Why client-server must die

Old models of computing always tend to linger too long, but client-server was based on a fallacy — and needs to go away sooner rather than later

Source: www.infoworld.com

I write this week from IBM’s Insight conference in Las Vegas. A former InfoWorld editor in chief, Stewart Alsop, predicted that the last mainframe would be unplugged in 1996. This week I’ll attend a session where IBM runs Apache Spark on a mainframe, even as the mighty beast’s luster finally fades.


InfoWorld Mobile Security Deep DiveMobile security: The InfoWorld Deep DiveThis guide, available in both PDF and ePub editions, explains the security capabilities inherent toREAD NOWI’m going to the Spark-on-the-mainframe session for the lolz. IBM loves its mainframes because they sustain one of the few noncompetitive hardware businesses in existence, where IBM can make nearly a 50 percent margin.

The mainframe business is also one of the only legitimate areas of computing where you’ll see ©1980 on the startup screen. Client-server computing does not depend on specific hardware. Instead, it’s simply a computing model that has evolved under various hardware and network constraints.

I’m sure we — that is, me and the LinkedIn or Twitter spheres — can quibble over the definition of client-server versus the model I’ll call “purely distributed.” So allow me to define client-server as one or more clients connected to a server listening on a pool or set of sockets that mainly scales vertically and usually has a central data store. This is the model of the LAN.

I’ll define the distributed model as N-clients or peers connected to a mesh of N servers that mainly scale horizontally and use a data store or stores that also shard and distribute processing. This model is built to tolerate failure and demand spikes, enabling you to add more nodes (often linearly) and relocate infrastructure at will. This is the model of the cloud.

The power of this more distributed model goes beyond purely scaling up to include scaling down. This is important because of one of the implied fallacies of client-server was that workloads are predictable.

From the start this has failed to be true. In the distant past, I’ve administered systems that were rendered useless for all other purposes during EoM reporting, then saw only light use throughout the rest of the month. Ironically, this same fallacy is also why mainframe TPC studies are nonsense. Remember when Slashdot was your browser home page and mere mention of your site caused an outage due to a spike in traffic called the Slashdot effect?

The whole Internet is like that now.

Have you ever tried to set up a test database for a large, existing, Oracle-based project? You need to be able to scale up for unpredictable Internet-age data traffic and usage patterns, but you need to scale down to conserve resources (read: massive Amazon bill) and adapt nimbly (not to mention to test the project on your laptop).

Workloads keep getting more unpredictable and in many cases more voluminous. Moreover, our expectations have increased. Waiting isn’t really acceptable, and outages in the age of Google are considered major professional failures. Competition in many areas is fierce and global, while regulations have more bite (at least until President Trump takes office).

Our client-server systems won’t scale to real-time demands. They are not resilient and, in many cases, cloud-ready. Meanwhile, it has become much, much easier to write distributed systems. It takes no time to deploy a few MongoDB instances compared to Oracle or even SQL Server. Spark has a supersimple API. NodeJS lends itself nicely to writing event-driven resilient distributed systems; plus, they’re all easier to use than their predecessors.

Naysayers will point out that these new technologies have relatively small market penetration, but in truth, it’s growing. Some say a technology dies when its developers retire. You may have to pry Oracle out of those PL/SQL developers’ cold dead hands, but it will happen. Today, millennials tend to feel more comfortable with MongoDB than even MySQL.

The client-server era will die in the cloud. In 20 years, as I start to eye retirement, no new client server systems will be put into place for normal business use outside of very specialized areas. The new stuff is simply too much better. It doesn’t require a specific deployment model, it’s easier and cheaper, and it fits the expectations and use cases of the modem business world.

Will the last client-server system be unplugged in 20 years? No — some sectors of business aren’t growing very fast, are protected from competition, or aren’t facing new regulations, nor do they need to write or buy much new software. They’ll run what they have until the cows come home.

However, we as an industry don’t care too much about them because they don’t pay our bills. Instead, we hope they all get Ubered.

Thin Client Case Study – Brent & 10Zig

Brent Borough Council saw a 33% reduction in carbon emissions and energy consumption using 10ZiG Thin Clients

 “We were a traditional XP fat client estate and were experiencing problems with log-in times and maintenance of the PC’s across our sites. PC’s were generally taking between 20-30 minutes to log-on and even 45 minutes in some cases. When you added this time up over a week, month or year then it was a serious issue for the productivity of our workforce. We were also finding the PC’s challenging to support, particularly with implementing patches or providing general maintenance.


We have 2150 desktops spread across 50 sites, with the majority, 1650, housed at our Civic Centre. The other 500 are spread over the other 49 locations and we needed 4 vans and just shy of 70 support staff throughout the various IT scatter teams in order to keep the lights on.”

Thin Client – Central IT management made easy: The IGEL Management Interface

IGEL Thin ClientThe IGEL Management Interface (IMI) enables integration of the IGEL Universal Management Suite with existing enterprise management systems. In particular, companies with large or distributed client infrastructures benefit from being able to make their workflows even more efficient and further increase IT administration automation.

Reading, UK. October 7, 2015 – To accompany the launch of the new Universal Management Suite 5 (UMS 5), IGEL is introducing IMI, a pioneering solution that enables integrated endpoint management using an existing enterprise management system. Customers are able to administer all IGEL thin and zero clients within their IT infrastructure quickly and easily by means of existing systems, such as Microsoft SCCM or IBM Tivoli.

As well as offering enhanced ease of use, the IGEL Management Interface can also be used to implement new, customised workflows that have not previously been able to be mapped in the UMS console. As an API for REST-compatible programming languages, the IMI paves the way for integrating company-specific scripts or programs for administering IGEL clients. An IMI subscription license is required to use the IGEL Management Interface.

