LON-CAPA Hardware Compatibility
Scott Harrison
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.
- 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.