LTSP is a collection of software that turns a normal GNU/Linux installation into a terminal server. This allows low-powered, low-cost thin-clients (or legacy hardware you already own) to be used as terminals to the thin-client server. LTSP is unique from other thin-client systems in that it is considered by many as the easiest to maintain. Other thin-client systems require each client to have software that boots the system to a point to be able to connect to the terminal server. This could be a full-blown operating system, or a minimal OS that simply provides an interface to connect to the server. Systems such as this generally require more maintenance and administration, as the local software that boots the thin-clients may become corrupt or contain bugs that require attention. LTSP, on the other hand, requires no client-side software. It requires only a PXE capable network interface, which many thin-clients and PCs have built-in already. This means that you need absolutely no physical storage media (hard disk, compact-flash, etc.) for your thin-client to boot to LTSP. This significantly reduces the amount of administration required to keep your network running. The process of booting a thin-client to an LTSP server is as follows: Thin-clients boot via a protocol called PXE (Pre-eXecution Environment) PXE requests an IP address from a local DHCP server. The DHCP server passes additional parameters to the thin-client and downloads a Linux initramfs filesystem image via TFTP into a RAM disk on the client itself. The thin-client then boots the downloaded Linux initramfs image, detects hardware, and connects to the LTSP server's X session (normally handled by ldm).