LON-CAPA Hardware Compatibility
Last updated: 10/23/2000
Hardware Requirements
There are 4 hardware requirements for the current LON-CAPA system.
- i586 (or greater) intel architecture computer
- ethernet card
- static IP connection
- 4 gigabytes (or greater) hard drive space
- CD-ROM
- 64 megabytes (or greater) of RAM
- all hardware (monitors, ethernet cards, CD-ROMs, motherboard) must
be compatible with RedHat Linux 6.2. A vendor compatibility list is at
http://www.redhat.com/support/hardware/intel/62/rh6.2-hcl-i.ld.html.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why can't I run the LON-CAPA system on a Sun Microsystem,
MacOS-X, Windows-NT, or a LINUX-based system other than RedHat 6.2?
The short answer is you can run LON-CAPA on most any type of
computer, but you shouldn't. The software system of LON-CAPA has
been designed with security and performance in mind. Unless you are
prepared to understand the configuration details of the LON-CAPA network
layer and security issues specific to your operating system and machine
architecture, you will not be able to run LON-CAPA. In the long-term,
alternate scenarios of running the LON-CAPA system will add significant
administrative overhead in terms of LON-CAPA software upgrades.
- What about firewall configurations?
Firewall configurations are doable, but not recommended.
This requires detailed understanding of the LON-CAPA network layer, reduces
network connectivity, and may require reconfiguration upon new software
releases
- What about load-balancing hardware configurations?
The good news is that LON-CAPA supports its own load-balancing
of web-delivered content. The only relevant hardware configuration
is a static IP address and ethernet connection. LON-CAPA takes care
of the rest. Load-balancing should not be implemented with
other hardware/software configurations since this would alter the logic
by which LON-CAPA distributes and disseminates resources.
- What about backup tape drives and CD-ROM burners?
There currently is no defined system of backing up LON-CAPA resources.
It is, however, both easily doable and highly recommended. Every machine's
/home/httpd/html/res directory should be periodically saved in entirety.
Additionally, you may wish to save other machine-specific configuration
files such as /etc/httpd/conf/access.conf (for a description of these
files, go to
http://install.lon-capa.org/3.1/loncapafiles/loncapafiles.html). As far as HOW you
save this, via a tape-drive or CD-ROM, that is your currently your
judgement call. For more information on backing up Linux-based systems,
read
http://www.medstv.unimelb.edu.au/~pierre/backup/Backup-HOWTO.html.
Notes
A monitor and other peripherals are not necessary for anything but
the installation process. Their inclusion with your computer system
is dependent on what level of convenience you think they provide.