More On Thin Clients

Had a customer surprise the heck out of me with an extremely interesting take on thin clients.

They weren't just talking about doing it -- they had it up and running.

And it was for reasons I hadn't expected ...

Thin Client Redux

I wrote a while back about how I thought thin client technology was poised to make a resurgence.  I offered that -- unlike before -- it wasn't going to be about "cheap hardware" this time.

It was going to be about things like reduced operational effort, common user experience across multiple devices, and information security.

Well, I think we're going to add a few more "business drivers" to the list.

Now This Is Cool

I don't want to say too much about the specifics, but this particular customer had very demanding end users who ran very demanding desktop applications and cared a whole lot about performance.

As they went to a global model, they found it harder and harder to deliver the performance (and the consistent experience) demanded by their users.

They experimented a bit, and found that end user experience (for this particular environment, mind you) was better with a fat-server/thin-client architecture, rather than the other way around.

And, when it came to business continuity for this particular user group, life was made that much more simple due to the architecture.  All the important bits were on the server, the desktop devices were merely empty vessels.

And Then It Got Even Cooler

Now they're finding that they can throw significant horsepower (CPU and I/O) on insanely resource-intensive formerly-desktop applications, and get a level of performance that just can't be achieved realistically on a desktop device.

And, thanks to VMware VMotion and DRS, It's available when it's needed, and when it's not, it's available for other purposes -- it's pooled not only across desktop users, but potentially other tasks as well.

The geek in me imagined a virtual desktop image running on a smokin' quad-core with 16GB of RAM and multiple FC channels.  Or maybe a bottle of nitrous in my hot rod.

Well, maybe fantasized is a better word.

It's Not Perfect .. Yet .. But So What

They still had to figure out things like how to do image management (provisioning and patching) better, and they were still getting comfortable on how the network needed to behave to get a consistent user experience, but ... they were pumped, and listening to them, so was I.

So, I think we've got a couple more reasons to consider thin clients and virtual desktop images a bit more seriously.

Yes, I think there are operational cost savings to be had, and the potential of a better user experience if you use multiple devices, and a new tool to manage security concerns.

But add to that smokin' performance and comprehensive business continuity -- I think people will get sold on this concept much faster than I first thought. 

And it may turn out to also be about cheaper hardware -- fat desktops vs shared servers.

We'll see.

Comments

[Brendan Davidson]

Wow. Great to see more people interested in and advocating thin clients. I use them a lot in differing fields. They are great for both temporary projects (like temp call centers), library catalogs and for POS applications.

Thank you for your insight on this. We need more thin-king people out there (I know... I know, that's bad.)
:)

[Riley Park]

Good to see that there is someone other than me that can see the power of thin client computing. Sure, thin clients are not for every location but in most cases where Vmware VDI, MS-Terminal Services, Virtual server or Citrix apps are used it is a no brainer. A thin client that has caught my eye is the Pro|Edge thin client by I-O Corporation. Very small thin client that comes with Windows CE, XPe or Linux, depending on your needs.