IMI is ideal for enterprise customers and larger companies with many branch offices. The solution is also suitable for system integrators and suppliers of Desktop and Client as a service (DaaS/Claas) solutions to multiple customers. Typical uses for the IGEL Management Interface include real-time information monitoring of equipment or for the compilation of important data and overviews in dashboards. In addition, it is also suitable to generate partially or fully automated workflows and to provide selected or reduced settings for administrators of sub-regions.

“For many years IGEL customers have used our UMS thin client management platform to manage Windows and Linux based thin clients at a deep granular level and yet provide Enterprise level, centralized control for zero touch rollouts, administration and updates,” said Simon Richards, IGEL Technology Managing Director for UK & Ireland. “However as the maturity of thin client technology has increased into Enterprise customers, there has been demand from larger organisations to integrate IGELs Universal Management Suite into their existing IT management framework platforms. This means that customers can use the best thin client management platform for thin devices and yet retain the technical skills and financial investment in their existing desktop management. With IGEL’s IMI we enable Connected Management.”

Licensing under a subscription model

IMI is based on a subscription model. An annual license is required to use the functions of the IGEL Management Interface together with the UMS. The license includes a software update service. Universal Management Suite 5.x is required for the additional functionality. When the annual license expires, IMI can continue to be used with the version last licensed.

Availability

The IGEL Management Interface is now available at a price of £7,450 plus value-added tax. The price includes the solution and an annual license. Annual renewal costs £2,499 plus value-added tax. IMI supports all IGEL Universal Desktop thin clients with a Linux or Windows Embedded operating system, IGEL zero clients and all terminal devices that have been standardized using the IGEL Universal Desktop Converter (UDC). The latest UMS 5 and IMI versions can be downloaded at www.myigel.biz.

About IGEL Technology

A world leader in thin and zero client solutions, IGEL Technology helps organizations improve the agility, efficiency, and security of their virtual desktop and application delivery systems. IGEL produces one of the industry’s widest range of hardware thin and zero clients, based on Linux and Microsoft Windows, and leads the market in software based thin clients allowing customers to access a broad spectrum of server-based infrastructures and applications. IGEL also offers powerful and intuitive management software for easy deployment and administration of thin clients throughout any size organization. Partnerships with industry leaders like Citrix, VMware, Red Hat, and Microsoft ensure that IGEL provides the most up-to-date technology and trustworthy security to clients in industries that include Healthcare, Education & Research, Public Sector, Financial, Insurance, Retail, Logistics, and Manufacturing. IGEL has offices in the United Kingdom, Australia, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, Germany, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore and is represented by partners in over 50 countries worldwide. To learn more, visit www.igel.co.uk or follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/IGEL_Technology

 Editorial Contacts:

Paul Smith

Tel: +44 (0)7770 828525

Email: [email protected]

 

Thin Client News – IGEL evolves Workspace Management with UMS 5

The fifth edition of the Universal Management Suite (UMS 5) makes remote management of IGEL clients more efficient and expands the standardized endpoint management system to include devices running Windows 7. This additional functionality (Unified Management Agent) will help IGEL enter the workspace management market above and beyond pure administration of IGEL hardware and software thin clients. In addition, customers can benefit from integrating the UMS into their existing enterprise management system with the new IGEL Management Interface.

 

Reading, UK. October 7, 2015 – With the new release of the Universal Management Suite 5 (UMS 5), IGEL is further reducing the cost and effort involved in endpoint management for customers and partners with two strategic innovations: The IGEL Unified Management Agent for Windows 7 and the IGEL Management Interface (IMI), which enables simple, optional integration of the UMS into an existing enterprise management system.

 

Administration of devices with Windows 7

The IGEL Unified Management Agent for Windows 7 enables devices with Windows Professional or Embedded Standard 7 installed to be remotely administered and securely centrally managed in the standardized UMS console, alongside thin and zero clients and PCs and notebooks with the IGEL Linux operating systems (software thin clients).

 

This new functionality is ideal for customers that want to continue to operate their PCs and notebooks with the Windows operating system but still want to benefit from the IGEL UMS central management capabilities. The Universal Management Agent for Windows 7 can be licensed and will be available in the fourth quarter of 2015.

 

The IGEL Management Interface (IMI)

Using the optional IGEL Management Interface (IMI), the UMS 5 can now provide integrated endpoint management under an existing enterprise management system. As a standardized REST API, the UMS 5 allows large organizations or those with distributed offices to administer all IGEL thin and zero clients within their IT infrastructure quickly and easily by means of existing systems, such as Microsoft SCCM or IBM Tivoli.

 

The IMI is also suitable for system integrators and suppliers of Client as a service (Claas) or Desktop as a service (Daas) solutions to multiple customers.

 

UMS5: Modern look and feel, and more performance

Customers using the latest UMS 5, which comes as standard with all IGEL client solutions, will notice the new look & feel with modern designed icons, quickly followed by the enhanced performance. Navigation is faster thanks to a tree structure: Terminal devices, profiles and other infrastructure detail now load in the user interface far more quickly. IGEL has also added two additional languages and keyboard layouts for Spanish and Italian.

 

Functional improvements for everyday work

The practical tools that make administrators’ work even easier include new comparison and import functions. With comparison, differences between two configuration profiles can be seen at a glance, allowing older configurations to be quickly brought up-to-date. The import functionality means the current configuration of an IGEL client installed in the field can be imported as a profile into the UMS, so that it can be easily assigned to other clients or a client group by drag & drop.

 

“Our customers have loved our UMS Suite for many years, this latest version enables new functionality to deliver strategic IT change to customers,” said Simon Richard, IGEL Technology Managing Director for the UK & Ireland.  “UMS 5 has benefits to existing customers who have migrated to thin client but with the addition of the IMI and Universal Management Agent, we can now deliver the management they love, to the desktops they were never able to convert to thin clients. For those organizations that have Windows 7 PC’s or other vendors thin clients running Windows, we can now deliver our management platform without them having to throw away the existing hardware.”

