Thin-Client Solutions
CIS484
Sherman Hui
Yuen Hung Poon
Outline
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What is a thin-client?
Examples of thin-client products.
Terminal Server Edition System Requirement.
What these products are and what they do?
Who uses these products?
What are some advantages to use these products?
What are some disadvantages to use these products?
Major problem with thin-client machines.
What is a Thin-Client
• "Thin client" is a synonym for the Net PC
or the network computer (NC), personal
computers for businesses that are designed
to be centrally-managed, configured with
only essential equipment, and devoid of
CD-ROM players, diskette drives, and
expansion slots (and therefore lower in
cost).
Poon
What is a Thin-Client (Con’t)
The term "thin client" seems to be used as a synonym for
both the Net PC and the network computer (NC) ,
which are somewhat different concepts.
• The Net PC is based on Intel microprocessors and Windows
software. (Intel was a leader in defining the Net PC specification.)
• The network computer (NC) is a concept backed by Oracle
and Sun Microsystems that may or may not use Intel
microprocessors and would use a Java-based operating system.
Poon
Current Thin Technologies
• Thin Client is a generic term used to describe a group of
rapidly emerging technologies that provide a reduction in
total cost of ownership (TCO) through a combination of
reduced hardware costs, reduced maintenance and
support costs, reduced LAN/WAN bandwidth
requirements, reduced down time, improved performance
and enhanced security.
• Today there are more than one million users of Thin
Client solutions.
Poon
Current Thin Technologies (Con’t)
These technologies currently fall into four categories
• Network Computers (NCs)
• NetPCs
• Windows Terminals (Citrix
WinFrame/MetaFrame and Microsoft Hydra)
• Direct Connect technologies
Poon
Current Thin Technologies (Con’t)
Why “Thin”?
• The term "Thin" in Thin Client refers to the (very
small) size of the client operating system. In
contrast, traditional PC operating systems (DOS,
Windows 95, etc.) are considered "Fat" Clients
due to their large size and resource requirements.
Poon
Current Thin Technologies (Con’t)
Thin Capabilities?
• Despite the fact that the Thin Client operating
systems are thin, the capabilities of Thin Clients are
robust.
• Thin Client solutions are deployed today in mission
critical environments and they are providing reliable
and responsive access to a myriad of applications.
Poon
Examples of Thin-Client products
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Citrix WinFrame Solution
Citrix MetaFrame Solution
Sun Solution
Microsoft Windows Terminal Server (WTS)
Wyse Winterm Windows Terminals
Poon
Terminal Server Edition
System Requirement
• Base Requirements
• Processor, Memory, and Bus Architecture
Requirements
• Other Peripherals
• Client System Requirements
Poon
Base Requirements
Hardware
• 32-bit x86 microprocessor or Alpha.
• VGA or higher-resolution monitor.
• One or more hard disks, with 128 MB minimum of free
hard disk space on the partition that will contain the
Terminal Server system files.
• For x86-based computers, a high-density 3.5-inch disk
drive plus a CD-ROM drive.
Poon
Base Requirements (Con’t)
Memory
• 32 MB of RAM, plus 4-8 additional RAM (per
user) to support users running their applications on
the server
Network Protocol
• Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP).
Poon
Processor
• Requires a Pentium or higher processor.
– Processor and memory requirements scale linearly (up
to four processors). For example, you can support
double the number of users on a multiprocessor-capable
Pentium system by doubling the number of processors
and doubling the amount of memory. For this reason,
purchasing a multiprocessor system, even if you
initially purchase only one processor, allows you to add
capacity more easily as your requirements
Poon
Bus Architecture Requirements
• ISA (AT Bus) Architecture
– The bus architecture in single and multiprocessor systems also
affects system performance. The ISA (AT bus) architecture
becomes the bottleneck to good system performance and is not
recommended for Terminal Server.
• EISA, MCA, & PCI
– Use a higher-performance bus, such as EISA, MCA, or PCI, for
best performance. All of these support the highly sustained datatransfer rates typically desired when running Terminal Server
Poon
Other Peripherals
• SCSI disk drives and adapters
– Hard disk throughput also affects performance. SCSI disk drives and
adapters, especially devices compatible with Fast SCSI and SCSI-2,
have significantly better throughput than ST-506, IDE, or ESDI disk
drives and adapters.
