Back to the future: virtualization pushes thin client computing into the enterprise main-stream

8/10/2019 Back to the future: virtualization pushes thin client computing into the enterprise main-stream

1/9

Back to the future:virtualization pushesthin client

computing into theenterprisemainstreamA white paper from VXL InstrumentsLtd.For many years, industry analysts predicted that thin c lients wouldrevolutionize enterprise c omputing, but it was a revolution that neverquite happened . Until now. Finally, emerging technologies, such asvirtualization, are ena bling thin clients to move into the mainstreamand businesses to reap the broad range of benefits which areassoc iated with the thin client and server-based computing model.

This white paper, prepared for VXL Instruments, outlines the factorswhich have combined to make thin c lient computing a viable, moresecure and less costly alternative to traditional desktop computingmodels.

2007

About the authorsBrett Callow and Rhonda Turner are tec hnical consultantsproviding services to a number of leading internationaltechnology companies and have been extensively involvedin the planning of va rious industry standa rd IT certificationexaminations. Brett has been awarded Microsofts MostValuable Professional (MVP) designa tion for the last 4 years.MVPs are exceptional technical community leaders fromaround the world who are awarded for voluntarily sharingtheir high quality, rea l world expertise in offline and online


2/9


3/9

VXL Instruments Ltd. 2007

2

The primary benefit of virtualization is that it enables the workloads fromunderutilized servers to be consolidated to a fewer number of servers, resulting inimproved server utilization ratios and reduced hardware, rack-space and HVACcosts. However, enterprises are now beginning to discover a sec ondary benefitof virtualization: that is, the ability to deliver virtual machines to devices such as TCs. Products such as VMwares Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and C itrixsDesktop Broker enable virtual machines to be personalized to match individualuser settings and then delivered to devices such as TCs. For the end-user, theresult is an experience which is identical to that of using any standard PC. Forthe IT manager, the result is centralized resources which can be more easily andmore c ost efficiently managed, reduced server TCO and the ability to leverageless costly hardware, such as TCs.

The potential to reduce the TCO of hardware and simplify management in thismanner are the primary fac tors which have sparked the renewed interest in TCs

and which is fast pushing the TC and SBC model into the enterprise mainstream.

What are the advantages of virtualization, thin clientsand the server-based computing model?

An enterprise which switches to a TC and SBC model can expect to reap abroad range of benefits including:-

Enhanced security - while mobile c omputing is a nec essity in the modernbusiness environment, it also makes protecting data much more difficult.On an almost weekly basis, the press reports an incident in which data hasbeen lost or privac y breached as a result of a misplac ed or stolen laptop.

Diskless TCs and the SBC model help mitigate such risks by keeping allda ta safely within the confines of the c orporate data c enter. Not onlydoes this boost the sec urity and integrity of data, it also helps enterprisescomply with the requirements of the Privacy Ac t, the Hea lth InsurancePortability and Accountability Ac t (HIPAA), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act andthe numerous other piec es of legislation which dictate the manner inwhich data must be held, processed and protected.

Simplified management - industry analyst estimates as to the averagetotal cost of ownership (TCO) of a PC vary wildly. This not particularlysurprising as the environment into which a PC is placed will have a majorimpact on its TCO. That said, one thing upon which analysts do conc ur isthat the c osts assoc iated with maintaining a PC account for far more ofthe TCO than the initial purchase price. The cost of deploying a PC plus


4/9


3

the c ost of the time needed to pa tch and update the operating systemand applications plus the cost of supporting the desktop throughout its lifeeasily can increase the initial capital outlay by a factor of more than ten.

The TC and SBC model can help to drive down these costs. Becauseoperating systems and applications are loc ated on a central server andshared among users, maintenance becomes much easier and faster.Patches and updates need only be applied to the virtual machines whichusers access and not to numerous individua l, and possibly geographicallydispersed, PCs. Migrations also bec ome much faster and less pa inful.Products such as Citrixs Presentation Server and Suns Secure G lobalDesktop provide virtualization at the applica tion level. In other words,applications become independent of the operating system and Windows,Linux, Solaris, AIX and HP-UX applications can all be simultaneouslyaccessed by any TC. This solves the compatibility problems which

enterprises often encounter when migrating to, for example, WindowsVista and also reduces the need for regression testing.

