Why’s Dell Wise for Buying Wyse?

Having a bit of experience in providing thin client solutions at DisklessWorkstations.com, I know what makes and what breaks a thin client computing project. By no means is deploying thin clients always a straightforward task; although to some of us in IT, the concept is easily understood. Deploying desktop PCs vs thin clients is typically night and day, especially when dealing with an organization who is new to the concept.

A Senior Vice President of IT at a Fortune 500 company deploying an LTSP solution once said to me “Alex, you don’t understand. Your solution is requiring the field server team, the network infrastructure team and the desktop team to work together, this is not how we used to work!”. Of course I knew this, but at the time I did not understand the impact to the organization or the IT department.

His comment rings true to a lot of organizations considering going thin client. Thin client solutions can unite almost all components in your IT infrastructure and are often a change in policy, procedure, ownership, and support strategy. When moving from a traditional desktop model, everything you do in the IT department must be taken into account. As Dell and Wyse refine the implementation process, they should notice increased adoption and success rates of thin client computing solutions.

Dell + Wyse: The Opportunity

Given the architecture and nature of thin client solutions, success is derived from end to end communication, control, and strategy. Simply put, with thin clients you are laying a data pipe between a server(s) and the end points, all of which may be scattered across different physical locations. To provide a robust and reliable solution you must have a hand in every point between A to Z, or server to thin client.

With Dell’s current product portfolio, they have an opportunity to offer this to customers and channel partners alike. Imagine… finely tuned servers, pre-configured network infrastructure, and thin clients all wearing that “new computer smell” ready for deployment. With Wyse’s strength in Windows based software, their portfolio of thin client hardware (the new desktop PC), and most importantly a rich history of experience deploying thin client solutions, the combination could prove to become very successful to Dell.

Dear Critics

For those who battle the concept of “thin client”, I’d urge you to take a deeper look into how the hardware and software you use on a daily basis interacts with each other, receives updates, and employs what is known as the “thin client spirit”. And for you devoted desktop PC lovers, even your friend “Symantec the Ghost” has hints of thin client computing architecture. You can find a form of “thin client” on your smartphone, on your child’s gaming console, behind the screen on your next flight, or at the office.

Of course for Dell and Wyse, challenges will exist. For one, this is a merger of two relatively large IT companies, which takes time for integration and cultural synergies to develop. Second, Dell has been providing thin client solutions in partnership with Devon IT, and it’s not clear what role this relationship will play. Of course, time will tell the story here.

I would expect the merger to take many months for Dell to fully define the Wyse integration into their product portfolio, and for the channel sales and marketing plan to become well defined with new offerings. The most exciting part of this merger should be seen in what Dell brings to market over the next few years. This is where everyone needs to pay attention.

Looking Toward the Future

In recent months there have been many announcements from new players in virtual desktop management software, new offerings in the desktop as a service market, as well as offerings from other cloud driven solution providers. Cloud integration, management software, redundancy, and security will be the areas to watch in thin client over the next few years.

I look forward to the continuing evolution of thin client computing and watching Dell carve their path in this space. The recent acquisition is a huge testament to the market of anything “thin client”. Thin client devices are already the desktop PC of the future. This holds true not because of physical size, but because of IT architecture and strategy. Even the U.S Air Force is requesting information on thin client computing.

It is my belief that “thin client” will continue to grow and become even more prevalent among computer users of all types. The IDC supports this theory, forecasting a $3 billion market by 2015. Market growth will be fueled by increased speed of networks, as well as performance and efficiency improvements in hardware and software. These growth areas will drive flexibility, scalability and usability in thin client computing solutions.

Why have many notable technology leaders pursued the concept of “thin client” in different forms since the beginning of the Information age? Because “thin client” in some form is the ever evolving answer. We (thin client solution providers) push the limits with “thin client” concepts in R&D, learn the challenges and possibilities, and pull back to reliability delivering robust solutions to the marketplace.

Watch Steve Jobs talk Thin Clients in 1997

Your Ubuntu / Android Smartphone would serve as your phone and connect to various displays in different modes (including Ubuntu TV) to serve as a universal computing device. The approach is rather logical in our opinion, and the announcement has been well received by the community (see Jono Bacon’s blog post).

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LTSP (the Linux Terminal Server Project) creates a thin client environment over a local area network. LTSP Thin Clients, also known as diskless workstations, receive their operating system from a network server without using local device storage. LTSP is often paired with network based user authentication and management solutions to create a complete computing environment.

At UWindsor, switching to the LTSP thin client solution was driven by the need for an increased variety in applications and developer tools without sacrificing performance. Keys to success included a load balanced and virtualized server operating system as well as the local apps functionality within LTSP. Local apps (applications) utilize client side resources instead of solely relying on the server. This LTSP configuration reduces network traffic and allows demanding applications (e.g. flash or java in the browser) to perform like they are running on a full desktop PC.

Students, faculty, and staff access their desktop environment and files from one of over 100 thin clients spread throughout the school. The LTSP Thin Clients are used to browse the web, write code, and edit documents. CS students have access to the latest essential applications for their curriculum including: Eclipse, LibreOffice, Matlab, Maple, and Programming Languages (LISP, Prolog, Haskell, C++, Java, Miranda).

