Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?
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@jkaspersen said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
@scottalanmiller i basicall disagree with most of the people in here about "thin client" are out of date.. it is all "old problem" belonging from back in 2008-2011 when video & flash and movin content became mainstream.. and the protocols wasent "tuned" for that kind of media... i am going to link to a video with RDP at 2560*1440 resolution running on a "thin client" laptop... it is made from my home (over wireless) to a server located at my company (well server, at is a hyper-v, running a win10 , and that is also connected wireless)... the max bandwith used i 6Mbit.. the are 2 3D application running "solid works" and "google earth" + netflix +media player and tv broadcast session... have a look.... thin client with proper management work well ( and it is a 300€ laptop) just watch the video at the bottom of the article https://nexterminal.dk/2020/03/27/video-killed-the-radio-star/ ps: it is a linux based thin client
I just looked at the device and I'm confused... it looks like a fat client. The specs talk about how it runs Windows 10 and Ubuntu Linux, the price is higher than the entry point to fat clients, the amount of processing and RAM included only make sense if intended to be fat. From looking at it, it's a fat client that you will probably want to use primarily for remote access. It's essentially exactly the point of my article, isn't it? That today, people want local features, not just RDP, so are using regular "fat" hardware and just doing things like RDP from it rather than custom making physical thin clients that can't run regular OSes or open web browsers and such. I think rather than disagreeing, you pointed out why the original article was correct. To make a useful "thin client" today, you don't make one.
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Here are the specs...
https://nexterminal.dk/vare/nexlaptop/
Quad core CPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD. Clearly not a physical thin client, at all. In fact, that's more horsepower than 80% of my clients end normal end points. My own laptop, which is quite nice still, is only a dual core, 8GB, 120GB for example!
A true physical thin client would never need more than 2GB at an extreme high end and would often be okay with 1GB or even less. 16GB of storage would be overkill (but it's so cheap at that point, why cut corners.) And it might as well be an SD card since nothing is ever read or written to it. The CPU you might need for RDP processing, but generally even a dual core ARM is enough for that.
The price on this device seems really great. I'm sure it's a nice device. But a thin client, it is not. It's exactly what I had proposed - that fat clients have more functionality and are so cheap today that there is no logical reason to make a pure physical thin client anymore. This fat client is cheaper than a thin client is. Why would anyone pay similar, let alone more, for a true thin client when a general purpose fat client like this is available?
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@scottalanmiller i havent done anything but working with thin client for the last 20 years.. been distribution (dosent anymore) both Fujitsu, Neoware VXL etc but make my own now.. the video was an example.. as the stream is AVC444 (H.264) it is decoded by graphics chip and could have been a single core 4GB/16GB machine... it is the software which make hw a thin client, but i give you another example with citrix on a 2GB ram/8GB gb flash is here.. a stationary thin client (nexstation IX also a 300 usd device)(ps we dont sell that anymore) is this small enough for you to be a thin client? it is not the hardware itself that make something a thin client, but it is the embedded software, if the definition of a thin client is slow hw, then ofcourse they are less usable.. but a thin client is fanless ,low power , purpose build os, and the management that belongs to it.. unicons-software(software guys who make thin client software) minimum requrements are today ,
Processor: x86, 2 GHz (4 CPUs) or more, 64-bit-capable
RAM: 4 GB or more
HDD: 16 GB or more
GPU (Graphics processing unit): AMD or Intel chipset
Network: 1 x Ethernet or 1 x WLAN
I/O ports: USB 3.0 or USB 2.0, USB boot support so even the laptop is within those specsanyway 3D HDX on a 2/8GB J1900 machine , software rendered.. ( again video in the buttom of article).. https://nexterminal.dk/2020/03/18/3d-hdx-paa-tynde-klienter-kan-man-det/
i agree that 1GB ram and 1GB flash is more like a thin client, but thin clients like that i stopped selling back in 2013... and if you look at HP , fujitsu all their clients have high specs as mine.. the reason is all the requirement that is to be expected from thin clients today like browser redirection which uses webkit, support for RTC (telephony direct from client), these technologies require both cpu and ram.. the advantage of a thin client is it reduced functionality and the excessive lockdown and the management. it is afterall nice to know exactly what is installed in 4000 retail stores on each device, and beeing sure there is only the software on them which is planned.. ex a citrix workspace client and nothing else... and that has nothing to do with hardware... but os and functionality..
i think you even said that you self once
https://mangolassi.it/topic/12525/thin-clients-and-fat-clients (just found it a sec ago) -
@jkaspersen said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
it is the software which make hw a thin client,
Yeah, but that's missing the point of this thread which is that all you need now is software and the idea of having custom made hardware that is only a thin client and not general purpose no longer is needed. That you are saying it's only the software that matters means you are agreeing with the thread - because that was the point.
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@jkaspersen said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
t is not the hardware itself that make something a thin client, but it is the embedded software
Neither, actually, it's the use case. But this thread isn't about thin clients, it's about the hardware used by thin clients.
You are discussing what is and isn't a thin client, but no one else was. We were discussing hardware built to do nothing but be a thin client (no general purpose potential) and general purpose hardware that can run thin client software (like yours.)
It seems like we are in agreement and your company's products are simply embodying what I was saying - that the kind of hardware you are using could be used for anything, and that is more effective in a thin client setup than custom building extremely limited power hardware that only serves one purpose.