Reduced hardware costs - TCs are less costly than desktop or notebookPC s; typically 40 to 60% less costly. This is because, as the majority ofproc essing is devolved to the server, they do not require a high-endconfiguration. Also, TCs have no local storage and usually fewercomponents than PCs. This not only reduces up-front c osts, it also reducesmaintenance costs and results in TCs delivering a far better ROI than adesktop or notebook PC. Additionally, as already mentioned, virtualizationenables servers to be consolidated enabling a business can do more withless. Ten servers may be able to deal with the workload which waspreviously distributed between 50 servers. This increased utilization meansthat businesses do not need to purchase so many servers and c anreduce the TCO of those which they do buy.

Reduced energy costs according to a study by the Fraunhofer Institutefor Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT which,reported by the European Commission , TCs use only 50% of the energyof desktop and notebook PCs. In a large enterprise where the utility billfor running the IT infrastructure may well run to thousands of dollars, thiscould translate to a substantial reduction in costs. Further reductions canbe achieved if TCs are deployed as pa rt of a virtualization program. Asalready mentioned, virtualization enables the workloads fromunderutilized servers to be consolidated to a fewer number of servers, andthis results in reduced energy and HVAC costs. Ac cording to US utilitycompany, PG&E, the savings can amount to $300 to $600 per year perserver removed . So c onvinced are PG&E of the benefits of virtualization,


5/9


4

that they offer rebates to enterprises that undertake projects which resultin a reduction in the number of servers.

In 2005, it cost US enterprises almost $3 billion to power their ITinfrastructures and, ac cording to Dr. J on Koomey, a c onsulting professorat Stanford University and expert on the elec tricity used by computerequipment, the amount of energy c onsumed by those infrastructures willhave increased by about 75% by 2010. In reducing its demand forpower, an enterprise would not only be keeping down its costs andboosting its profits, it would also be helping to protec t the environment.

The potential savings which an enterprise can expect to achieve from a switchto the TC and SBC model are difficult to estimate and will vary enormouslyaccording the environment. Citrixs Application C omputing Environment (ACE)Cost Analyzer is an automated web-based tool which can be used to

calculate the savings which would result from a switch to SBC using C itrixsproducts. The VMware TCO calculator is also a web-based tool and c an beused to calculate the financial benefits of virtualization. In either case, thepotential reduction in costs is likely to be substantial.

But, as already mentioned, the benefits of the TC and SBC model are not purelyfinancial; an enterprise can also enhance the sec urity of its infrastructure andreduce its impact on the environment.

Examples of thin client and server-based computingdeploymentsIt's all that Sun onc e tried to promise us (The Network is the C omputer), exceptthat, unlike back then, it's actually an easily achievable goal now; it doesn't takea bunch of compromises to make it work, said Maggie McFee, the SeniorSystems Administrator at Harvard Universitys Physics Department.

The Physics Department replac ed 60 PCs used by students with thin clientterminals linked to a dedicated Xeon terminal server and found that, as a result,at-desk visits reduced dramatically. The ROI for us is immeasurable. We cannow remotely handle most requests for these students (install software, modifysettings) and a visit to the desk is usually only needed if there's a hardware issueor network issue or a printer is out of toner, said McFee.

The Physics Department also noted a substantial reduction in powerconsumption levels. I can't tell you exactly how much energy consumptiondropped, but it was significant enough to be noted by our local green initiatives


6/9


5

office and to contribute to us lowering our total building energy usage by 13.6%that year. I'd guess we account for at least of that drop, if not , said McFee.

Harvard a re not the only organization to benefit from adopting the TC and SBCmodel; the U.S. Army have also enjoyed considerable success. The Armyestimates that for each individual implementation it will save anywherebetween 8% to 40%. The savings really depend on the current PC environment,said Gary Winkler, Principal Director of the Armys Governance, Ac quisition andChief Knowledge Office.

Data security is a key issue for the Army and the thin client and server-basedcomputing model enables da ta to be better protected. Only screen pixelinformation is transmitted to the end user device while sensitive Army dataremains within a secured server facility, said Winkler.

The Army has also benefited from pairing thin clients with virtualization solutions.The Army is very interested in virtualization/OS-streaming capabilities andalready has several implementations of this technology. The key benefit to theArmy from this tec hnology is that it will support many of the Army's applicationsthat would not run on some of the older thin client solutions, said Winkler.

The future outlook

The TC and SBC model now presents viable option for all enterprises, and it is anoption which more and more enterprises are c hoosing to adopt. Ac cording to

market intelligence company IDC, TC sales increased by 19.3% between 2005and 2006. This trend is likely to c ontinue: IDC predict a continued annual growthrate in TC sales of 22% until 2010.

