Some might think it ironic that Windows terminals are dominating the thin-client market. After all, thin-client computing was frequently cited as an alternative to Microsoft's desktop dominance (see "For Client/Server, Think Thin," www.networkcomputing.com/1013/1013f1.html). However, with host access and Windows application compatibility must-haves on the desktop in today's enterprise application environment, the Windows terminal is a good fit for many sites trying to reduce desktop ownership costs while preserving a familiar application environment. Windows terminals have been on the scene for several years now, but the emergence of Windows CE as their OS of choice is a relatively recent development. When we evaluated the first crop of CE-based terminals last fall (see "Windows-Based Terminals: Construction in Progress," www.networkcomputing.com/920/920r1.html), we were impressed by their potential, but disappointed by their relatively weak management capabilities, which we consider essential for reducing cost of ownership. Network Computing Devices has responded with its ThinPath Manager software, a well-designed system that lets administrators easily deploy and manage numerous ThinStar Windows terminals.
In our Real-World Labs® at Syracuse University, I tested beta versions of NCD's ThinPath Manager, which runs on Windows NT, in conjunction with version 2.0 of the ThinStar OS, system software that runs under CE on NCD's ThinStar 200 and ThinStar 300 Windows terminals. I was impressed by the software's management capabilities; it let me change every CE system parameter short of IP address information from a central management console. I was managing a single device, but the product is designed to let managers easily define hierarchical groupings of configuration parameters, making it suitable for managing an enterprise rollout of thin clients. For example, you can define configuration profiles for different departments while maintaining distinct profiles for groups within a department. This is precisely the kind of tool enterprises need. On the whole, the product operated as outlined in the comprehensive documentation, though I tickled a bug during testing that resulted in a surprise reversion of our ThinStar 300 to factory default parameters.
When characterizing this emerging style of client/ server computing, it's important to recognize that thin is a relative term. Back in the early days of PCs, you could boot the OS and load system-related applications--including a menu system, terminal emulator and utilities--from one 1.2-MB floppy disk. That's very thin compared to today's desktops, where a single application can eat up hundreds of megabytes of storage. Today's Windows terminals store their OS and system software in flash memory. In addition to CE itself, you'll usually find Citrix ICA (Independent Computing Architecture) and Microsoft RDP (Remote Display Protocol) remote- presentation clients and terminal-emulation software. The ThinStar also includes a dialer application for accessing servers over PPP, an SNMP management agent and a Web server that allows terminal system parameters to be configured via the Web.
Versions of all this software must be controlled and updated in an orderly and efficient manner. And while many will be content with the default CE OS configuration, hundreds of parameters--from mouse-tracking speed to video resolution--are customizable.
There are different ways to control access to applications, but at a minimum you'll need to configure an initial server to which the user connects. ThinPath Manager gives you control over all this and more. If you want to disable users' ability to change display resolution and audio capabilities on a group of terminals, it lets you do so. If you have a set of terminals to which you want to add a new remote terminal application, ThinPath Manager lets you do that, too. If you need to upgrade the ICA client on a group of older terminals so that when the users log off their server, it automatically invokes a reboot and loads the new version, the product provides you with the tools.
Simple Touches
NCD has done a great job of management-interface design, giving thoughtful consideration to tiny details. For instance, temporary asterisks appear on dialog tabs after parameters have been altered but not yet saved, and managed devices are herded into a hierarchical directory of classes and subclasses, letting you establish basic parameters that apply to many devices while enabling a reasonable level of management granularity. Using ThinPath Manager, I easily controlled the versions of system software, specific device operating parameters and the menu of applications seen on the CE connection manager.
The ThinPath Manager interface is nicely designed with a tabbed-dialog-box look and feel that is similar to the configuration screens a user would see when pressing F2 on a CE-based Windows terminal. Using ThinPath Manager, I was able to logically disable the local configuration capability of a ThinStar 300 terminal and force a remote reboot, effectively disabling subsequent user access to local system parameters. I also disabled selected tabs of the local configuration screens. To minimize disruption, you can force the reboot only after all locally processing applications have terminated.
The ThinStar software includes an embedded Web server that lets you modify the configuration of any ThinStar terminal using a standard Web browser. I easily upgraded our ThinStar terminal to add support for Web management using ThinPath Manager. This Web-based management doesn't match the degree of automated control ThinStar Manager offers, but it is handy for everyday support of ThinStar terminals.
Dave Molta is editor at large for Network Computing. Send your comments on this article to him at dmolta@ nwc.com.
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