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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from ZDNet Australia. --------------------------------------------------------------
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Not as thick as some: 7 thin clients tested By Matt Tett, RMIT IT Test Labs January 28, 2004 URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/hardware/desktops/soa/Not-as-thick-as-some-7-thin-clients-tested/0,139023402,139115842,00.htm
 
Thin clients seem to be a perennial runner-up to full-featured desktops, but we think the time is right to stop thinking "what if?" and to get rid of those clunky desktop PCs.Thin clients take the data processing power away from the desktop box and transfer it to the server. Provided you have a reliable switched 100Mbps network, the majority of light data tasks such as word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail, Web browsing, point of sale (POS), CRM, accounting, and stock management/control can easily be handled by thin clients. Let's face it, the majority of business desktop use is with these or similar applications. There are several main server-based applications currently used to deploy thin client environments. Sun Solaris, Microsoft Windows Terminal Services (based on the RDP protocol) and Citrix environments (based on the ICA protocol) on a Windows or Unix-based server or server farm. "So what?" I hear you say, desktop PC hardware can now be bought cheaply enough that the thin client model of saving on cheaper hardware over desktop PC machines is virtually redundant. This is true; however, when you consider some of the benefits of this model, you may in fact find that some of the overall savings far outweigh some of the negative impressions this type of computing has hanging over it. It's not the be all and end all to desktop client computing, however it is potentially an area that many businesses--and in particular IT departments--are overlooking as a "too-foreign" technology to what they are traditionally comfortable with when going out to tender for new desktops. With the advent of really powerful and relatively inexpensive servers (see last month's feature for more information on suitably powerful machines), thin client computing should be included as a possible path for your company to explore when looking at your next replacement or roll out. Benefits of going thin
Another handy feature is the ability to control how many instances of a particular application can be launched by any particular user and, even one step further, create groups who have access to certain published applications but not others. For example, the sales department employees have access to Word, the Internet, CRM, and sales applications, whereas the warehouse only has access to the inventory system and the Internet. The next time there is a version update of a particular application, all the administrator needs to do is install/publish it on the server and it is done. The benefit of this is that the standard operating environment can be virtually created on the server itself and is readily accessible by all the clients in a dynamic way. It certainly beats having to update 1500 desktops out in the field with 1500 new versions of an application to licence whenever the decision has been made to migrate. Service and support
Thin clients, if deployed correctly, have the benefit of reducing these types of cost from the very basic premise that each and every one of the clients can all be managed remotely and indeed each of the clients is so light in configuration that not much can really go wrong on the desktop end, short of a physical device failure in which case one or more "spare" replacement thin clients can be kept by the IT departments for quick replacement. Lower support costs This memory can be locked down to read only, therefore any digital nasties trying to affect the operating system or I/O subsystem while they run in the RAM would have no way of writing to the ROM and therefore could easily be fixed by rebooting the unit. The very nature of the thin clients' operating environment means that a standard flash image could be created for the whole organisation or even department by department and then deployed via a push method, remotely sending the image to the client from the server without needing to have a technician physically at the machine. Saves a lot of technicians from wearing out their desert boots traipsing around the building. Security concerns can be controlled and policies enhanced by locking down the systems' OS. However, removing the users' ability to write/store or copy data onto the local machine also has another benefit that comes in the form of physical data security. If all the data is stored on the storage array in the server room(s) then should a client machine or two "disappear", the thief would not have stolen any crucial information from your enterprise. Last longer So while the physical thin client machines may be similarly priced to low-end PCs, the cost savings from their operation means that the total cost of ownership--if deployed correctly in the right environment--can be quite significant. The thin client we received from Sun had a built-in smart card reader and Sun has gone to a lot of trouble to make the smart cards part of its thin client solution. We think this is a very important feature that will definitely attract many potential purchasers. It has several benefits such as:
The HP Compaq t5700 is a similar size and shape to the more recent breeds of IT appliances such as wireless access points. There are no PS/2 ports so the keyboard and mouse take up two of the USB ports. There is also a Kensington-type physical security lock point on the rear. There is a standard PCI slot on the mainboard, however in this particular chassis it would be impossible to plug in any type of expansion card at all. Under the small silver heatsink is a Transmeta Crusoe CPU. There are no fans or mechanical components at all in this box, therefore there is no noise at all and no bearings or moving parts that can wear out. The power comes from an external pack similar to those shipped with notebooks. The HP Compaq t5700 ships with Microsoft Windows XP embedded. This has a very similar look and feel to the full-blown desktop OS, albeit with fewer icons. Users who may be reluctant to change their desktop environment will not really notice any major shift or change to the look and feel of the system.