“The maintenance of LTSP is pretty much zero. Once it was setup, it was very reliable and stable. Adding a new thin client literally takes a few seconds.” – Stephen Karamatos, Systems Analyst

Zero device management, reliability and stability are among the many benefits UWindsor realized by switching to LTSP. By repurposing SunFire servers and a Sun NAS 7410 cluster, the school was able to avoid significant infrastructure upgrade costs. The load balanced and virtualized server operating system provides autonomy and flexibility for system administrators. Additional cost savings are recognized due to no license fees, less time spent on support, and the streamlined maintenance of more than 100 end user devices serving over 1000 users.

Related Links
DisklessWorkstations.com – LTSP Thin Client Hardware and Solutions
UWindsor School of Computer Science – Facilities Description
Linux Terminal Server Project – Open Source Project LTSP

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds
LTSP is a registered trademark of DisklessWorkstations.com, LLC
Sun, SunFire, Solaris and Sun Ray are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or it’s Affiliates
Ubuntu is a registered trademark of Canonical, Ltd.

“WebOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,” Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

PC Magazine Article

Bloomberg Article

Engadget Article

Microsoft Windows Embedded Device Manager is designed to provide improved end-user device management, specifically for thin client devices. This is an important move for HP and Thin Clients, as HP customers have sought after improved management of thin client devices for many years. Microsoft offers the solution as an extension of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and is prepared to manage Thin Clients, P.O.S, Digital Signage, and Kiosks. Windows Embedded Device Manager 2011 requires System Center Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 to deploy.

Windows Embedded Device Manager will support the following platforms:

• Windows Embedded Standard 7
• Windows Embedded Standard 2009
• Windows Embedded POSReady 7
• Windows Embedded POSReady 2009
• Windows Embedded for Point of Service (WEPOS)
• Windows XP Embedded
• Windows Thin PC

The pricing for Windows Embedded Device Manager Server is as follows:

• Standard – $325.00 USD
• with SQL Sever Technology – $735.00 USD
• Client Management License – $25.00 per OSE or per user

For more information about deploying Windows Embedded Device Manager Contact DisklessWorkstations.com

Read the HP Press Release

Visit the Microsoft Windows Embedded Device Manager Site

The following video tutorials will teach you how to setup a Linux terminal server. Start by installing the operating system on your server. Edubuntu 10.04 is used in this example. The same instructions can be followed when using Ubuntu 10.04, Ubuntu 10.10, Ubuntu 11.04 and other Ubuntu/debian based Linux distributions. Optional configurations for your Linux terminal server setup include setting up an RDP (remote desktop protocol) connection broker, as well as configuring local applications (Local Apps).

Step 1: Server Operating System Installation (Edubuntu 10.04)

Step 2: Install LTSP (Linux Terminal Server Project) on the Server

Optional Advanced Configurations

Configure for Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)

Configure Thin Clients to Utilize Local Apps

More questions about configuring a Linux terminal server?

Contact DisklessWorkstations.com

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Diskless workstations present themselves as a viable option to thin clients and software rich client/server based deployments. Unlike thin clients, the networked client solution eliminates any form of locally stored operating system on the end user device. The server(s) in a diskless deployment deliver the operating system over the local area network to end user devices. IT administrators become empowered using diskless workstations thanks to a straight-forward and secure server-based computing solution.

Why Diskless?

Hard drives are frequently the source of problems and frustration in computing environments. Whether hosting a virus, or slowing down due to bad sectors and fragmented file systems, the hard drive is at the core of support costs.

By eliminating hard drives and deploying diskless workstations, IT departments can drastically reduce the time and cost of computer troubleshooting and support. With diskless workstations, hard drives are moved further from the end user (the instigator of problems), and placed into centralized management.

How is a Diskless Workstation Different from a Thin Client?

An internal storage device inside a thin client runs a local operating system. Local operating systems must be supported by a managing software layer. With thin clients, updates and new images are pushed down from management software. Without timely updates local operating systems can become security risks. With diskless workstations a new client image is pulled down from the server with every reboot.

How Does a Diskless Workstation Work?

Diskless workstations receive their operating system from a server or cluster of servers over a local area network connection. The operating system is never written to storage physically attached to the workstation. Applications within the operating system have the ability to use server-based resources (CPU, RAM) or client resources. This is also known as running in server mode, or fat client mode.

Who is using Diskless Workstations?

Organizations all over the globe have been deploying diskless workstations for many years. Public universities and private companies are among those benefiting from reduced support and maintenance costs, increased security, and a low total cost of ownership.

Here are some examples of diskless workstations in use today.

Private National Health Care Supplier

Workstation Count: 375+
Server Count: 8 (multiple physical locations)
Users: 500+

Usage includes web browsing, terminal emulation, documents and e-mail.

Automotive Parts Retail Supply Chain

Workstation Count: 6,000+
Server Count: 3,071
Users: 38,540

Point of sale computers in retail stores across the United States.

Public University

Workstation Count: 125
Server Count:  3 (virtualized)
Users: 200+

Eclipse programming environment for computer science students.

Call Center

Workstation Count: 300+
Server Count:  6
Users: 1000+

Call center using VOIP and dialer software.