The main reason thin clients are better than PCs is because they offer "Lower Total Cost of Ownership". By reducing maintenance and install time, thin clients keep downtime to an absolute minimum. An example would be if you owned a Server and 5 PCs and needed to update your HMI or word-processing software you would need to reinstall and configure all 5 PCs one at a time. With thin clients you would simply make the update once on the server and all 5 thin clients would realize the update immediately.
Anyone seeking a Lower Total Cost of Ownership over expensive Industrial or Desktop PCs. Anyone seeking to cut downtime and maintenance to a minimum. Anyone that needs enhanced security and reliability
Most of the companies thinking of or already having thin client installation, choose this because of cost and security considerations. Gartner Group says that a thin client can save more than 30% total costs of ownership compared to a non-managed standard PC in a network. Furthermore in times of mergers and consolidations it is an easy and cost effective way to merge two different LAN and grant access to the others IT-Infrastructure especially if there are different server architectures in place.
Do you use Dumb terminals / green screens and often wish they could do more or be more flexible?
Do you have multiple office locations?
Do you want to run on fewer IT resources?
Do you have task-based workers who require varying
Do you use information appliances / kiosks?
Do you have a highly standardized office environment (what does this mean?)
Do you require regular software upgrades at a central and/or satellite offices?
Are you concerned about data security and software security?
Do you distribute applications and data (over a network?)
Do your IT resources take a long time to implement patches?
Do you or would you like to offer end-user application support remotely?.
Earlier Microsoft was not into development of enhanced thin client protocol. Its protocol RDP4 had limited functionality. Microsoft had tied up with Citrix for advanced protocol development (ICA) hence the cost of implementing Thin Client proved to be very costly. Now Microsoft with the release of windows 2000 server has parted ways with citrix and has released RDP5 version which has the same functionality as ICA protocol at a very low cost. This also proves that Microsoft is serious in developing this technology.
Mechanical maintenance – no moving parts
Centralized administration and control: Software access and upgrades controlled and easily administered, plus desktop control!
Inexpensive seat licenses: $2-500 per seat.
Thin clients cost less to purchase initially, and are cheaper to manage and operate than PCs.
Versatility: emulations, unix, citrix, Ethernet, linux, windows, etc. (RDP & ICA).
Run PC applications, without the downsides of PC management.
Visits to remote offices to fix or maintain IT equipment greatly reduced.
Security is improved because there are fewer points of entry.
Meet your IT budget - Thin Client computing can save 30%-70% of your IT costs ::
Low purchase price - Thin Client terminals much less than full blown desktop PC's.
Low total cost of ownership - ROI of up to 500%+ are typical: Thin Clients typically pay off in 2 months, then again every 2 months for 5 years.
Low cost to manage Thin Client terminals - Simplified software deployment radically reduces rollout costs and centralized control means easy,less costly management
No more upgrading company desktop systems every 2 years ::
Eliminates hardware and memory upgrades
Deploys hardware and software rapidly
Eliminates renegade desktops ::
Remote desktop support gives you total desktop management, eliminating unwanted apps<
Reduces end-user errors
You'll worry less about security ::
Eliminates viruses and prevents data loss Slashes loses due to theft
Provides access security
Applications can be load balanced across multiple servers (Server Farms), increasing overall performance and providing exceptional fault tolerance
You'll spend less time and resources on your help desk ::
Thanks to easy and reduced troubleshooting
Access anytime anywhere to your companies applications
What Applications Can work on Thin Clients? ::
Any 32 / 64 bit applications that work on Windows Nt/9x/Xp Platform.
Any Linux based applications.
Any legacy based Mainframes / Terminal emulators.
Yes. The protocols that Thin Clients use to communicate with the server are standard Ethernet, and so don't interfere at all with regular network traffic. In fact, there are many applications where replacing PCs with Thin Clients can actually decrease overall network traffic. Many of our customers install a Thin Client system gradually, first putting a Windows 2000 or NT 40 TSE server on their network, and then replacing PCs one or two at a time with Thin Clients.
Thin Clients work with server grade operating system hence it integrates completely with the existing security (User rights, VPN, Encryption, File permissions, etc). In addition you can also have application based security where users can be restricted to particular applications. Thin Clients have no local storage e.g. floppy, Hard disk, etc hence there is no chance of data theft or virus entering your system.
Thin client works on server grade operating systems like windows 2000/2003, Linux, Mainframe etc hence it is very stable & secure. Thin Clients will be emulating only a virtual screen on your desktop. Also thin client hardware is made of single board embedded circuitry which further reduces hardware downtime. The life of Thin Client device is typically 15 Years as compared to normal desktop which has a life span of 3-4 Years.
Microsoft is constantly developing API’s for development of Thin Client industry with its RDP protocol.
Citrix is also working on ICA protocol and bettering it with every release.
Linux has inbuilt support for thin client through its XDMCP protocol.
No, Thin Client is a versatile / operating system independent device which can connect to any of the above operating systems without any change in hardware. You can be connected to windows / Linux /Mainframe all at same time.
Yes, really thin client is a boon for Schools & Universities as the total cost of ownership reduces by more than 60%. Also managing hundreds of thin clients across schools & universities becomes a very simple task. There is no need for dedicated IT manpower which saves lot of recurring cost.
Thin clients use 80% less power as compared to its Pc counterpart as there are no moving parts present.
Actually it all depends on what applications are used & how many users are going to use that server.
Applications can be classified into Light, Medium and Heavy. Applications like Msoffice / Tally are light , Photoshop/Corel draw etc are medium where as high end custom applications or multimedia are heavy applications. Depending on what Mixture of light, medium & heavy applications you use the configuration of server has to be decided.
For example : A test site with 30 Thin Client using Msoffice , Photoshop , Tally, Coreldraw and some light applications will need server with Pentium IV2.8 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM, HDD as required.
CPU & RAM are the two most important factors to be considered in a thin client implementation.
Devices like LPT/USB printers, PS2/USB mouse keyboard, Speakers for sound can be connected to thin clients. Even local USB storage can be activated. Other devices like scanners, tape drives cannot be connected locally.
CPU & RAM are the two most important factors to be considered in a thin client implementation.
The number of clients that a server can handle depends on the configuration of the server and the applications used by no of users. But you can keep on adding new servers to your existing server and load balance your clients. If any one server goes down the other servers will handle the additional client load without any administrator intervention.
Thin client is a boon for remote users. Applications will respond very fast as though he is working locally.
Applications that otherwise cannot work on wan link will work really really good. Administrators need not even visit the remote location for upgrading software or maintaining hardware.
Thin Clients work on server grade operating systems hence it is very stable. The overall management load of the organization is greatly reduced hence administrators can concentrate on maintaining the server optimally. You can also load balance your terminal servers so that if one server fails the other server will automatically handle the load of those clients attached to the failed server.
