[Thinlinc-technical] More users / Less servers

Wed Aug 12 18:19:01 CEST 2009

Hi there!

My comments inline...

> I don't know the details, but it could be that this person 
> for example runs an older GNOME version, plus, most likely 
> does not "surf the modern web".
> 
> Btw, I just tried running GNOME on one or our systems and it 
> was quite easy to get down to 118 MiB. (In this case, I 
> removed non-essential programs such as Bluetooth support, 
> screensaver etc, plus the actual Xserver, so that only the 
> GNOME processes was counted.)
> 
Check the other e-mail I´ve just sent...

> XP has been the "standard" VDI OS in the rest of the world as 
> well. The problem is just that it's obsolete: The ability to 
> buy support (even
> "extended") disappeared 1 month ago. I know that some 
> organizations doesn't care about this, but personally, I 
> would never build up a new infrastructure based on an 
> obsolete operating system.
> 
Not really. Microsoft has extended Windows XP support lifecycle until 2014.
See: http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?LN=en-gb&C2=1173

BTW, around 85% of Brazilian corporate Desktops still runs Windows XP, even
on new machines. Here is usual to buy Windows Vista machines and ask the OEM
to supply Windows XP instead.

> > (2) Windows 7 memory footprint is really (expressively!) lower than 
> > Vista,
> 
> Perhaps, I haven't seen any real-world data yet.
> 
I´ve installed the RC version on a Celeron 1.8Ghz with 1GB RAM and the
performance was quite impressive! There are some people here running on
Virtual Machines with only 512MB of RAM with good performance (OS + Office
2007). The same was impossible for Windows Vista.

Anyway, it is just the feeling, we don´t have any official benchmark yet.

> 
> > and Microsoft also
> > claim to offer integrated solutions using Windows Server 2008 with 
> > Hyper-V that greatly reduces VDI guest OS memory consumption.
> 
> Seeing is believing...
> 
Yes, I agree, but coming from Microsoft...

> > In fact, when I mean a "standard" desktop, I mean a desktop 
> focused on 
> > general user needs over ThinLinc sessions, that is basically get 
> > access to their published applications, interact with files 
> and simple 
> > devices and
> 
> Yes, but which applications? The resource requirements are 
> very different.
> 
Forget about the applications for a while. The point here is that we should
provide a desktop that doesn´t drain up the server´s resources for itself,
letting some space for the applications.

> Please compare apples with apples. ThinLinc is not GNOME, and 
> ThinLinc is not Linux.
> 
OK, but what can I do with ThinLinc without a Linux Desktop System? Being
just a gateway to WTS is not so attractive...

> One can argue, though, that some standard Linux desktop 
> consumes more memory than a similar Windows Terminal Server 
> session. This is probably true. A minimal WTS session is very 
> lean. But when you start adding applications, the difference 
> mostly evens out.
> 
Again, lets forget about the applications and use just the desktop for
comparison. BTW, if we compare OpenOffice memory consumption with MS Office
2007 there will be a HUGE difference...

> If you want to run a Windows desktop instead of Linux one, 
> since this perhaps scales better with your application mix 
> (or for some other reason), feel free to do so with ThinLinc. 
> As you probably know, we have put a lot of effort into making 
> ThinLinc the best platform integration product. ThinLinc does 
> not restrict you to a certain desktop type or application 
> server operating system. Being able to mix applications and 
> platforms is one of the main features with our product.
> 
But as I said, there´s not to many attractives on running ThinLinc as a WTS
gateway. I could get all the ThinLinc power when publishing a Linux desktop
that provides access to different platform applications. Otherwise, a WTS
2008 standalone solution is much more affordable, both considering hardware
and licensing costs together of alone.

Rgds

--
Marcos S. Trazzini
ThinLinc Technical Manager
Avancera Brazil IT Services Ltda
Al Caiapós, 465 - Alphaville
Barueri - SP - Brazil
Cel +55 (11) 9941-0773
Tel +55 (11) 3522-8570
marcos.trazzini at avancera.com.br
http://www.avancera.com.br/

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