Factors which previously ac ted as obstac les to the adoption of the TC and SBCmodel have now been removed. Applications which previously did not workwith Presentation Server or Terminal Services have been made to work. BothMicrosoft and Citrix have made significant headway increasing and improvingapplication c ompa tibility. The performance of applications has been improved.Virtualization solutions have reduced in price and are now within the budget ofeven small businesses. Vendors are amending software licenses to supportvirtualization for example, with Windows Vista Enterprise, up to four virtualinstallations are permitted enabling enterprises to leverage virtualization in acost efficient manner. For end-users, working within a TC and SBC environment isidentical to working in a PC environment and no additional training is necessary.

There really are now no obstacles or disadvantages to the TC and SBC model;but the benefits can be substantial.


7/9


6

Future developments might result in the SBC model becoming an evenattractive option. Companies such as ITonCommand already offer hosteddesktop solutions which effectively enable enterprises to outsource their ITfunctions. How does it work? Basica lly, all of an enterprises applica tions andda ta are hosted on ITonC ommand servers and delivered to any device in anylocation in the form of a virtual desktop. This not only increases the mobility ofemployees, it also enables an enterprise to drastically cut its hardware and ITmanagement costs. Such solutions are likely to become increasingly mainstreamand will provide additional opportunities for enterprises to drive out c osts bymoving away from expensive PC -based networks.

Summary

The combination of virtualization and TCs can address the most commonconcerns relating to todays infrastructures: cost and security. While a return tocentralized computing may initially appear to be a step back to yesteryear, it is,in fact, a modern solution to modern problems and enterprises which havepreviously dismissed the TC and SBC model would be well advised toreevaluate.

"The era of the PC is almost over, and the era of the thin c lient is about to begin." The TC and SBC model is an old idea which has been updated to addresschallenges which modern enterprises face. Back to the future!

About VXL Instruments Ltd.VXL is one of the worlds premier providers of thin c lient devices and provides aninnovative range of high-spec ification, well-built, customized systems at thelowest price point. Since 1976, this combination of quality and value has beenhelping c ompanies around the globe build IT infrastructures that are flexible,secure, manageable and a ffordable.

VXLs sole focus is thin client technology. VXL design and build systems withoutcompromising on quality and an ISO 9001:2000 status demonstrates a rea lcommitment to quality manufacturing and design.

Through strong partnerships with leading software and hardware producers suchas Microsoft and Citrix, VXL is able to build systems that will work both now and inthe future. VXLs use of open tec hnologies means that you can change systemswithout changing hardware.


8/9


7

VXL also offers the highest level of post-sales support. All VXL products arebacked by a three-year warranty in Europe and a minimum of a one-yearwarranty in other regions.

To find out more about VXL products, please contact the office which is nearestto you:-

American Office1431 Graham DriveSuite 216 Tomball, Tx. 77375USA Tel: +1 713 589 3273

European OfficeCarrington Business ParkCarringtonManchester, M31 4DDUnited Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)161 775 4755

Asia-Pacific OfficeHouse of Excellence17 Elec tronic C ityHosur RoadBanga lore 561229, India Tel: +91 (0) 80 28520046

References

Citrix Presentation Server:http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/product.asp?contentID=186

Microsoft Terminal Services:http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/terminalservices/default.mspx

Microsoft Virtual Server:http:/ /www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/default.aspx

VMware ESX Server:http://www.vmware.com/products/vi/esx/

VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure:http://www.vmware.com/solutions/desktop/vdi.html

Citrix Desktop Broker:http://www.citrix.com/ English/ms/ level2.asp?contentID=38777

Sun Sec ure Globa l Desktop:http://www.sun.com/software/products/sgd/index.jsp

Thin c lients use 50% less energy:http:// ec .europa.eu/research/headlines/news/article_07_03_29_en.html

PG&E High Tech Energy Efficiency Incentives:


9/9


8

http://www.pge.com/biz/rebates/hightech/htee_incentives.html

Estimating total power consumption in the US and around the world, by J onKoomey, Ph.D:http:// enterprise.amd.com/Downloads/svrpwrusecompletefinal.pdf

Citrix Application Computing Environment (AC E) C ost Analyzer:http://acecostanalyzer.com/

VMware TCO Calculator:http:/ /www.vmware.com/products/vi/calculator.html

ITonC ommand:http://www.ITonCommand.com/

Documents

Back to the future: virtualization pushes thin client computing into the enterprise main-stream