 

“When I look back at thin client management 15 years ago, it was departmental management that ruled the day and that was all that was needed. IGEL has been the leader in taking thin client management into the enterprise customer for many years and with UMS 5, we are able to deliver increased value, functionality and flexibility to our existing customers and deliver a migration path for those organizations using competitor products.”

 

Price and availability

The new IGEL Universal Management Suite 5 (UMS 5) will ship with all IGEL thin and zero clients, as well as the thin client software IGEL Universal Desktop Converter 2 (UDC2) from October 14th 2015.

 

The IGEL Universal Management Agent will be available at the end of the month at a price of £30+vat per device including the 1st year’s maintenance and annual maintenance renewal at £14+vat.

 

About IGEL Technology

A world leader in thin and zero client solutions, IGEL Technology helps organizations improve the agility, efficiency, and security of their virtual desktop and application delivery systems. IGEL produces one of the industry’s widest range of hardware thin and zero clients, based on Linux and Microsoft Windows, and leads the market in software based thin clients allowing customers to access a broad spectrum of server-based infrastructures and applications. IGEL also offers powerful and intuitive management software for easy deployment and administration of thin clients throughout any size organization. Partnerships with industry leaders like Citrix, VMware, Red Hat, and Microsoft ensure that IGEL provides the most up-to-date technology and trustworthy security to clients in industries that include Healthcare, Education & Research, Public Sector, Financial, Insurance, Retail, Logistics, and Manufacturing. IGEL has offices in the United Kingdom, Australia, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, Germany, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore and is represented by partners in over 50 countries worldwide. To learn more, visit www.igel.co.uk or follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/IGEL_Technology

 

Editorial Contacts:

Paul Smith

Tel: +44 (0)7770 828525

Email: [email protected]

 

Energy Audit from IGEL

By the end of the year approximately 92,000 companies have to carry igelout an energy audit in Germany, so it wants the Energy Services Act. But where and how can we effectively save electricity? Often take a look at the work-IT, the centralized and with thin clients much more energy efficient and ecological can operate.

Bremen September 28, 2015 – The countdown has begun! Until December 5 companies from 250 employees or more than 50 million euros in sales and more than EUR 43 million annual balance sheet total must check their energy consumption by means of energy audit. Qualified actual analysis aimed at planning of appropriate conservation measures. Away from the traditional areas such as building insulation or lighting but often dormant while undiscovered potential in the form of power-intensive workstation PCs that are functionally no longer necessary for a modern IT operations. With a centralized IT and thin clients on the desks of the energy consumption is reduced, depending on the application scenario to 61-77 percent. If parts of the IT outsourced to an external service, the ecological balance improves further. Thanks to the simpler manageability of thin clients provides the energy audit at the same time the chance to simplify IT management.

Regardless of whether the energy audit has already taken place or is still pending, many companies have already begun to measure IT-related energy and resource consumption and lower. In general, however, these efforts are focused solely on the data center. The computer workstation often remains unnoticed. It has been a study of the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT 2011 * shown that an infrastructure of thin clients and virtual desktops reduces power consumption sustainable. Depending on the application scenario and user type drop energy consumption and electricity costs for terminal and data center cooling portion including opposite a functionally comparable, energy-efficient PC to 61-77 percent. If a thin client used solely for internet access in the context of cloud computing, the savings even reached a value of 88 percent.

Further savings can also obtain the universal remote administration of thin clients. While PCs because of the long start-up times often do not shut down after work and so through the night and on weekends, thin clients are put into practice automatically over the network in the sleep mode and then take only about 1 watt of power. In addition, can also make maintenance and support drives superfluous remote management solutions such as the IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS). If, contrary to expectations, a thin client, simply close the site staff themselves a replacement unit to which configures itself within a few minutes automatically over the network. The management software UMS is included with every IGEL thin client and zero client solutions.

Outsourcing with client as a Service (CLAAS)

A comprehensive remote management also forms the basis for a special type of thin client usage. Make client as a Service offerings from the office computer, a service within the meaning of a well-scalable service. As part of a CLAAS agreement represents the provider’s customers for a monthly fee a complete Workplace available – including Thin, Zero or software thin clients and device management. This only falls the power consumption for the thin client hardware into their own energy balance. Further advantages over the internal operation are the high cost transparency, resulting from the conversion of to be activated acquisition costs in monthly.

 

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

der Countdown läuft! Bis zum 5. Dezember müssen Unternehmen ab 250 Mitarbeitern oder mehr als 50 Millionen Euro Umsatz und mehr als 43 Millionen Euro Jahresbilanzsumme ihren Energieverbrauch mittels Energieauditüberprüfen. Die qualifizierte Ist-Analyse zielt auf die Planung entsprechender Einsparmaßnahmen ab. Abseits der klassischen Bereiche wie Gebäudedämmung oder Beleuchtung schlummert dabei jedoch nicht selten unentdecktes Potential in Form von verbrauchsintensiven Arbeitsplatz-PCs,die für einen modernen IT-Betrieb funktionell gar nicht mehr nötig sind.

Mit einer zentralisierten IT und Thin Clients auf den Schreibtischen sinkt der Energieverbrauch je nach Einsatzszenario um 61 bis 77 Prozent. Werden Teile der IT im Rahmen eines Client as a Service-Angebotes (ClaaS) an einen externen Dienstleister ausgelagert, verbessert sich die Ökobilanz weiter. Dank der einfacheren Verwaltbarkeit von Thin Clients bietet das Energieaudit gleichzeitig die Chance, auch das IT-Management zu vereinfachen.

