[THIN]

  • From: "Shonk, Joe - Perot" <JShonk@xxxxxxx>
  • To: "'thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 09:52:56 -0700

Hello,

Brian Madden brought up an interesting topic last week regarding challenges
faces managing a MetaFrame XP farm.  Printing, by far, has been the biggest
challenge so far followed by a few things that I didn't see mentioned in the
list.  They are:
        Deploying security hotfixes and updates to application sets and
backend servers that run 24/7
        Cost of third-party tool

I realize there is not much I can do about Microsoft's patching scheme, but
what can be done about the high costs of third-party tools?  I thought
Microsoft and Citrix was charging too much for their products until I
realized how much it would cost to bring in just one or two third-party
apps.

XPe does includes many tools like RM, IM, and the UPD but everyone knows
that even these enhancements fail to claim the 'e' in XPe as Enterprise.  RM
comes the closet but even it has it's draw backs and limitations
(Performance hit, reporting, etc).  I've yet to see a large scale
implementation use IM,  and the UPD just isn't universal enough.

Here are some of the things/costs to consider when deploying a server.

Hardware
Operating System and CALs.
Citrix Connection Licenses
Antivirus Software
Patch Management - Marimba, HFNetChkPro
Application Deployment - Marimba, SMS, Altiris
Print Management - Thin Print, ScrewDrivers
Security/Lockdown Tools - Appsense, TriCerat
Profile Management - AutoProf
Performance - TScale, ArmTech
Application Shaping - TScale, Appsense, ArmTech
Disaster Recovery - Your favorite Imaging/Backup program here
Monitoring and Reporting - Big Brother, Tivoli, OpenView, SysTrack

That doesn't include things like inventory, virtualization (VMWare,
Softricity), solid-state storage, labor, etc or the network infrastructure
to support a MetaFrame farm (Web Servers, Secure Gateway, Expand, Packet
Shaping, etc)

So, my question is.  How has your organziation been able to reduce the costs
associated with running a farm?  To scale out, while reducing administrative
overhead?

Joe





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triCerat makes your job easier by offering essential
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and your application management problems.
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