 

We disassembled the Linutop and took some pictures:

 



The modifications that the folks at Linutop made to Xubuntu can be summed up as:

-video optimization.  They tweaked the graphics driver in order to get the most out of the Geode processor.  This is important for video playback, especially Flash video such as that found on YouTube.
-they added a nice custom interface for certain administrative tasks
-they tweaked the OS in order to minimize the number of file system writes, thus prolonging the life of the flash memory.

We've been testing the Linutop very thoroughly, making use of all the pre-installed software such as Firefox, Open Office, and VLC.  We also installed some other software such as Audacity, Skype, and the Gimp. 

From both a user and administrator point of view, the Linutop operating system is great.  It is stable, full-featured, and user friendly.  However, the hardware is simply too slow for these devices to operate as stand-alone public access computers.  Everything works fine, it just feels clunky to use.  Its frustrating to have to sit and wait for web pages to load or programs to open.  This is mostly due to the relatively slow speed of the Geode processor.  The system is optimized for low-power consumption (only 8 watts!) but the trade off is low overall system responsiveness.


Here is a Linutop installed at ROC Terence Bay,  The computer is the black box behind the monitor. Here they are using a PS2 Legacy dongle which lets them use an older, non-usb keyboard.

We are still researching these small computers as an option for C@P sites. Many partners around the table have brought valuable insight.

When polled about the reception among patrons in Terence Bay, here's what they had to say.

< Linutop has had mixed reaction at our site. The size and "all in one" package seems to impress people the most. What I hear the most, and I agree, is that it's sluggish - especially with video. The children that use our site usually jump on Youtube to listen to music while they chat on MSN and Facebook - and maybe even play a game online at the same time. And they quickly figure out when a computer is slow and switch to another.

I did have one user who jumped on the Linutop to send email and for basic surfing and didn't even notice that she wasn't on a Windows machine. >

Next up is a fanless system from Diskless Workstations, the LTSP Term 1500 series( TK-3880).  The TK-3880 is manufactured by Termtek.  As the name suggests, this is another  thin client (intended to be used with LTSP).  However, we are investigating the use of this device as a stand alone desktop computer. 
Here are some images with a CD for scale:



The TK-3880's power supply is nicely integrated into the chassis.  There are plenty of I/O options on the back, including, audio, dual video output,  and a full-height PCIex slot.



The system RAM and Compact Flash card are installed on the underside of the chassis.

The TK-3880 is based on the Intel Atom N270 QS processor, clocked at 1.6GHz with 533MHz FSB.  Unlike the Linutop, the TK-3880 comes with no operating system.  We prepared versions of Fedora and Xubuntu for testing.  Again, slight modifications of the default Linux distributions were necessary to maximize video performance and prolong the life of the compact flash card.  The operating system was tweaked to be essentially read-only, returning to our pre-determined state on every reboot.

The TK-3880 runs the standard software (Firefox, Flash, Open Office, Gimp, VLC, etc) fairly well.  There is a significant performance improvement over AMD Geode-based systems such as the Linutop.  The power consumption of the TK-3880 is also a bit higher at 20 watts, which we confirmed with an energy meter.  Unfortunately, energy tests revealed that this device uses 4 watts even when it is turned off.

Overall, the TK-3880 performs well for basic Internet browsing, playling audio and video, and word processing.  However, performance and price is still not quite at the level necessary for multi-purpose public access computers.

An Asus EEEpc also entered the picture.  Having used the Asus netbook extensively in our daily office operations for over a year, we were impressed by its performance.

This EEEpc runs on the factory installed Ubuntu, however in order to obtain maximum performance, we have broken out of the <user friendly> GUI and now run a normal version of Ubuntu. The processor is overclocked and many features have been tweaked for performance.

Despite having gathered the attention of the manufacturer directly through our Facebook Group, it seems that support for this generation of EEEpc is limited, and the manufacturer has already moved on to differant projects.

For the purposes of testing the EEEpc netbook, we used it with the solid state 3M MmPro 110 LED Projector, seen in the photo.  Both the EEEpc and the LED projector have stellar performance - but the limited support removes it as a contender.

The next two systems that we tested was the WIN Enterprises PL-1030 with the AMD Geode LX 500Mhz Processor and the FitPC 2. Photo: (smallest) FitPC2, (middle) Linutop 2, (largest) PL-1030. 

