Ok, our company is making a rollout of linux workstations. We are planning to use LTSP setup of about 6 thin clients hooked up to a server. There is no problem with the server but I foresee a bit of a problem for the clients. Now the problem is that LTSP configuration requires MAC address in order to give the thin clients IP address and boot kernel. Our clients are basically P-200 Classics , 32 MB RAM with only CD-ROM and floppy, no hard drive. So my question is, is there a small linux distro just to detect network card configuration like what driver is needed and what is the MAC address? Floppy based preferably since Knoppix is out.

Thanks in advance.

Any linux router on a floppy distro would do that I would think. Here's a listing of floppy linux distros that you might want to check out:

http://www.linuxlinks.com/Distributions/Floppy/

Zool 5 looks pretty good.

And as always, there's good old http://old.lwn.net/Distributions/

Yves.

Well.. I found what I am looking for (kinda) in blueflop. A two floppy linux distro that can detect & configure the network card and get the MAC address too.. the only problem is that lsmod doens't show anything.

But since I am the one that buy all those network cards, I can find out what the module needed for the boot floppy.

Have you already bought the nic's or are they in the box's?

Pretty much can't go wrong with 3com's.

Well.. I have bought them and got them installed. Intel eepro chipset.. nothing wrong with them either.. My next task is to get a box of floppies for ltsp boot disks/

And I agree with 3com, however they are expensive. The card itself cost almost half of the workstation.