What is a Thin Client
A thin client is a stateless, fanless desktop terminal that has no hard drive. All features typically found on the desktop PC, including applications, sensitive data, memory, etc., are stored back in the data center when using a thin client.
A thin client running Remote Desktop Protocols (RDP), like Citrix ICA and Windows Terminal Services, and/or virtualization software, accesses hard drives in the data center stored on servers, blades, etc. Thin clients, software services, and backend hardware make up thin client computing, a virtual desktop computing model.
Thin clients are used as a PC replacement technology to help customers immediately access any virtual desktop or virtualized application. Thin clients provide businesses a cost-effective way to create a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). Thin clients are utilized in various industries and enterprises worldwide that all have different requirements but share common goals. The cost, security, manageability, and scalability benefits of thin clients are all reasons that IT personnel are exploring –and switching– to thin clients.
Cost-wise, the price per seat of a thin client deployment has dropped to the point where it is more cost effective than regular PCs. This has been a claim that many in the thin client industry have made in the past, but the fact is that the technology that has been developed within the past year has made it a definitive reality.
A thin client is a lightweight computer that has been optimized for establishing a remote connection with a server-based computing environment. The server does most of the work, which can include launching software programs, crunching numbers, and storing data. This contrast with a fat client or a conventional personal computer; the former is also intended for working in a client–server model but has significant local processing power, while the latter aims to perform its function mostly locally.
Thin clients occur as components of a broader computing infrastructure, where many clients share their computations with a server or server farm. The server-side infrastructure uses cloud computing software such as application virtualization, hosted shared desktop (HSD) or desktop virtualization (VDI). This combination forms what is known as a cloud-based system where desktop resources are centralized at one or more data centers. The benefits of centralization are hardware resource optimization, reduced software maintenance, and improved security.
Example of hardware resource optimization: Cabling, busing and I/O can be minimized while idle memory and processing power can be applied to user sessions that most need it.
Example of reduced software maintenance: Software patching and operating system (OS) migrations can be applied, tested and activated for all users in one instance to accelerate roll-out and improve administrative efficiency. Example of improved security: Software assets are centralized and easily fire-walled, monitored and protected. Sensitive data is uncompromised in cases of desktop loss or theft.
Thin client hardware generally support a keyboard, mouse, monitor, jacks for sound peripherals, and open ports for USB devices (e.g., printer, flash drive, webcam). Some thin clients include legacy serial or parallel ports to support older devices such as receipt printers, scales or time clocks. Thin client software typically consists of a graphical user interface (GUI), cloud access agents (e.g., RDP, ICA, PCoIP), a local web browser, terminal emulators (in some cases), and a basic set of local utilities. Architecture
In using cloud-based architecture, the server takes on the processing load of several client sessions, acting as a host for each endpoint device. The client software is narrowly purposed and lightweight; therefore, only the host server or server farm needs to be secured, rather than securing software installed on every endpoint device (although thin clients may still require basic security and strong authentication to prevent unauthorized access). One of the combined benefits of using cloud architecture with thin client desktops is that critical IT assets are centralized for better utilization of resources. Unused memory, bussing lanes, and processor cores within an individual user session, for example, can be leveraged for other active user sessions.
The simplicity of thin client hardware and software results in a very low total cost of ownership, but some of these initial savings can be offset by the need for a more robust cloud infrastructure required on the server side.
An alternative to traditional server deployment which spreads out infrastructure costs over time is a cloud-based subscription model known as desktop as a service, which allows IT organizations to outsource the cloud infrastructure to a third party.
TA7 thin client by Gigabyte Thin client computing is known to simplify the desktop endpoints by reducing the client-side software footprint. With a lightweight, read-only operating system (OS), client-side setup and administration is greatly reduced. Cloud access is the primary role of a thin client which eliminates the need for a large suite of local user applications, data storage, and utilities. This architecture shifts most of the software execution burden from the endpoint to the data center. User assets are centralized for greater visibility. Data recovery and desktop repurposing tasks are also centralized for faster service and greater scalability.
While the server must be robust enough to handle several client sessions at once, thin client hardware requirements are minimal compared to that of a traditional PC desktop. Most thin clients have low energy processors, flash storage, memory, and no moving parts. This reduces the cost and power consumption, making them affordable to own and easy to replace or deploy. Since thin clients consist of fewer hardware components than a traditional desktop PC, they can operate in more hostile environments. And because they typically don't store critical data locally, risk of theft is minimized because there is little or no user data to be compromised.