 The Win Enterprises PL-1030 is by far the most robust thinclient we tested. Performance is great, fast system. 

This system is by far the best fanless/diskless thinclient we have seen but the price makes it prohibitive, landed here it is over 800$. 

Nonetheless, we dissembled the 1030 to show you it's innards. Everything about this computer is designed to make it last, from a sealed case and heavy metal chassis, this one is made for though commercial applications.

Here are some images of the PL-1030 chassis.

Finally we received the FitPC 2 for testing.

 
Manufactered by CompuLab, FitPC 2 is the ultimate Green computer.  Our test model was the FitPC2 Linux which comes standard (as a MiniPC) with a Intel Atom Z530 1.6GHz processor and 160 GB hard drive.
At idle this thinclient is rated at 1 watts, and a staggering 8 watts at peak performance. The energy savings alone will soon pay for itself. In addition, fit-PC2 has no hazardous substances and at 313cc / 370g is so small that electronic waste is negligible.

The Fit-PC2 body is industrial-grade, die-cast aluminum with no venting holes. The body itself is used for heat dissipation. fit-PC2 ability to withstand a high level of shock, vibration and extreme temperatures - depending only on the type of disk used - with an SSD, fit-PC2 is one of the most rugged PCs for industrial and automotive applications. As a thinclient, the unit is noiseless and heatless, and truly solid-state.

In terms of price, FitPC as tested was under 400$, and as a stand-alone thinclient, would be under 200$ per unit. This is the first in our research that fits our goal for price.

Drawbacks include no VGA output (DVI only), and as a PC is is not solid state (it uses a spinning drive), and the lack of a standard SD card reader (though any USB card reader will circumnavigate this drawback).

After speaking with Stephen Kelly, the projects retained consultant, it appears that FitPC 2 is "the one" that best meets our original targets of low energy consumption, low price, and no moving parts.

FitPC 2 is only four inches by four inches, less than one inch thick. It is easily mounted to the back of any LCD Monitor, completely eliminating those bulky PC's and tangled cords. Our test unit is currently installed at theHub Halifax for further testing by patrons in the IT community. The photos shows the installation of the thinclient.


The Greening of Lake Echo C@P begins here.  The critical part of the process was to first identify a thinclient that suited our needs. The next episode now involves careful deployment, optimization and testing in a real-life C@P Site.

Enter our second consultant, IT Greening expert and owner of tintedGreen Technologies, Mike Lovell - a proven leader in Green IT Solutions.

We can save energy by replacing old generation PC's with thinclients - but we can eliminate many more ongoing costs with virtualization of the software through a dedicated server. Green computing is not just about becoming more environmentally friendly. It is also about using Green Computing technologies that can benefit an organization's Information Technology (IT) and solve real problems. Using virtualized workstations can save on hardware, software, and energy.

Virtualization removes the computing power from the end-terminal, which gives us a rare opportunity to recylce ailing PC's as "terminals" - which will communicate with the mega-powerful server. Even the operating system is on the server! This changeover to terminal can be done as simply as inserting a pre-formatted USB key, and restarting the computer. Instantly, the old againg PC will come to life as a powerful, open source public access kiosk. 

This eliminates all the need to software license renewals, amd on-site technical support.

Our guinea-pig for this new concept of virtualized kiosks rather than stand-alone PC's is the Lake Echo C@P Site located in the Lake Echo Community Center.

The greening of Lake Echo C@P will begin with a comprehensive energy audit. In order to properly measure the success of this new system, we need to be able to know precisely the energy consumption of the C@P site both before the refit, and after. This IT Greening Study will provide concrete data on the kilowatts hours economised.  Extensive further savings will be noticed when usng the USB reformat for old computers (rather than purchasing new ones) as well as in the low cost of the thinclient, under 200$ per unit.

Once installed and fully tested in Lake Echo, we will begin to migrate other sites onto the new virtualized environment. What this means is that although the server will be located in Lake Echo, any site in our network can log into it - as easy as inserting a USB stick and turning the power on.  Instantly, an operating system will provide you with all the basic functions of public access to the World Wide Web.

The greening of Lake Echo C@P will include thr retrofit of it's current public access PCs to all-new energy saving LCD monitors and FitPC clients.