2X ThinClient Server

2X ThinClient Server - Haal meer uit de hardware - vereenvoudig het beheer

De 2X ThinClient Server is het product waarmee 2X verder gaat waar alle andere producenten van Server Based Computing (SBC) utilities ophouden, die client omgeving. Beheerders van client netwerken in de SBC infrastructuur weten er alles van, “SBC belooft het beheer bij de werkplek weg te halen”, maar in de praktijk blijven altijd wel een aantal beheersmatige behoeftes bestaan. Het inzetten van bestaande en verouderde PC systemen is vanwege de gedecimeerde performance vereisten goed mogelijk in de SBC omgeving, echter een PC is breed inzetbaar en vergt daarom ook die bredere vorm van beheer die juist uitgespaard zou worden. Bij de aanschaf van thin client systemen, bij uitstek geschikt om het ongewenste werkplek beheer weg te nemen, spelen weer hele andere uitdagingen. Alle merken thin clients laten zich (vaak uitsluitend) door het eigen en meegeleverde beheersysteem beheren, waardoor uniform beheer in een heterogene omgeving onmogelijk is. Kortom, knelpunten die vragen om een gedegen oplossing.

Met de ThinClient Server heeft 2X een uniek product in handen om knelpunten in het client beheer weg te nemen, waarbij de aansluiting op andere componenten in de SBC infrastructuur een extra dimensie aan de oplossing geeft. De ThinClient Server geeft een complete verzameling van beheersfunctionaliteit, dat begint met het ombouwen van reeds gebruikte PC systemen. Door een PC softwarematig af te timmeren is het mogelijk het apparaat te laten functioneren als thin client, waarbij de gebruiker zodanig werd beperkt in het bewerken van zijn lokale desktop dat het beheer goeddeels weg valt. Voor het overblijvende deel van beheer, denk daarbij onder andere aan monitoren, session shadowing, firmware deployment en updates, kan de beheersfunctionaliteit van de ThinClient Server ingezet worden op de omgebouwde PC's zowel als de thin clients van alle bekende merken. In het kader van het opkomende Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), ook in de SBC markt een belangrijke technologische ontwikkeling, kan de ThinClientServer als “session broker” bovendien de lokale client verbinden met de virtuele client op de server.

De meest belangrijke eigenschappen:

• Convert PC’s to TC’s
• Platform Independant ThinClient Management
• User & Connection Management
• Session Monitoring and Shadowing
• Firmware & Update Deployment
• Session Broker for VDI (VMWare)
• Management reporting
• Support for Windows, Citrix and NoMachine

5 star rating - Michael Viehweg in his review on Mike-Tech.com, awarded 2X ThinClientServer the 5-Star award. According to the reviewer, 2X ThinClientServer was awarded five stars as it fulfilled the following criteria: It improves the standard Windows functionality; It's better than other similar products on the market; It is easy to implement and learn; It works as advertised; It's reasonably priced. In conclusion the reviewer states, "2X has found a home on my network!." Read the full review

Mike-Tech.com, November 2005
http://www.mike-tech.com

Scope, the Australian supporter of the disabled, has chosen a 2X solution to support its application publishing needs in its care facilities. As the largest provider of disabled services in Victoria, Australia, Scope serves between 6,000 and 7,000 disabled adults and children with over 80 care facilities throughout the province. The organization was faced with the challenge of consistently providing desktop application access to their 1,200 employees, using products varied as Microsoft Office Applications and Goldcare, a care management ERP system. Read the full case study.

Mike Janic,
Managing Director
SoNET
Australia
http://www.sonet.com.au/

"We’re a small school district located in Stevenson, Washington. Unfortunately, due to the challenging economic environment, budget constraints left us with a limited allowance for IT costs. We decided to use a 2X-based solution, as it would allow us to use older PC models, which wouldn’t be supported using other solutions. By partnering with Free Geek, an Oregon-based company selling recycled computers, we received a donation of over 100 late-model desktop clients with PXE boot availability.

Due to the flexibility of our 2X solution, this setup has worked well, as the clients are extremely reliable and boot quickly. Now running over 100 clients, we’ve had no significant software issues. Integration of the 2X solution with our current IT infrastructure was easily done, and we’ve been grateful to go an entire school year with virtually no down-time. I’d recommend 2X to any school district, for its user-friendly design and ease of implementation, as well as its knowledgeable technical support staff."

Anthony Winstead
Network Administrator
Stevenson-Carson School District
USA
http://www.scsd.k12.wa.us/

"We have started to test ThinClientServer, version 5.0, in a computer room with 10 thinclients. Today, thanks to the intuitive and functional features offered by software 2X, also suitable in the trade sector, and thanks to the perfect integration with LDAP, it was possible to broaden the original project up to 100 workspaces. Thus, students’ computers didn'’t require any further setting every month. Thinclients are connected to two twin servers through the LoadBalancer. In the near future, we are going to increase the number of thin clients available to the student community up to 200, adding also the number of servers up to 4. Using software 2X, we could centrally and systematically manage those situations which would have required a continuous technical maintenance. In this way, costs and scheduled maintenance have been drastically reduced."

Paolo Gaspari
IT Manager
University of Camerino
Italy
http://www.unicam.it/

As an effort to extend the useful life of our previously purchased desktop hardware, we recently migrated our older Pentium computers from end-user’s desktops into a training room environment. In doing so, we needed a way in which these systems could be remotely managed while requiring minimal desktop hardware support. This environment also needed to be delivered to the end-user with the speed and functionality found on newer generations of desktops hardware.

We discovered that 2X’s ThinClientServer solution could perform these tasks plus many more. After completing the initial evaluation, we purchased the product primarily due to its functionality, flexibility, and price. We now have multiple training environments successfully PXE booting from 2X’s ThinClientServer with virtually zero ongoing maintenance and a satisfied training audience.

Stephen J. Rieks
Associate Director of Systems and Services
Syracuse University
USA
http://syr.edu/

We where looking for a Thin Client solution that allowed us to leverage our existing systems as terminals, ease of deployment and transparency to our users. 2X Loadbalancer and 2X ThinClientServer allowed us to meet all of our goals and realize a significant cost savings in the process. With ease of installation and great support, what you get is software that anyone thinking of deploying Terminal Services in their environment needs to try.

Jason Pearson
Infrastructure Technology
DAK Americas
LLC - Cooper River Site
www.dakamericas.com

"The ability for 2X to turn our old PCs into thin clients was a life saver. The time and money it saved because we did not have to buy new PCs was unbelievable. The integration with existing terminal services was easy and seamless. The ability to manage the terminals remotely makes support of remote locations much simpler. We are able to update our software applications once and the terminals all have the latest version the next time they log in. We are extremely happy with 2X and look forward to a long working relationship with 2X."

Dale M. Feeman
IT Manager
Michigan Humane Society
www.michiganhumane.org

"The wonderful quality of 2X's software and support is now equally matched by their generosity! 2X Software has recently donated their thin client solution software to the Family Resource Center (FRC), a child abuse prevention and treatment center in St. Louis, Mo. Because of 2X's gift, we at FRC will be able to save over $228,000 in a six year plan of replacing old workstations with thin clients and breathing new life into our old PCs. Funds saved through this donation will now be able to be allocated to more direct service to the over 10,000 clients a year that we serve. We have been using the free version of your software and found that not only did it work well "right out of the box" (a rarity), but the few configuration issues we had were resolved immediately by your terrific support staff. Thank you for your professionalism, your terrific software and service, and your generosity to the greater community!"

Ralph Cacioppo
IS Manager
Family Resource Center
St. Louis, Mo
USA
www.frcmo.org