Bare Metal (PC Farm)
While the majority of DaDesktop environments operate on virtual desktops, certain tasks require access to actual hardware. With bare metal capabilities, each participant is assigned a dedicated physical desktop or server, all centrally managed via DaDesktop.
One machine per person
Instead of relying on a virtualized environment, every participant is provided with their own dedicated physical machine.
Manage physical classrooms remotely
Integrate existing physical classrooms with DaDesktop to oversee and control the hardware without needing to be present on-site.
When you need bare metal
- Deploying software that cannot function in a virtualized setting, such as ONAP and OpenStack.
- Utilizing hardware that resists virtualization, including specific GPUs, Mellanox cards, and other network devices.
- Conducting courses where firmware updates or physical hardware manipulation are integral to the curriculum.
- Administering physical classroom setups that require remote management.
How it works
Each physical machine links to a DaDesktop node using a control cable known as ddnexus. To provision a desktop, choose the "Metal PC" option when setting up a standalone or fresh-start environment. The desktop image is then deployed directly onto the physical hardware.
PC Farm
Existing office desktops can be integrated to function as bare metal nodes. In this configuration, each physical desktop is referred to as a potato, while the central server that governs them is known as a pumpkin (specifically, a DaDesktop node or ddnode). The USB cable that links each potato to the pumpkin is termed a potato stalk.
Potato stalk cables can be sourced from eBay and Alibaba.
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