Thin client environments

[dx2]

I've been doing a little research on thin client environments.

In particular has anybody had any good/bad/otherwise experiences with citrix or neoware?
I'm just trying to get a basic grasp of the whole lots of servers with puny workstations concept.

Thanks

-dx2

 

[Stinn]

Not specifically the environment you are asking about but my last two jobs have both been with Sun Microsystems SunRay thinclients. I've worked for two school divisions that both have them deployed and they are generally well received. The model is awesome no matter what you run for software really, nothing like upgrading a handful of servers instead of a few hundred clients.
I think the thin client model is going to explode soon, most people at home don't need a powerful computer but rather a web browser and word processor, along with a music player, etc. I can forsee a telco deploying such a model...unless google beats them all to it

 

[mobiux]

We use a citrix farm where I work and the centralized problem is really nice.

Is this a new install or a retrofit?
I know that people where I worked weren't too happy about going thin client, I think there were other issues as well since we implemented desktop policies at the same time. So the desktops got locked down.

Overall it hasn't been bad, there is a large performance boost with the new Citrix Presentation Server 4 product.
We are in the process of rolling that out now and the response has been good with the upgrade.

 

[big daddy fatsacks]

this is really possibly the biggest problem you'll have - the politics. people will feel like you're taking something away from them, and if you lock things down it will only compound the problem. of course i'm not advocating that you give up on it because frankly people are idiots. they're there to work, not dick around playing games and downloading pr0n all day. but part of your implementation will need to be focused on getting support for this and easing people into the new environment.

on a personal level, i used citrix for a while and hated it. the guy before me had it installed and basically it was a really stupid decision because it's a poor fit for this place. things are much easier now that i scrapped it.

I know that people where I worked weren't too happy about going thin client, I think there were other issues as well since we implemented desktop policies at the same time. So the desktops got locked down.

 

[ktwebb]

WE user a citrix farm for various applications however we don't use thin clients. Regular PC's using the ICA client and a browser front end to logon to citrix and get their application icons. If your environment is in place and you want to eliminate games, certain web browsing and basically lock down the workstation I can't see where replacing the in place machines will buy you anything. You can do all that with group policy. Assuming your in windows domain environment. Obviously you know your environment better than I and perhaps it is a practical solution/decision. For us, we use Citrix for various apps (many dozens) that fit nicely in that environment, meaning centralized patching and resource management of the applications and it's users.