The Ipex thin client is very similar in physical dimensions to the HP however it is built into a sturdy rectangular metal chassis that is the traditional IT beige colour. The case has some physical facilities for a smart card reader and a PCMCIA socket, but neither was installed in the unit we looked at. Perhaps they may be available as an option on other models. The CPU is a VIA C3 Eden ESP Ezra/Samuel 2 chip. There is also a IDE connector on the mainboard which had a M-Systems DiskOnChip 16MB flash memory module plugged into it which contains the Microsoft CE O/S and custom configurations. The system boots into a Windows CE connection manager that allows you to set/configure and also connect to your thin client serving environment. The Microsoft Windows CE environment is something worthy of further consideration to ensure your users and applications will be comfortable operating on that platform especially when you consider the Linux/Solaris/Unix or Embedded XP alternatives.
And we thought only IBM and Dell came out with ultra black IT equipment. Almost twice the dimensions of the Ipex and HP thin clients it is still considerably smaller than your average desktop PC--more like a Sony PS2 console. There is a single PCI slot on the mainboard but no riser/convertor card to change the direction. Also there are two standard molex power connectors: one HDD/CD ROM type and one FDD type. So there is plenty of expansion room. The IDE port is connected to a Compact Flash memory card reader/writer that has a 64MB CF card in it to hold the operating system and other non-volatile data. Once connected up and powered on the operator is confronted with a Linux desktop. We found the configuration menu very easy to follow and feature rich. In a matter of minutes we had manually configured the network although it also can detect and set itself via DHCP. This application is truly somewhere that Linux could finally find that leg into the corporate environment that it has been searching for. The fact that Linux is based on thin TCP/IP networking technology from the base up means that its communications and transactions with the servers can be very direct and fast with the minimum of overheads. This system has plenty of room for expansion and also has the attraction of introducing users to running a Linux environment.
The SunRay 150s are fully integrated units with a stylish 15in LCD panel display. The Sun is primarily designed to operate with a Sun server running Solaris. Sun has obviously gone to great lengths to develop some unique applications to place an edge on its thin client products. Therefore this unit definitely deserves a closer look if you are looking at deploying or migrating to a thin client environment. The amazing thing about the Sun Ray 150 is its price at $1049--it is only $100-$200 more than the equivalent box-only thin clients and the Sun includes a 15in LCD display and a smart card reader. The Wyse 9000 with integrated LCD is twice this price. If you combine that with the fact that you can deploy a very entry-level Sun V100 server for around $2000, you could have a very neat small environment solution for very low dollars.
Wyse WT1200LE, WT3125SE, and WT9650XE
Wyse sent us all three of its terminals, from the basic embedded Linux box through to the Windows CE box and up to the 15in LCD panel with embedded Windows XP. The WT1200LE is the entry-level thin client for Wyse. It includes a basic Linux-type embedded OS and is physically very compact, being designed to basically Velcro onto the back of a user's monitor. The booting time is phenomenal on the 1200 series, with less than seconds from when the button is pushed to when the unit has booted. The configuration and administration is slightly trickier than the other two devices from Wyse, however it is nothing that an engineer with a little experience with these devices can handle. The Wyse WT3125SE runs on Microsoft Windows CE. The configuration and administration of this device is similar to the 1200 series, however the basic desktop image is obviously more Windows-centric in look and feel. The WT9650XE is the top end for Wyse and the terminal itself is embedded in the back of a 15in LCD monitor. This terminal runs Microsoft Windows XP Embedded, which looks very similar to a normal Windows XP desktop environment. This machine has 256MB of Flash memory so it can take some time to push or pull an image to or from the machine. Multiply this by the number of machines deployed within an organisation and you are talking about some serious data transfer times. The Wyse 9000 series with its embedded XP and integrated LCD is most likely a popular choice for POS applications and environments where a single device is desirable. It's certainly beneficial in freeing up desk space and clutter.
Specifications
Test bench
Interoperability Futureproofing ROI Service
Company: Nev-R-Crash Airways. This large airline wants to upgrade all its point-of-sale and check-in terminals at a major airport using thin client architecture. Approximate budget: $1000 per client. Requires: 150 thin clients, servers to run those clients, management software. Concerns: The clients need to be able to access a variety of different content sources, such as the airline's internal systems, travel agent booking systems, and the airport's systems, so they should support a wide variety of protocols such as RDP, ICA, Java, X-Windows, and Telnet. The company also wants to be able to easily manage the clients centrally without having to visit each one, so the management software available is also an important consideration. Best solution: A deployment using Sun Ray 150 clients and Sun servers would be without a doubt the most refined and integrated solution. We were pleased to receive a wide range of thin clients in what is definitely looking to be a market that is strong. The range and variety of platforms and software that seem to all work seamlessly is also very impressive. Within 10 minutes we had unpacked and set up from scratch three different brands of hardware with three very different operating systems all connecting to the same servers and using the same applications. We certainly could not imagine doing that with three different desktop machines and three different operating systems. The servicing and deployment benefits are obvious too. We can assure any reader who has been watching the thin client market and umming and ahhing over whether to start down the evaluation track, now is the time to start making the calls and looking at some of these machines. Subscribe now to Australian Technology & Business magazine. About RMIT IT Test Labs
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HP Compaq t5700
Ipex ThinOffice WBT300
Maxspeed MaxTerm 8300B
Sun Sun Ray 150
