An open source project developing free software walked away with the “Best of Show” award at this year's LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco. The Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) makes software through which low-cost, networked, “thin client” workstations can access Windows or Linux software residing on central servers.

According to project founder and leader Jim McQuillan, LTSP was selected in part because of the work it does outside the show promoting computing in third-world countries. “One of the judges I spoke with said it was in part because of our work promoting computing in South Africa, China, Spain, Brazil, and elsewhere,” McQuillan said.

Another factor may have been the project's demonstration of new VoIP (voice-over-IP) capabilities in the newest version of its software. The demonstration uses Asterisk, an open source telephony server, along with KPhone VoIP clients, and can be used to route calls internally or to the outside world. “A call center in Arizona with 170 clients commissioned us to add this, and now it will become part of the project. VoIP gets interesting when it is integrated with local applications. For example, when a person calls a doctor's office, the system could automatically pull up their records,” McQuillan said.

According to McQuillan, the LTSP project is currently working to improve support for local devices such as USB storage keys. “Version 4.2 will have all that,” he said.

Another LTSP development effort involves integrating bandwidth-sparing NX technology, which could decrease network usage, at the expense of requiring additional server power, since the server must maintain a “virtual session” for each user, McQuillan says.

A related open source project, Symbiont Workstation Manager, sponsored by Simbio Technologies, develops dual-licensed GUI and management technology for LTSP networks.

McQuillan invites LTSP users to contact him and other project developers through the project's IRC channel, #ltsp of Freenode. “We can solve problems in five minutes that would take days by email,” McQuillan said.

Other “Produce Excellence” award winners

LTSP was selected for “Best in Show” from among a variety of other winners in thirteen “Product Excellence” categories. A surprisingly high percentage of the awards were bestowed upon companies using embedded Linux. Categories and award winners included:

• Best Security Solution: Astaro, which recently launched a line of firewall appliances
• Most Innovative Hardware Solution: Levanta, formerly LinuxCare, which last week launched a Linux management appliance
• Best Servers: Rackable Systems, which makes server platforms, including off-the-shelf network appliance platforms
• Best Integration Solution: Win4Lin, which recently partnered with NX on thin client compression technology
• Best Data Backup or Storage Solution: Coraid, which makes innovative storage appliances based on ATA-over-Ethernet
• Best Database Solution: Enterprise DB Corporation
• Best Open Source Solution: Mambo, which makes a PHP-based content management and publishing platform
• Best Systems Management Tool: The OpenNMS Project, an open source enterprise-grade network management software project
• Best Utility/Grid: Rackable Systems
• Best Desktop/Productivity/Business Application: Xandros, a desktop Linux distribution based on Debian
• Best Messaging Solution: Scalix, which makes enterprise email server software for Linux
• Best Clustering Solution (Joint Winners): SteelEye Technology, which makes clustering and high availability software; and Appro, which makes cluster hardware
• Best Application Development Tool: SlickEdit, which makes development tools licensed by real-time embedded specialist FSMLabs, GNU X-tools vendor Microcross, and others

 
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