[THIN] Re: CE, Linux, or XPe
- From: "Michel Roth" <mrdizzz@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:38:19 +0200
Rusty,
Depending on your environment size, you should really take the time to look
at this. It all depends on the needs of your environment. Ask yourself
questions like:
- Do I need (extensive) peripheral support?
- Do you have scattered network (lots of sites)
- Do you need "good" video performance
Depending on how you answer these questions, you could have a look at all
kinds of Thin Client OSs. Here's some info on the different OSs:
- Linux: cheap and popular. One problem is that every vendor has a
different flavour of Linux which in turn makes it somewhat harder to gain
driver support. Ope
- WinCE: The big advantage is that you have "native" Windows support.
Any correctly written application should be able to be added to your WinCE
image. Typically this is not something you can do yourself but your vendor
does. Usually, WinCE comes out on top in terms of videoperformance compared
to Linux (on identical hardware)
- Windows XP Embedded: Well... what can I say. Driver support isn't
really an issue. You can add any driver you want to the system yourself.
Video performance on identical hardware is superior in XPe. However, in my
mind Xpe has little to do with traditional/pure SBC. What you basically are
doing is taking a Fat Client and putting it on lighter hardware where it's
even harder to manage. You for example still have to have a deployment
mechanism in place. Then there's the read/write decision's you have to make,
whether or not it should be in the domain, when to apply hotfixes to the
unit ...... all that stuff. Not the way to go as far as I'm concerned.
There's also another OS out there which isn't one of the above. It's the OS
Wyse uses. It's based on Unix. I think they call it ThinOS nowadays. It's a
really small OS (1,5 MB) and it's really fast, plus it has great video
performance. Of course, with a footprint and OS like that I can imagine that
driver support can be an issue, but if that's not an issue then you should
definitely try hem out. The S10 (which uses ThinOS) comes as cheap as $290.
As for management. I have kind of the same problem with this as I have with
XPe. What's to manage? Ideally, you want to take the unit out-of-the-box and
it should work. If you catch yourself moves Thin Clients around in OU's and
resetting computer accounts then you're doing this whole this wrong. A
management tool should allow you to configure the client (RDP ICA etc.),
configure some kind of protection (user/admin logon levels) all without
visiting them. Nothing more. I know that's a bit blunt but I hope you can
get a feel on the context.
Regards,
Michel Roth
www.thincomputing.net
On 8/17/06, Greg Reese <gareese@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
i have always preferred the Linux ones to the CE ones. I am not a huge
fan of CE. I have used both CE and Linux from Neoware. Been using them for
almost 5 years now. Their Linux units are great. Their CE offerings seems
comparable to other manufacturer's units from what I have seen. I have been
happy with Neoware. We currently have a problem with smart cards on their
units (both CE and Linux) but their support has been very responsive to help
us solve it. Thie management tools are great and in addition to being free,
they don't require a bunch of extra dedicated servers to run.
Greg
On 8/17/06, Rusty Yates <rusty27@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> We are looking to replace some of our older thin clients (Wyse 3125se)
> with either iGels, Neoware, or HP. If the brand isn't hard enough to decide
> between we aren't really sure wether to go with CE, Linux, or XPe. We have
> been using Windows CE Wyse terminals but aren't opposed to Linux or XPe if
> they offer more speed or are easier to manage.
>
> Let me know what your expierence has been or your thoughts.
>
> Thanks!
>
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