Weitere Informationen entnehmen Sie bitte der beigefügten Pressemitteilung.

 

VMworld – NVIDIA GRID 2.0 Comes To Dell Blade Platform With Amulet

Amulet Hotkey announced today the launch of the world’s first NVIDIA GRID™ vGPU™ capable Dell Blade, allowing enterprises to experience the full benefit of remote access to rich graphics applications using VMware Horizon 6 and vSphere® 6 with the new NVIDIA GRID 2.0.

NVIDIA GRID 2.0 Comes To Dell Blade Platform With Amulet Hotkey’s Dell M630 Blade Based DXM-M6 vGPU Blade

Enterprises Can Now Deploy Scalable, Graphics-Accelerated Virtualized Workflows Using GRID 2.0 on Amulet Hotkey OEM-Customized Dell Blade Platform

SAN FRANCISCO – Aug 31, 2015 – VMworld 2015 – Amulet Hotkey announced today the launch of the world’s first NVIDIA GRID™ vGPU™ capable Dell Blade, allowing enterprises to experience the full benefit of remote access to rich graphics applications using VMware Horizon 6 and vSphere® 6 with the new NVIDIA GRID 2.0.

The new platform will be generally available in late October with evaluation units available immediately.

Early customer feedback has shown that NVIDIA GRID vGPU with VMware Horizon 6, built on vSphere, enhances desktop virtualization with immersive graphics, greater security for mission-critical data, scalable performance and cost-effectiveness.

Among the benefits of enterprise graphics virtualization with VMware Horizon 6 and vSphere:

  • Ability for enterprises to virtualize workflows for designers, architects and engineers to run the most advanced, graphics-rich applications from anywhere on any device with the new NVIDIA GRID 2.0 solution.
  • Flexibility for IT departments to support as many as 16 users on GPU-powered applications on a single industry-leading blade server.
  • Cost-effective virtualized graphics for workers who don’t require maximum GPU performance but whose applications benefit from GPU acceleration.
  • Support for end users to run immersive, graphics-rich Windows 2D, 3D and media-rich graphics applications on essentially any device through the use of VMware Horizon 6. This brings workstation-class performance to remote and mobile workers, even over high-latency networks.

“The lack of rich 3D graphics on virtual desktops was a barrier to some organizations as the user experience was less than satisfactory. NVIDIA GRID 2.0 removes this barrier and effectively enables IT managers to virtualize a whole new class of users,” said Phil Blades, Chief Marketing Officer at Amulet Hotkey. “NVIDIA GRID 2.0 with VMware Horizon and vSphere allows the market to expand for virtualization and accelerate enterprise adoption of desktop virtualization in 2015.”

“Enterprise virtualization is transforming traditional enterprise desktops and applications, and our collaboration with Amulet Hotkey extends the transformation to high-end workstations and applications so organizations can benefit from the mobile cloud era,” said Joyce Mullen, VP/General Manager GLOBAL OEM Solutions at Dell. “Specialized industries such as design agencies, automotive companies and architecture firms will be able to embrace business mobility to help retain talent, control costs and compete in the 21st century.”

“By bringing a great computing experience to users, NVIDIA and Amulet Hotkey are expanding the possibilities for enterprise-wide workflow virtualization,” said Andrew Cresci, General Manager of the NVIDIA GRID business at NVIDIA. “NVIDIA GRID 2.0 delivers the best graphics performance to an industry leading virtualization platform on the Amulet Hotkey M630 DXM-M6 blade server.”

Wide Benefit for Enterprises

These new graphics virtualization capabilities are expected to have widespread impact.

NVIDIA is the world leader in visual computing, with more than 12 million professional users and 300 professional applications certified and accelerated by NVIDIA GPUs. NVIDIA GRID 2.0-based blade servers are sold and supported by Dell through its OEM partnership with Amulet Hotkey. Amulet Hotkey is the world’s largest custom engineering partner for the Dell blade platform. VMware is the leader in virtualization, with more than 500,000 customers worldwide.

Amulet Hotkey’s early access program included a range of enterprise and public-sector customers. Among them are a law enforcement agency, a defense and aerospace systems provider, a global banking firm and an oilfield services company.

Positive Customer Reaction

“Our testing shows the Amulet Hotkey Dell PowerEdge M630 blade fitted with the DXM-M6 NVIDIA GRID 2.0 and VMware Horizon View on vSphere has been incredibly positive “said Ron Nash, CEO of Pivot3. “By layering our software onto Amulet Hotkey’s blade-based solutions, we are able to bring mission critical virtualized graphics to a scale-up-scale-out platform that can support many types of powers users from a single unified platform.”

Customer Quoted, PIVOT3, Austin, Texas

www.pivot3.com

Demonstration and hardware hands on

Visitors attending VMworld USA (Moscone Center, San Francisco, Aug 30 – Sep 3) can visit Booth #2434 to see the new NVIDIA GRID 2.0 blade and vGPU capabilities and use cases. The Amulet Hotkey technical and leadership team will be delighted to see you.

Technology Brief

The Dell M630 blade is the 13th generation of the Dell blade platform and offers dual processor servers with Intel’s latest generation of Xeon processors and up to 768GB of DDR4 memory. The Dell M1000e blade chassis can accommodate 16 M630 blades in 10u of rack space. Theoretical maximum density for the M630 combined with the Amulet Hotkey DMX-M6 (powered by GRID 2.0) indicates that a single M1000e chassis can accommodate 256 graphics users in a virtualised environment (VDI). This means that one rack could accommodate 1,024 vGPU graphics users and we believe this is an industry leading combination.

To Keep Current on Amulet Hotkey CoreStation™ Solutions and PCoIP Blade technology:

About Amulet Hotkey

Amulet Hotkey’s proven architecture provides remote blade workstation solutions to tens of thousands of high end and power users worldwide, be they multiple screen trading positions, command and control systems or specialist defense applications. With the introduction of our VDI Accelerated blade family they now offer this scalable architecture to meet the needs of enterprise graphics professionals and demanding enterprise graphics virtualization.