Market pressures make this make sense... general purpose CPUs, RAM chips, etc. are so cheap that custom making something "less capable" just to be limited to being a thin client no longer makes sense. We used to do it because fat client hardware was costly and it was a place to cut corners. Today, the massive volume of general purpose hardware outweighs the "overbuilding" aspects of it.
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@jkaspersen said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
i agree that 1GB ram and 1GB flash is more like a thin client, but thin clients like that i stopped selling back in 2013
Right. This is what my article was saying, exactly. You are just repeating what I had said. That stuff doesn't make sense any more, you can do thin clients better using standard "fat client" hardware.
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@scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
@jkaspersen said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
t is not the hardware itself that make something a thin client, but it is the embedded software
Neither, actually, it's the use case. But this thread isn't about thin clients, it's about the hardware used by thin clients.
You are discussing what is and isn't a thin client, but no one else was. We were discussing hardware built to do nothing but be a thin client (no general purpose potential) and general purpose hardware that can run thin client software (like yours.)
It seems like we are in agreement and your company's products are simply embodying what I was saying - that the kind of hardware you are using could be used for anything, and that is more effective in a thin client setup than custom building extremely limited power hardware that only serves one purpose.
Market pressures make this make sense... general purpose CPUs, RAM chips, etc. are so cheap that custom making something "less capable" just to be limited to being a thin client no longer makes sense. We used to do it because fat client hardware was costly and it was a place to cut corners. Today, the massive volume of general purpose hardware outweighs the "overbuilding" aspects of it.
Just adding the "thin client" software frequently makes those systems more costly. If you have AD already, management of Windows on those remote access devices running windows is included - if not, something like salt could be used on the Windows install on those devices, likely saving a ton over buying/etc "thin client" software.
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@Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
Just adding the "thin client" software frequently makes those systems more costly.
You mean because you have to manage it in some completely unique way?
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@scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
@Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
Just adding the "thin client" software frequently makes those systems more costly.
You mean because you have to manage it in some completely unique way?
No, because that software is likely more expensive than a Windows license. But yeah, you could toss that on the pile, it's one more thing to learn how to maintain/manage (though that really shouldn't matter - we are IT after all, but it does still play at least a consideration)
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@Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
No, because that software is likely more expensive than a Windows license.
All major thin client software is free.
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@scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
@Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
No, because that software is likely more expensive than a Windows license.
All major thin client software is free.
well eLux is FREE, but the management is not
.. anyway the reason i linked to the video before is that at least 2 contributors said "not same functionality" "chrome is better" "slow as fuck" "pc desktop is better"... so i just wanted to show it basically possible to have same user experience on a thin client.. with "shitrix" or "PooOip". .. noamally i user the rigth name... but i still wanna be a "gang member" -
@jkaspersen said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
@scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
@Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
No, because that software is likely more expensive than a Windows license.
All major thin client software is free.
well eLux is FREE, but the management is not
.. anyway the reason i linked to the video before is that at least 2 contributors said "not same functionality" "chrome is better" "slow as fuck" "pc desktop is better"... so i just wanted to show it basically possible to have same user experience on a thin client.. with "shitrix" or "PooOip". .. noamally i user the rigth name... but i still wanna be a "gang member" The management piece is often where the cost is.
You can use eLux effectively on most any "fat" hardware, correct? I see it has an ARM version, does RP4 work?
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@scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
@jkaspersen said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
@scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
@Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
No, because that software is likely more expensive than a Windows license.
All major thin client software is free.
well eLux is FREE, but the management is not
.. anyway the reason i linked to the video before is that at least 2 contributors said "not same functionality" "chrome is better" "slow as fuck" "pc desktop is better"... so i just wanted to show it basically possible to have same user experience on a thin client.. with "shitrix" or "PooOip". .. noamally i user the rigth name... but i still wanna be a "gang member" The management piece is often where the cost is.
You can use eLux effectively on most any "fat" hardware, correct? I see it has an ARM version, does RP4 work?
forget the ARM... not developed.. as the were many "client apps" not made for arm... so it is kind of discontinued... ps: i have to do a lot of cleaning up on my website... so current info is on myelux.com
any yes.... eLux works on "almost" any X64 platform... though wireless drivers can be an issue... rigth now the have a "free everyting" offer if you run it from a USB stick .. until 31. October....
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@jkaspersen said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
forget the ARM... not developed..
Oh, that's too bad.
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@scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
@jkaspersen said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
forget the ARM... not developed..
Oh, that's too bad.
yes... but it is still the same issue ... where is the volume... as with hardware and thin clients , and with software.. where is the volume... the volume is on X64 hardware.. and not on ARM... i know citrix did some work there... but "others" dont... so the volume is not there.. ps: to my knowledge there we too many firmware updates to the "Texas Instruments" used by Fujitsu.... so we never did a ARM terminal (luckey us)
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@jkaspersen said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
@scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
@jkaspersen said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:
forget the ARM... not developed..
Oh, that's too bad.
yes... but it is still the same issue ... where is the volume... as with hardware and thin clients , and with software.. where is the volume... the volume is on X64 hardware.. and not on ARM... i know citrix did some work there... but "others" dont... so the volume is not there.. ps: to my knowledge there we too many firmware updates to the "Texas Instruments" used by Fujitsu.... so we never did a ARM terminal (luckey us)
RP is the best selling single hardware of all time. It's a bit of volume. In fact, essentially every SMB I know that does thin clients of any sort use it. The performance is so good, at a cost so low, hard to imagine using anything else. It seems to have the volume these days.