• SCSI RAID controller
– For highest disk performance, consider using a SCSI RAID controller.
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) controllers
automatically place data on multiple disk drives and can increase disk
performance and improve data reliability.
Poon
Client System Requirements
There are two versions of the Terminal Server
Client software that are available:
• 16-bit (Windows for Workgroups)
• 32-bit (Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT)
Poon
Client System Requirements
(Con’t)
16-bit Terminal Server Client:
 Personal computer with an 80386 or higher microprocessor
 Windows for Workgroups
 8 MB of RAM
 4 MB of available hard disk space
 VGA or higher-resolution video adapter
 High-density 3.5-inch disk drive
 Network interface card (NIC) using the Microsoft TCP/IP
protocol
 Microsoft serial mouse or 100 percent compatible
Poon
Client System Requirements
(Con’t)
32-bit Terminal Server Client:
 Personal computer with an 80386 or higher microprocessor
(80486 or higher for Windows NT)
 Windows 95 or Windows NT
 8 MB of RAM for Windows 95, 16 MB for Windows NT
 4 MB of available hard disk space
 VGA or higher resolution video adapter
 High-density 3.5-inch disk drive
 Network interface card (NIC) using the Microsoft TCP/IP
protocol
 Microsoft serial mouse or 100 percent compatible
Poon
What these products are and what they do?
• MetaFrame is the name for the Citrix thinclient/server system software for Microsoft
Windows Terminal Server for Windows NT Server
4.0.
• MetaFrame system software, which incorporates
Citrix’s Independent Computing Architecture
(ICA), provides a complete Server-based
Computing solution for multi-user NT 4.0
environments.
Products (continued)
• MetaFrame delivers a comprehensive Serverbased solution to the enterprise by extending
Windows Terminal Server with additional client
and server functionality.
• MetaFrame also delivers thin-client/server
computing to the enterprise by extending access to
any device, at any location through any
connection.
Products (continued)
• Metaframe provides universal application access
from virtually any type of client device.
• Overall, Metaframe transforms the way
organizations deploy, manage and access business
applications by providing improved application
manageability, access, performance and security.
Products (continued)
• WinFrame is a software product from Citrix that,
together with a Windows NT operating system,
allows a computer server to provide Windows
applications and data for attached computer
workstations.
• With Winframe, a company can install all
applications and data at the server, simplifying
administration, and possibly saving on application
software cost.
Products (continued)
• WinFrame is a server-side software product based
on Windows NT Server 3.51. When you install
WinFrame on a server system, you are actually
installing both the Citrix software and a modified
version of NT Server 3.51 (you cannot install
WinFrame on top of an existing NT Server 3.51
installation).
Products (continued)
• The modifications Citrix made to NT Server 3.51
enable basic multi-user functions in the operating
system itself, so multiple users can log on to the
same system and run applications separately from
one another.
Products (continued)
• The low-cost workstations are known as thin
clients because they are minimally-equipped and
because they contain client software that interacts
with the server.
• To the user, the applications and data appear to be
running on the workstation.
Products (continued)
• Overall, WinFrame server executes the
applications on behalf of the clients and only
passes I/O (screen and keyboard) information to
the Thin Clients.
Who uses these products?
• Enterprises around the world that want to achieve
a lower cost of application ownership
• Some companies include AT&T Wireless Services,
Bell Mobility, OshKosh B’Gosh, Honeywell
Europe and Mott’s North America.
What are some advantages to using these
products?
• Cost effective
• A significant advantage of WinFrame is that it can
make newer Windows applications available to
older PCs.
• Everything can be done from a single point.
• WinFrame can also handle users who dial in to the
server (for example, mobile users and those
working at home or in branch offices).
What are some disadvantages to using these
products?
• Not every IS manager is a thin-client proponent.
In a recent survey by InternetWeek, more than
85% of respondents said they're not considering
thin clients over PCs for Internet or intranet
access.
Major Problem to Thin-client machines.
• They don't give users more capabilities than PCs
do.
• Also, with functional PCs now selling for less than
$1,000, the supposed cost advantage of thin clients
is open to question.