Our expertise allows enterprises to simplify and secure the desktop environment without compromise, moving desktop workstations to the data centre or cloud environment. Using our own Zero Client, PCoIP Hosts, and Blade Workstations, we dramatically reduce desktop power consumption and heat generation, minimizing cabling and clutter. In the data centre our solutions maximize space and facilitate central management of desktops, operating systems, policies and security.

Amulet Hotkey actively partners with many leading manufacturers of data centre, cloud and virtualization technologies, and is instrumental in helping them bring to market solutions for VDI, virtualization, GPU offload and PCoIP integration and acceleration. More information at http://www.amulethotkey.com/vGPU

 

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HP Thin Client News – HP Introduces World’s Thinnest, Lightest & Most Powerful Quad-Core Mobile Thin Client

Hp Thin Client MT42

Click to expand to full image

Summary:  HP today announced the HP thin client mt42, the world’s thinnest, lightest and most powerful quad-core mobile thin client.

The HP mt42 is ideal for business customers in the financial, healthcare, training, services and government sectors looking for a reliable and secure mobile-cloud access point that’s packed to perform and built for virtualized environments.

The mt42 comes in at just 3.41 pounds and 74 inches thin but can run up to 3.0 GHz fast with AMD quad-core processing technology.

Palo Alto, Calif., Aug. 27, 2015 – HP today announced the HP mt42, the world’s thinnest, lightest and most powerful quad-core mobile thin client. At just 3.41 pounds light, .74 inches thin and up to 3.0 GHz fast with AMD quad-core processing technology – the HP mt42 offers 10 percent higher clock speed2 power than the previous generation.

The HP mt42 is ideal for business customers in the financial, healthcare, training, services and government sectors looking for a reliable and secure mobile-cloud access point that’s packed to perform and built for virtualized environments.

“The business world is moving to the cloud more and more, creating a demand for mobile-cloud endpoints that allow users to stay productive and secure on the go,” said Jim Zafarana, vice president and general manager, Workstations and Thin Clients, HP. “The HP mt42 gives our customers that exact kind of power and flexibility, while allowing for streamlined deployments with our HP-exclusive management software.”

Over the past few years, thin client sales have risen as market needs like BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), security and compatibility drive demand for alternative computing options. HP was named the global thin client share leader for the second quarter of 2015 with 27.6 percent, and has maintained the #1 worldwide market leadership position for Windows-based thin client shipments for the last seven years. Companies are grappling with issues like global collaboration, privacy regulations and cost control, and the HP mt42 has the technology that can bring it all together seamlessly.

End-users and admins alike can now access the cloud and their virtual desktops on the move with the latest Windows 10 IoT Enterprise for Thin Clients on a stylish and fully-loaded design without the bulk.

The HP mt42’s new ultra-sleek ID features a 14-inch diagonal full HD5 HP Mobile Thin Client display resolution of 1920 x 1080, plus a USB-CTM port and 150 degree extra-wide hinge range for extensive viewing options. The new 2015 HP-advanced spill-resistant keyboard and touchpad with 4 external click-buttons complete the premium design.

Next-generation AMD Carrizo Quad-Core processing technology, and AMD RadeonTM R6 Graphics make the HP mt42 a productivity powerhouse.6 HP-exclusive management and user experience software, like HP Device Manager, HP Velocity, and HP Easy Shell standard at no additional cost, and make it easy to deploy, manage and maintain install bases in just a few clicks.

The HP mt42 will be available with Windows Embedded 7E (32-bit) and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise for Thin Clients. In addition to the HP mt42, HP plans for Windows 10 IoT availability on the HP t620, HP t620 PLUS and HP t520 Thin Clients.

HP Thin Clients offer customers a tremendous amount of variety with a large portfolio of hardware, software and services – and a strong collaboration with our trusted partners, like VMware®, Citrix®, and Microsoft®. HP plans to unveil the HP mt42 at VMworld’s 2015 “Ready for Any” conference in San Francisco, CA.

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. With the broadest technology portfolio spanning printing, personal systems, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP delivers solutions for customers’ most complex challenges in every region of the world. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

HP mt42 release_8.27.15

Writeup and Thin Client Review on Betanews

10ZiG Technology Partners with AMD, Launching Industry Leading Thin Client Computer at VMworld 2015

10Zig Thin Client

Click to expand to full size

VMworld 2015 attendees will have good reason to be excited this year when visiting the 10ZiG Technology booth with the introduction of the industry leading 7800q Thin Client.

10ZiG Technology Partners with AMD, Launching Industry Leading Thin Client Computer at VMworld 2015 

10ZiG Technology introduces the all-new, 7800q Series Quad Core Thin Client Computer; available to demo at VMworld 2015, booth #2609, in San Francisco August 30 – September 3.

Leicester, UK – VMworld 2015 attendees will have good reason to be excited this year when visiting the 10ZiG Technology booth with the introduction of the industry leading 7800q Thin Client.

Featuring a lightning fast AMD Steppe Eagle 424 Quad Core 2.4 GHz processor, configurable to 8GB DDR3-1866MHz RAM, optional Quad Video Output and an integrated Smart Card reader, 10ZiG’s new 7800q Series Thin Client computer is poised to redefine the market.

The new 10ZiG 7800q Series is designed to meet the increasing demand within the VDI market to support power users who rely heavily on CAD, 3D graphic design and imaging programs within sectors such as Healthcare, Government and Manufacturing. Such power users also require ultra-high resolution (UHD) support in addition to speed and performance, all of which the 10ZiG 7800q delivers.

