Complete Gentoo environment

[agentgray]

(My apologies if this is in the wrong forum. Please move it if necessary).

I just performed my first Gentoo install last week. Screw Windows. I'm straight Gentoo now.

I like it so much, I'm seriously considering running it where I work. We'd be completly dropping Windows in favor of Gentoo. I'd like to know if it is possible to install Gentoo on a server and have our users use their desktops as terminal clients (with X sessions, KDE, Gnome, or whatever). I can then create profiles for the users and have them only run the programs that they need to be running (wordprocessing, spreadsheets, email, web).

I could then just back up the server. Wouldn't it also be possible that if the user logged in at another machine they'd get their desktop, programs, and settings.

Has anybody done anything like this? Where would I even begin? We have around 40 machines that are all spec'd close to the same.
_________________
-agentgray

[rac]

Actually running X applications over a network probably generates too much wasteful traffic.

What I would do is install Gentoo on all 40 machines (there are some threads in the archives about how to compile once, install everywhere on similar hardware), and make each machine fully functional standalone.

Then have one dedicated file server, running NFS or something. All 40 of the client machines mount /home from this server. You could use NIS to synchronize all the login information, and then I think that would be enough for you to have your "anybody can log in anywhere and feel at home" setup.
_________________
For every higher wall, there is a taller ladder

[snoopey]

Check out partimage. www.partimage.org

On a Cybercafé I work for, all the computers are rebooted into linux nightly and restoring the saved image (a compressed image of a partition with win98 on). Using rsync, we check if the image is updated, and if it is, it's downloaded before restoring.

It works quite well, and you should look into it.