Not long ago, in the United Kingdom, a Raspberry Pi board began to be distributed among the country's children so that they could enjoy the hardware libre and having a small computer. Although many are those who really do not know the power of the gift. There are many projects that by joining Raspberry Pis can create great tools, such as PiNet, the name of a project that tries to convert a set of Raspberry Pis into a client-server network that is quite useful in some environments such as schools.
The project is not new but there are some new features. PiNet is based on Raspi-LTSP, a distribution for Raspberry Pi that uses the Linux Terminal Server Project or what is the same, being able to use Raspberry Pis as dumb terminals.
PiNet not only updates the distribution but also incorporates a series of scripts and lines of code that will allow to achieve the objectives of a computer classroom. On the one hand, all terminals will join a server. Each user will have a username with which the student can log into any machine without fear of losing their data. It is also easy to share documents and folders between the server that would be the teacher's computer and the dumb terminal that would be the student's pc.
PiNet is a replacement for Raspi-LTSP and not an update
Maintaining a network with PiNet is quite simple and safe, on the one hand there is the server that will carry out the updates and on the other hand there is the part of the terminals that will only be updated once the network is off, with which we we avoid configuration problems. Maybe the only downside of PiNet is that it is not updated directly, that is, Raspi-LTSP users will not be able to update their version directly but will have to delete and install the new PiNet, something tedious if you have many classrooms to maintain but once you have overcome the utility is great.
For those who still doubt the usefulness of the project, a Raspberry Pi 2 board costs you 35 pounds compared to the 290 pounds that a complete computer normally costs you, I know that the power is not the same but in the case of teaching, the Usefulness is the same, except that with a Raspberry Pi 2 you can fill up creating a computer classroom for little money, ideal isn't it?