Engineered with such users in mind, the new 10ZiG 7800q Series packs a punch and has all the horsepower required to support the latest VDI solutions including VMware Horizon and Citrix XenDesktop, XenApp, while paired with Server based GPU technology such as NVIDIA GRID. This combined technology is able to match full-size dedicated workstations in terms of performance, while maintaining the many virtues of a Thin Client. 10ZiG’s 7800q also features as standard 2x Display Port connectors for supporting ultra-high resolution monitors, including 2560×1600 and 3840×2160 (4K).

To complement the cutting edge hardware performance of the 7800q, 10ZiG will be offering this unit with a variety of customizable Operating Systems including their own PEAKos (Linux), Windows Embedded 7 or 8 and the recently released Microsoft Windows 10 IoT product.

“Through working with users and partners and identifying changes in the types of users and sectors who are now being considered for VDI, we’re recognizing more and more users require higher resolution displays to carry out their work,” says Andy Martin, General Manager, 10ZiG Technology.

“It’s still a common misbelief that Thin Clients provide the same performance to its user regardless of specification, as it’s the server side components of VDI which perform the grunt of the work. However, an increase in users requiring 2560×1600 and even 3840×2160 (4K) resolution support, places a much greater demand on the Thin Client processor. The Thin Client processor is ultimately responsible for decoding this display information in addition to its other tasks. This local processing demand increases with additional resolution and also where screen content changes regularly, such as in multimedia/3D and Imaging use cases. Supplying a Thin Client with the necessary local processing power is essential to the combined success of a VDI deployment,” stated Robert Fitzer, Head of Research and Development, 10ZiG Technology.

“10ZiG Technology looked to AMD to supply the necessary processing power to match these high-end customer demands, therefore we are extremely excited to partner with AMD to be first to market in introducing a Thin Client with features that open up an entirely new market to Thin Client computing which was only previously serviceable by full size PC’s,” confirmed Robert Fitzer.

“The technology partnership with 10ZiG is a prime example of our thin client strategy. It’s a case in point of how we’re working with our customers to push the boundaries of end-user computing within the VDI embedded marketplace,” said Ralph Gonzalez, senior marketing manager, AMD Embedded Solutions. “As Thin Client technology advances, the benefits of switching from standard PCs to Thin Clients will become increasingly more apparent. With this device users get performance and a full range of functionality, powered by the AMD G-Series Embedded SoC.”

The news of 10ZiG’s new 7800q Series comes on the heels of their recent announcement of their powerful, new web-based Centralized Utility Management software which will also be on display at VMworld 2015.

About 10ZiG Technology

10ZiG Thin Clients and Zero Clients are optimized for desktop virtualization and offer the latest VDI brokers preinstalled, with support for PCoIP, HDX, and RDP protocols to name a few. Combining the best available security, high performance and flexibility, 10ZiG devices offer the complete desktop experience. 10ZiG’s goal is to take the complexity out of Desktop Virtualization by providing Thin Clients and Zero Clients with components that simplify implementation, improve management and enhance the user experience. 10ZiG Thin Clients and Zero Clients are available in a wide-range of hardware options including wireless devices, All-In-Ones and small form factor logic units. Thin Client OS options encompass PEAKos (Linux), Windows Embedded 7 or 8.

Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, with US based Sales and Technical Support, 10ZiG also has offices in Europe and Asia Pacific; affording it a worldwide reach in the Thin and Zero Client marketplace.

To learn more about the cutting edge 10ZiG 7800q Thin Client, or any of 10ZiG’s VDI solutions, please contact: 10ZiG Technology at: Unit S2, Troon Way Business Centre, Humberstone Lane, Leicester, LE4 9HA, United Kingdom, phone: +44 (0116) 2148650

email: [email protected] or web: www.10ZiG.com.

 

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10ZiG Technology’s New Web-Based Centralized Management Utility

10ZiG Web Manager Console

Click to expand the image

Known for their speed to market and unparalleled customer and technical service, 10ZiG Technology is making a splash at this year’s VMworld with the introduction of new thin client products and a more user friendly management utility software.

10ZiG Technology’s New Centralized Management Utility Now Web-Based; Powerful Features

10ZiG Technology to introduce a new, powerful web-based centralized management utility at VMworld 2015, booth #2609, in San Francisco, California, August 30, – September 3.

Leicester, UK – Known for their speed to market and unparalleled customer and technical service, 10ZiG Technology is making a splash at this year’s VMworld with the introduction of new thin client products and a more user friendly management utility software.

The new ‘10ZiG Manager Web Console’ software comes stacked with dozens of new features. 10ZiG’s new software utility empowers Administrators to manage their Thin Client environments using devices with a supported Web Browser (Google Chrome/Mozilla Firefox/Internet Explorer) and free them from the inconvenience of having to rely on connecting via traditional PC-based Consoles.

New and existing administrators will immediately feel at ease with the familiar user interface and responsive design that their existing 10ZiG Manager PC-based console is well known for. The 10ZiG Manager Web Console enables administrators to organize and manage multiple Thin Client Groups, for executing tasks such as Auto Configuration, Power On, Shut Down, Reboot, in addition to shadowing Thin Clients all from within an existing browser session.

Performance and security are a top priority in every 10ZiG product. The new 10ZiG Manager Web Console features a completely secure HTTPS login system which verifies user name and passwords against local active directory as well as a smart logout system which warns users and asks to continue their session. A few of the new security enhancements are a lockout timer for failed login attempts, IP address lockout, and bot and brute force attack protections.

Those seeking a comprehensive solution which offers complete remote control over multiple thin clients will appreciate 10ZiG’s new admin features. The new software allows for minimal touch device deployment using automatic configuration groups to remotely connect to any thin client on the network. Top level users will have the ability to edit individual configurations and generate comprehensive reports for each thin client.

