Thin Client Computing Without “the Bill”

8/6/2019 Thin Client Computing Without the Bill

1/3

Thin Client Computing Without the BillTrends in Corporate Computing

For many years corporate America has been looking for ways to reduce the cost of ownershipassociated with Microsoft Windows-based computing. The popularity of Windows-based ThinClients coupled with deployment of Terminal Server and Citrix has been growing at a rapid rate.Over the years a new trend has been developing; enterprises are now trying to reduce costsfurther by moving to intelligent Thin Clients.

Dumb vs Intelligent Thin Clients

In contrast to the previous generation of dumb thin clients, which simply acted as terminalsallowing access from desktops to server-based applications, intelligent Thin Clients come withbuilt-in emulation software; e-mail; a full-function browsersuch as Mozilla Firefox or full InternetExplorersupporting JVM, Flash and XML; and pop-up window support. These intelligent ThinClients are served up with Linux or Windows XPe operating systems, and allow access to a fileserver as well as Web-delivered applications such as Lotus Notes, WebSphere, etc.

Currently Available Computing Options

Several options now exist for companies wishing to deploy Microsoft Office-type products for their employees:

1. Traditional: Serve up these applications using Microsoft Terminal Server, Citrix, etc., deliveredusing a remote desktop protocol. Approximate costs associated with this method are:

a. Terminal Server Client Access License $120b. Client Access License $30c. Microsoft Office Professional $395d. Citrix (if applicable) $250

Total Software Cost per User $545 to $795

2. Hybrid: Keep Microsoft Office and serve it up using a Linux server. This involves using aproduct from CodeWeavers called CrossOver Office www.codeweavers.com. This product allowssome Microsoft products to be installed and served up via X-Windows to a Linux desktop or LinuxThin Client. The costs for this method are:

a. CrossOver Office $50b. Microsoft Office Professional $395

Total Software Cost per User $445

3. Local Linux: Install OpenOffice* (www.openoffice.org) on a Linux Server and use X-Windows ona Linux desktop or Linux Thin Client. Both of these software components are open source and

distribution is unrestricted. Cost of this method:

a. X-Windows $0b. OpenOffice $0


4. Versatile Linux: Purchase a Thin Client with embedded OpenOffice. Files are accessed / storedvia a Linux or Windows file server. This option incurs an additional cost for a hardware upgradesince it requires more disk space and more memory. It is best suited to remote users, as X-Windows can be bandwidth-intensive and is therefore not recommended for WAN use. Cost of thismethod:

a. OpenOffice $0b. Additional memory $125


2/3


5. Remote Linux: Install OpenOffice on a Linux Server and serve up applications using theTarantella Enterprise 3 product (www.tarantella.com). This option supports compression andencryption of the X-Windows protocol, allowing applications to be served up efficiently on a WAN.Cost of this method:

a. X-Windows $0b. OpenOffice $0c. Tarantella Enterprise 3 $100


Figure 2 : Total Cost of Ownership Table. Software and hardware component costs arecalculated per user for both LAN and WAN environments.

Option 1: Traditional

Microsoft Server LAN WANCAL $ 30.00 $ 30.00

TSCAL $ 120.00 $ 120.00Citrix N/A $ 250.00

Microsoft Office $ 395.00 $ 395.00Windows CE Thin Client $ 399.00 $ 399.00

Total $ 944.00 $1,194.00

Option 2: Hybrid

Linux Server LAN WANMicrosoft Office $ 395.00 $ 395.00

Tarantella N/A $ 100.00CrossOver $ 50.00 $ 50.00

Linux Thin Client $ 450.00 $ 450.00

Total $ 895.00 $ 995.00

Option 3: Local Linux

Linux Server LANOpenOffice N/A

Linux Thin Client $ 450.00

Total $ 450.00

Option 4: Versatile Linux

File Server WAN / LANOpenOffice* $125.00

Linux Thin Client $450.00

Total $575.00

Option 5: Remote Linux

Linux Server WANOpenOffice $ N/A


3/3

Tarantella $ 100.00Linux Thin Client $ 450.00

Total $ 550.00Additional Comments

*OpenOffice

OpenOffice is a full-featured product suite providing word processing, spreadsheet, andpresentation software. It can open Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, andMicrosoft PowerPoint presentations, which can be edited and saved with standard Microsoftextensions. StarOffice (www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice), offered by SUN Microsystems, isbased on this code with a few enhancements.

CrossOver Office

CrossOver Office is based on the WINE development. It allows Microsoft Windows applications torun in a Linux environment. Many Windows programs are supported, however many others willwork but have not been thoroughly tested. Applications supported include Microsoft Office XP,Lotus Notes, and many more.

Conclusion

The PC revolution brought about tremendous freedom for users in the corporate world: a widevariety of supported applications, customization of user preferences, unrestricted Web access andfile transfer capabilities, etc. Corporate management has come to realize that this type of freedomhas its drawbacks: unstable and inconsistent operating environments; poor backup control;vulnerability to virus attacks; and lack of supervision in daily tasks. All these drawbacks lead tohigher maintenance costs, lower employee performance, and system vulnerability. Not only doesthe hardware become obsolete as new applications are introduced, higher performance CPUsare required but operating systems typically need updating every three years. Remember Windows 95, 98, 4.0, NT, 2000, etc. When you figure in the licensing fees; the time spent bysystem administrators updating each workstation, not to mention installing and maintaining anti-

virus software; the downtime this causes other employees while their workstations are out of commission; and the additional time required by employees to learn each new revision; theresulting price tag is quite sizeable!

Author:

Martin Pladgeman is President of 10ZiG Technology, a leading developer of securitysolutions, enterprise-class thin clients and iSeries connectivity solutions. 10ZiG thinclients provides a choice between CE.Net, LINUX, and XP Embedded and offers ahost of unique features.

Contact us at 866-865-5250 or [email protected] for a free 30-day trial or for more information.
http://www.10zig.com/www.10zig.com/green.phphttp://www.10zig.com/www.10zig.com/green.phphttp://www.10zig.com/contact.phphttp://www.10zig.com/contact.phpmailto:[email protected]://www.10zig.com/contact.phpmailto:[email protected]://www.10zig.com/www.10zig.com/green.php

Documents

Thin Client Computing Without “the Bill”