Thin Client Migration |  |
This short article sets out a migration methodology to realise the lower TCO of thin-clients while still realising the ROI on existing hardware. One common reason for using thin-clients is the cost of ownership is much lower and thus offers a initial impetus for companies to make the change and "go-thin". A study conducted by Bloor Research (see links) shows that “Deploying thin client technology across enterprises can cut costs by up to 70%” another study by Gartner, “Thin-Client vs. Fat-Client TCO” concluded that "Thin client deployment also offers a quick return on investment (ROI) with a payback period of three months for thin clients." Although Thin Client technologies offer many more benefits than TCO savings often the lower TCO which offers initial impetus to “go-thin” However, a major impediment to the financial reasons based on TCO is early depreciation on existing hardware.
Using your Fat Client as a Thin Client. Although some of the advantages for using a thin client are based on using dedicated thin-client terminals many of the advantages can be realised, at least during a migration period without dedicated terminal hardware. Almost all existing PC's with a network card capable of network boot (PXE Boot) can be configured to act as thin clients. Although visually not so appealing as a sleek dedicated thin client this offers a very cheap migration route onto a Thin-Client path which allows many of the advantages whilst allowing further benefits to be gained incrementally. By far the biggest benefit in using existing legacy PC's is reduced CAPEX and the ability to jump-start onto the thin-client technologies with the lowest initial investment. This is not however a recommendation to run thin-clients indefinitely on legacy hardware but a migration path which will allow you to make the change with the least investment up front. Here we will examine the “Thin Client Advantages” from our partner, 2X in terms of using existing end of line PC's. | Worldwide access to work files and enterprise applications - Thin client computing enables increased productivity by allowing workers to work from anywhere in the world. | Increased reliability: Longer MTBF - Thin client devices don’t have moving parts or fans, and therefore have a MTBF (meantime before failure) which is far longer than a normal PC. Gartner,Inc., reports the average thin client MTBF is about 175,000 hours, compared to 25,000 hours for PCs. This changes completely, if you reuse the old legacy PC's as thin-clients then it is a temporary migration measure, not a permanent solution. In many cases the legacy PC's in question are already nearing end-of-life . | | Reduced administration and end user support - Thin clients are far simpler to manage since the thin client OS is deployed centrally and only includes a remote terminal client. Having a single point of administration reduces overall administration costs and saves on maintenance time. Administrators can perform upgrades, deploy patches, applications and virus updates solely on the terminal servers for thousands of users, without having to visit the individual workstations. | Lessens the risk of data theft - Having all data stored on central servers eliminates the risk of important company data falling into the wrong hands should a fat client or notebook be lost or stolen. When working from home, there is also no need for corporate data to be transported between office to home on disks or memory cards. This remains partially, however this requires more work initially to make the internal disks “safe” and if not carried out initially (if a dual system is run) then the company must be extra diligent to make sure all data is wiped securely at the end-of-life. | | Adding or replacing thin clients is far easier - In a server based computing environment, adding desktops for new recruits can be done in a matter of minutes. Also, should a thin client device fail, the desktop can be restored in minutes simply by replacing the thin client device with another unused legacy PC. | Lower power consumption: Save on electricity and heat generation - A thin client device uses only a third of the power a PC uses and generates far less heat and noise, resulting in substantial savings. Although the disks can be disabled and powered off running old legacy PC's will often require more power. Dirty fans only increase this consumption. | | Increased security: Less risk of viruses - A server operating system is proven to be more secure than a desktop OS. Thin clients do away with hard drives and floppy drives and administrators can restrict the access to USB sticks and CD ROMS. This in turn prevents users from loading foreign applications onto the devices, thus increasing security levels and virtually eliminating viruses. It is also a secure approach for home working, as no corporate data is downloaded to virus prone home computers. | Smaller footprint: Save on space - Thin client devices are usually smaller than PCs - the size of an external modem or small VCR. Their compact size allows thin clients to be hidden under desktops or even mounted on walls or under desks. Unfortunately using your old legacy PC's will do nothing for aesthetics or footprint. | | Disaster recovery: Data is more secure and easier to backup - If a terminal fails, important data isn’t lost since it is stored on the server. Having a centralized storage system allows for faster and easier backups as well as efficient disaster recovery. | Hardware Standardisation. - Keeping your legacy PC's will not standardise your hardware in the short term. Remember this is a migration path, not long term solution. | | Easy licensing management and conformance to legal requirements - Due to the centralization, software licensing becomes far easier to monitor and manage. Only the servers need to be audited, not the thin client itself. Legal conformance with data protection laws such as the UK’s Data Protection Act and America’s HIPPA is also made easier due to the data being centralized. |
| In addition to the standard thin-client advantages above there are several benefits gained by switching from old legacy fat-client PC's into thin-clients. Performance: Thin client performance depends on network speed and the specification of the application server. Replacing well specified modern desktops with thin-clients is unlikely to bring performance gains however replacing under-specified desktops with thin clients on a good network and well specified server can show significant performance gains. This is not in itself a reason to switch to thin-client architecture but a reason for migrating incrementally when existing hardware is already not performing adequately. Run a standardised, non-legacy OS on unsupported hardware: Operating systems demand ever increasing specifications from the PC's, often forcing end-of-life due to OS requirements more than application requirements. From a IT management perspective running a single OS is very much more efficient than having to support multiple OS's, versions and patches. Running thin-clients on legacy PC's allows a modern OS and applications to be “run” on PC's that would usually require a legacy OS. Realise a ROI on the hardware: Making a one off change to thin-client can potentially cause problems with fixed term depreciation of hardware and write-off's from an accounting point of view. Although the depreciation of PC's is now usually much shorter in the region of 3 years this itself often proves a barrier to changing all your hardware at once. As some hardware fails and replacements are purchased or simply the cycle of passing the older PC's to the least demanding users companies can easily get caught in a catch-22. The new PC's often themselves come pre-loaded with a newer OS. Switching the legacy PC's to thin clients helps prevent unnecessary write-offs before the planned depreciation period , extending their use whilst new and much cheaper dedicated thin-clients are purchased for new or replacement hardware.
LinksPDF from our Partner 2X http://www.bloor-research.com/ |