“10ZiG analyzed the pain points of Administrators, who we see are becoming increasingly mobile and remote from their traditional workstations. We believe the inclusion of web-based access into our 10ZiG Manager Enterprise FREE software is another milestone in simplifying an Administrator’s role in centrally managing their Thin Client environment. This affords even greater versatility when managing 10ZiG devices from remote and mobile locations, in addition to traditional workstations,” stated 10ZiG’s Head of Research & Development, Robert Fitzer. 

About 10ZiG Technology
10ZiG Thin Clients and Zero Clients are optimized for desktop virtualization and offer the latest VDI brokers preinstalled, with support for PCoIP, HDX, and RDP protocols to name a few. Combining the best available security, high performance and flexibility, 10ZiG devices offer the complete desktop experience. 10ZiG’s goal is to take the complexity out of Desktop Virtualization by providing Thin Clients and Zero Clients with components that simplify implementation, improve management and enhance the user experience. 10ZiG Thin Clients and Zero Clients are available in a wide-range of hardware options including wireless devices, All-In-Ones and small form factor logic units. OS options include PEAKos (Linux), Windows Embedded 7 or Windows Embedded 8. The 10ZiG product range is underpinned by the most personal Sales and Support service on the market, and 10ZiG are willing to put it to the test through their no-obligation, no-hassle, flexible 30 day evaluation offer. 

To learn more about the 10ZiG Manager Web Console, or any of 10ZiG’s Thin or Zero Client solutions, please contact the relevant office below:

10ZiG Technology Ltd. (EU Headquarters, UK)
+44 (0) 116 214 8660
sales(at)10zig(dot)eu
www.10zig.com
@10zigemea

10ZiG Technology Inc. (Corporate Headquarters, US)
1 (866)-865-5250
sales(at)10zig(dot)com
www.10zig.com
@10zigtechnology

Microsoft Is Working with the Canonical Linux Container Hypervisor Project

ContainerCon and OpenStack Day will both take place in Microsoft’s backyard and virtualization guru Ben Armstrong will outline Redmond’s support of the Canonical-backed LXD project and OpenStack.

Source: redmondmag.com

As reported Wednesday by open source expert Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, Microsoft and Canonical, the parent company that distributes Ubuntu Linux, are working together on LXD, a project to develop Linux container hypervisors. As part of the project, Canonical last year revealed the specs for Linux Containers, or LXC, which is a new stratum on top of LXC that endows the advantages of a traditional hypervisor into the faster, more efficient world of containers,” noted Dustin Kirkland, a member of Ubuntu’s product and strategy team, in a blog post yesterday.  “Hosts running LXD are handily federated into clusters of container hypervisors, and can work as Nova Compute nodes in OpenStack, for example, delivering Infrastructure-as-a-Service cloud technology at lower costs and greater speeds.”


Microsoft of course has openly embraced Linux containers with its collaboration with Docker, where the two are among others working on the Open Container Initiative, so the collaboration on LXC and Canonical appears to be a natural evolution of that work. In a quote shared in Kirkland’s post, Microsoft’s Armstrong, whose actual title is principal program manager lead at Microsoft on the core virtualization and container technologies, said that “Canonical’s LXD project is providing a new way for people to look at and interact with container technologies. Utilizing ‘system containers’ to bring the advantages of container technology to the core of your cloud infrastructure is a great concept. We are looking forward to seeing the results of our engagement with Canonical in this space.”

VXL announces Windows 10 IoT Enterprise OS toThin Client computing hardware line-up

VXL announces new Windows 10 IoT Enterprise OS as part of its leading Thin Client computing hardware line-up

Manchester, UK – 19/08/15 – VXL Instruments Ltd, worldwide manufacturer of cloud, thin and zero client devices, announces its new desktop devices featuring the very latest Windows Embedded 10 IoT Enterprise operating system.

VXL’s Windows 10 IoT Cloud Clients are designed to provide Knowledge and Power users with an exceptional user experience together with excellent security and compatibility with leading industry desktop virtualisation solutions including the latest Windows Server, VMware Horizon View and Citrix protocols.

VXL’s first models to feature the new Windows 10 IoT Enterprise will be the high performance LQ / LQ+ and IQ-B series and will be available from mid-September 2015. Both models feature the following class-leading specification;

VXL Itona LQ / LQ+ Series Cloud Clients

  • AMD Kabini A4-5000 Quad Core for rich multimedia and graphics
  • Built-in AMD Radeon HD 8330 graphics processor
  • Standard Flash / RAM: 16GB (up to 32GB) / 4GB (up to 8GB)
  • Four USB 2.0 ports (2 Front / 2 Rear), Two SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports (Rear)
  • 1 x HDMI Port, 1 x Display Port, 1 x VGA Port and 1 x Serial Port
  • LQ+ series features PCIe slot

VXL Itona IQ-B Series Cloud Clients

  • Intel Baytrail-d Celeron J1900 Quad Core for rich multimedia and graphics
  • Turbo Boost up to 2.41 GHz
  • Standard Flash / RAM: 16GB (up to 32GB) / 4GB (up to 8GB)
  • Six USB 2.0 ports (2 Front / 4 Rear), One SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port (Rear)
  • 1 x HDMI Port, 1 x VGA Port and 1 x Serial Port

Frank Noon, VP Sales commented, “the current question as to when and how to manage a migration to Windows 10 is very much at the fore front of our customers’ minds. “The addition of our new cloud clients based on the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise takes the performance of our desktops to new levels and demonstrates our continuing innovation in addressing the embedded market.”