Modern thin clients have come a long way to meet the demands of today's graphical computing needs. New generations of low energy chipset and CPU (Central Processing Unit) combinations improve processing power and graphical capabilities. To minimize latency of high resolution video sent across the network, some host software stacks leverage multimedia redirection (MMR) techniques to offload video rendering to the desktop device. Video codecs are often embedded on the thin client to support these various multimedia formats. Other host software stacks makes use of User Datagram Protocol (UDP) in order to accelerate fast changing pixel updates required by modern video content. Thin clients typically support local software agents capable of accepting and decoding UDP.
Some of the more graphically intense use cases, remain a challenge for thin clients. These use cases might include the applications like photo editors, 3D drawing programs, and animation tools. This can be addressed at the host server using dedicated GPU cards, allocation of vGPUs (virtual GPU), workstation cards, and hardware acceleration cards. These solutions allow IT administrators to provide power-user performance where it is needed, to a relatively generic endpoint device such as a thin client.
To achieve such simplicity, thin clients sometimes lag behind desktop PCs in terms of extensibility. For example, if a local software utility or set of device drivers are needed in order to support a locally attached peripheral device (e.g. printer, scanner, biometric security device), the thin client operating system may lack the resources needed to fully integrate the required dependencies (although dependencies can sometimes be added if they can be identified). Modern thin clients address this limitation via port mapping or USB redirection software. However, these methods cannot address all use case scenarios. Therefore, it is good practice to perform validation tests of locally attached peripherals in advance to ensure compatibility. Further, in large distributed desktop environments, printers are often networked, negating the need for device drivers on every desktop.
While running local productivity applications goes beyond the normal scope of a thin client, it is sometimes needed in rare use cases. License restrictions that apply to thin clients can sometimes prevent them from supporting these applications. Local storage constraints may also limit the space required to install large applications or application suites.
It is also important to acknowledge that network bandwidth and performance is more critical in any type of cloud-based computing model. IT organizations must ensure that their network can accommodate the number of users that they need to serve. If demand for bandwidth exceeds network limits, it could result in a major loss of end user productivity.
A similar risk exists inside the data center. Servers must be sized correctly in order to deliver adequate performance to end users. In a cloud-based computing model, the servers can also represent a single point of failure risk. If a server fails, end users lose access to all of the resources supported by that server. This risk can be mitigated by building redundancies, fail-over processes, backups, and load balancing utilities into the system. Redundancy provides reliable host availability but it can add cost to smaller user populations that lack scale.
What is a Thin Client and VDI environment like? Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is all about moving desktop management from a local environment to a virtualized one. VDI is the practice of hosting workstation operating systems and applications on a server. End users can access “virtualized” operating systems and applications from any device including Thin (and Zero) Clients for VDI, as long as the device can connect to the host server. Because the operating systems and applications are “virtualized,” they can be accessed by devices running on different operating systems. What is a Thin Client as a VDI solution like? Thin Clients are easy to deploy, manage, and maintain than Fat PC monsters. Centralized management software allows administrators to save time and money by maintaining all devices from a server; meaning upgrades, application deployments, and virus control can be centrally managed, rather than being handled individually at endpoint workstations as mentioned. By design, Thin Client solutions don't really have any moving parts, and therefore also provide a much longer life expectancy than a Fat Client/PC. When it comes to security, Thin Clients prevent end users from loading applications onto their own devices, which significantly reduces the risk of viruses. If you have considered or are headed in a VDI direction with your IT front, why continue to struggle with brash, energy-hungry, overpowered Fat PCs that run a local Windows, full-blown OS requiring regular patching, anti-virus, and imaging, etc? This just no longer make sense in today's modern IT environment.
Let’s fill you in. As a Thin Client endpoint user, you will have some degree of an internal operating system such as Linux or Windows (WES7/WE8S/W10loT). You will have no hard drive, but will have some local storage for customization of end user applications. You will be able to run and change multiple connection supported or certified brokers like VMware, Microsoft RDSH, Citrix, or Parallels. Hopefully, Thin Clients for your VDI come with that no-cost centralized management utility and Cloud capability option that is quick to install, get up and running, and can manage one or several central configurations with ease. Software and hardware support for graphic demand and multimedia acceleration for your set-up can provide anything from basic to high-level, including support of Full HD Audio/Video Flash, HTML5. Here’s a little more detail…
Thin Clients are designed to work for specific Operating Systems (OS) and fully customized to work with related VDI platforms. Their cutting edge technology can offer an end user very low level to very high level applications and graphics support. They come with a variation of connectivity ports and expansion slots as well as mounting options. Sometimes their networking power can be Power over Ethernet (PoE)… and, if you’ve got a good vendor, not only does a centralized management software utility come with a client hardware purchase, it will be a no cost.