02.20Guest Post: Nate Massey On NComputing
As you know from our post on our recent trip to Cape Town, our good friend Nate Massey from Chapel Hill, NC, came to visit for two weeks in late January/early February. We asked him to write a bit about the work we did in the computer lab while he was here.
I work with computers back in the States, so before my visit, Nate and I talked about the computer lab at the Powerhouse and some upgrades that we might be able to work on together while I was there. Nate had discovered an interesting concept by a company called NComputing. They sell specialized hardware that allows one regular computer (nothing fancy; your standard home desktop computer will do) to drive 11 sets of keyboard + monitor + mouse. Although they’re all powered by the single computer, each combination ends up acting like its own desktop computer: there is a Windows login prompt, and each user can run his/her own programs which appear only on his/her screen. From the students’ standpoint, these terminals function like 11 different computers, and it’s like a whole lab—all driven by a single machine!
The benefits of using NComputing’s power in the Powerhouse computer lab are pretty awesome. First of all, rather than having to maintain 11 different computers, set them all up identically and perform software upgrades on each one, one can just set up a single tower exactly how one wants it, and then the operating system is just shared between each of the many terminals. (Maintenance of 11 different systems is actually even more annoying in practice. The Powerhouse is dealing with donated hardware—for which the church is extremely grateful—but sometimes the systems are older, run slowly and may be in various states of disrepair. Figuring out how to standardize a dozen older computers can be a nightmare!) By harnessing the power of NComputing, it becomes feasible for one to go ahead and purchase a new, solid desktop computer and attach donated monitors, keyboards and mice… and you’re good to go!
From a hardware cost standpoint, it’s a no-brainer. Nate and I snagged a Lenovo desktop from a local electronics retailer for about $475. The NComputing hardware costs about $350 for a set that powers five terminals, so we purchased two sets at about $770 after tax and shipping. We were fortunate to have enough monitors, keyboards and mice at our disposal, plus power cables and cat 5e/6 cables. Total cost for 11 effective workstations (10 terminals plus the host machine, which a student can use as well): $1,245, or under $120 per station! Not bad at all. (Other benefits include decreased space requirements and lower power consumption.)
Later on this spring, Nate is hoping to get another NComputing setup in the lab to replace a few of the standalone computers which we are currently struggling to maintain. He won’t decide for sure until he’s had a chance to work with our first installation for a few more weeks—we want to kick the tires a bit to make sure everything’s running smoothly. But then, we’ll be ready to call our experiment a success and move forward with another! May the Powerhouse and Mamelodi be blessed by the new and improved computer lab.
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dude… that’s pretty cool!!
February 20th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Hi Nate. The Mamelodi High School (located opposite the police station) is also using the NComputing solution. All their old computers were stolen so we put in a 42 user system (6 x 7-user PC’s). We were able to use there old keyboads, monitors and mice. Now they lock the PC’s up in the strong room at night – which you can do if you only have 6 units to secure!
February 21st, 2009 at 1:44 am
Garry, that’s really great! We have run into one small snag that maybe you have also. Some of the mice and/or keyboards will stop working, and the only thing to get them back going is to restart the whole machine. Have you found this in your setup and found a solution? Also, where you can get the equipment here in SA? since my friend Nate brought it from the U.S.
February 21st, 2009 at 5:18 am
way to go guys. thanks for sharing your experience. it is really educational.
February 21st, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Hi Nate. We’ve had exactly the same problem with KB and mice in a couple of schools and have found the cause to be either (1) virus on the machine (only way to solve is scrub the HDD and reload from scratch and then make sure they run something like AVG and update it regularly) or (2) running old DOS programs, particularly games (in the school where this happened the headmaster banned the use of any software that was not written for Windows). Mustek (the biggest local PC OEM) has just started distributing the NComputing products so any computer dealer in SA should now be able to purchase the products. If you need a hand with support on your site I’d be happy to help. Cheers
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:03 am
That is hypo!!!! I need to bust that set up here with the after school programs I work with!!!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!!
February 26th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Hi Nate,
I’m interesting in your Ncomputing project since i’m planning to implement it in Sudan for schools.
Can I ask you why you chose the L-Series Device instead of X-series Device?
Any other advises on this issue?
Thanks for sharing your experience to benefit others.
Yours,
Mohamed Idris
Minnesota
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Since this article has been published (thank you Nate) we have had many calls inquiring about access to NComputing. Please contact me directly at +27 82 770 3673 as we are the importers and direct distributors for NComputing
March 4th, 2009 at 2:37 am
Thanks, Sean. We will hopefully be installing the rest of the lab sometime before June. I’ll be in touch.
March 4th, 2009 at 2:42 am