“VXL is an important partner in the IoT devices to market” said Mauro Favero, Sr. Regional Director APAC, of Microsoft’s IoT Device Experience group. “With VXL’s launch of thin clients based on Windows 10 IoT they continue to pioneer great platform and services solutions that bring customers value”

VXL’s new Windows 10 IoT Enterprise OS Cloud Clients, LQ/LQ+ and IQ-B series, will also be available with the latest Fusion UDM (Universal Device Manager) Professional solution. Fusion UDM Professional eases the transition to your new virtualised environment by providing a universal management console for all your thin clients, PC’s, tablets and POSReady devices running Windows and Windows Embedded operating systems.

Please contact Ian Cope, Marketing Manager at [email protected] or visit www.vxl.net

About VXL

Established in 1976, VXL is a global leader and manufacturer of thin, zero and cloud client devices and supplies a high quality range of high-specification models that are made to the most exacting standards. This single-minded focus on thin clients and commitment to product quality is at the core of what VXL represents today together with a passion to support companies around the world to successfully build efficient IT infrastructures that are flexible, secure, manageable and affordable.

VXL’s world-renowned ‘Itona’ brand of thin clients continues to go from strength to strength and includes its latest SoC (System-on-Chip) and dual / quad core high-performance desktops plus Xtona (Citrix certified) and Vtona (PCoIP VMware certified) zero clients, Lenovo Thin ThinkPad notebooks and leading software solutions including Fusion UDM (Universal Device Manager) Professional and VXL CloudDesktop™ repurposing software.

VXL’s corporate HQ and manufacturing is based in Bangalore, India’s ‘Silicon Valley’, with the Americas Group HQ based in Houston, Texas and the European HQ in Manchester, UK. Dedicated Sales and Support offices are also based in key strategic markets including Germany, France and Singapore.

VMware and VMware Horizon View are registered trademarks or trademarks (The “Marks”) of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries / jurisdictions. Citrix, Citrix Ready, HDX, XenApp and XenDesktop are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and / or one or more of its subsidiaries in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Microsoft is a registered trademark or trademarks (The “Marks”) of Microsoft, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries / jurisdictions.

 

Company: VXL

Release summary: VXL Instruments ltd, worldwide manufacturer of cloud, thin and zero client devices, announces its new desktop devices featuring the very latest Windows Embedded 10 IoT Enterprise operating system.

Relevance feedback: Send me More releases like this | Less releases like this

Date of issue: 19th August, 2015

Contact: Ian Cope, VXL Instruments, +44 (0)161 775 4755, [email protected]

URL: View press release

Image: LQ / LQ+ Quad Core Cloud Client (197 Kb)

Image: VXL IQ-B Series Cloud Client (67 Kb)

Image: Frank Noon, VP Worldwide Sales (166 Kb)

PDF: VXL Product Guide (3.91 Mb)

Related link: VXL Product Overview

RSS feed: View RSS feed

VXL Cloud, Thin and Zero Clients now available with unrestricted access to Microsoft Office 365 Business Essentials

Following the latest changes to Microsoft’s licensing guidelines, unrestricted access to Microsoft Office 365 Business Essentials is now available for all users of VXL Cloud, Thin and Zero clients.

With no installation work necessary, users can simply access Microsoft Office 365 in the cloud by accessing Internet Explorer or Firefox browser which are embedded in VXL’s respective Windows and Linux Cloud, Thin and Zero Clients

Commenting on the announcement, Frank Noon, VP Worldwide Sales added, “Not only does this represent a significant benefit to end users, it also provides our distribution network with an excellent added-value customer opportunity”. “SMB customers in particular will now also benefit from having access to Microsoft’s leading business applications via the browser”.

Delivering users a comprehensive suite of applications including online versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Microsoft Office 365 Business Essentials is available via all VXL Cloud, Thin and Zero desktop devices with embedded Linux and Windows Embedded operating systems.

Furthermore, Microsoft Office 365 also incorporates a mail function on the Exchange Server level including a calendar, contact management system and 50 GB of storage space for the mailbox and also includes an application for online meetings with Skype for Business.

For Virtual Desktop Infrastructures (VDI), Office 365 Business Plan is available as an alternative. While also using the online versions, this package includes the possibility of installing Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher and OneNote within the VDI.

VXL’s latest desktop devices are also available with Fusion UDM (Universal Device Manager) Professional providing a universal management console for all your thin clients, PC’s, tablets and POSReady devices running Microsoft Windows, Windows Embedded and VXL Linux operating systems.

For further information, please contact Ian Cope, Marketing Manager at [email protected] or visitwww.vxl.net

About VXL

Established in 1976, VXL is a global leader and manufacturer of thin, zero and cloud client devices and supplies a high quality range of high-specification models that are made to the most exacting standards. This single-minded focus on thin clients and commitment to product quality is at the core of what VXL represents today together with a passion to support companies around the world to successfully build efficient IT infrastructures that are flexible, secure, manageable and affordable.

VXL’s world-renowned ‘Itona’ brand of thin clients continues to go from strength to strength and includes its latest SoC (System-on-Chip) and dual / quad core high-performance desktops plus Xtona (Citrix certified) and Vtona (PCoIP VMware certified) zero clients, Lenovo Thin ThinkPad notebooks and leading software solutions including Fusion UDM (Universal Device Manager) Professional and VXL CloudDesktop™ repurposing software.

VXL’s corporate HQ and manufacturing is based in Bangalore, India’s ‘Silicon Valley’, with the Americas Group HQ based in Houston, Texas and the European HQ in Manchester, UK. Dedicated Sales and Support offices are also based in key strategic markets including Germany, France and Singapore. 

VMware and VMware Horizon View are registered trademarks or trademarks (The “Marks”) of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries / jurisdictions. Citrix, Citrix Ready, HDX, XenApp and XenDesktop are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and / or one or more of its subsidiaries in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Microsoft is a registered trademark or trademarks (The “Marks”) of Microsoft, Inc.in the United States and/or other countries / jurisdictions.

 

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