Microsoft Terminal Services
Thin Client Fact sheet
As more and more legal firms despair of the constant churn, cost and problems associated with traditional PC networks some are considering a change to 'thin client' computing.
This fact-sheet includes:
- Why is it called 'thin-client'
- What is 'thin client' computing?
- Can all firms benefit from 'thin client' computing?
- What are the main benefits?
- What systems are available?
Why is it called 'thin-client'
Stripping down the size, cost and complexity at the PC end is why this has been termed 'thin-client'. You might have heard this in connection with the subsequent need to move these issues onto the server - hence 'Thin-client' and 'Fat-server' are terms quite often used together!
What is 'thin client' computing?
The current trend in the computerisation of most legal firms is to install a network of very powerful PC's loaded with complicated software (which take a great deal of maintenance). Some firms have also installed an even more powerful PC called a server (a PC with big hard disks, massive amounts of memory and a very fast backup device) for the storage of the firms database, letters and documents.
Thin-client computing does not use PC's [shock... horror... hurray?..]. It uses this powerful server to provide each user with access to the same programs they had from their expensive and complex PC but enables them to use a very low-cost, simple and easy to use display device (with keyboard and mouse) called a Windows terminal instead.
A Windows terminal is very different to a PC. To start with it is 'solid-state' meaning it has no moving parts so 'in theory' there is nothing to break down. It does not need any software to make it work, you simply switch it on and away you go. It does not have a floppy disk drive or CD-ROM so users cannot load their own software, infect the network or play games etc.. It is also costs less to buy than your typical business PC!
So, in brief, all of the software and data is stored safely on your server and the costs and problems of keeping your PC base running smoothly and up to date with the latest chip speeds, operating systems and office software disappear overnight.
Talking about keeping your PC's up to date, what with Windows 95..98..2000..ME..NT..and soon to be released XP and Microsoft Office 95..97..2000 - whoever complained because there were too many different versions of Unix must never have heard ,of Microsoft or Windows!
This therefore is in direct contrast to the situation most firms currently have whereby a computer with the power (and the problems and running costs that come with it) to run the 3rd World debt is sat in the middle of every single desk in the organisation probably doing no more than gathering dust most of the time!
A leading business guru once said 'Give me more information on my desktop NOT more power'. It is clear that fee earners want to spend less time managing information and more time using it - so why not give them a simple 'display-device' instead of a complex PC.
Can all firms benefit from 'thin client' computing?
'Thin client' computing is however, not the answer to every legal firm as they strive to implement more functional and cost effective computer systems.
'Thin client' is only something that medium or large firms with big PC user bases will benefit from. This is because although significant costs can be saved on the PC side (thin client) the server and network will need to be 'beefed' up considerably to cope with the users demands.
It is unlikely that a firm with less than 25 PC's will be able to cost justify 'thin client'
If however you are a larger firm (say with 50 PC's) and you can accept the fact that your firm does not need the combined processing cycles of fifty Pentium III XEON 933MHZ processors (a total of 46.6 GHZ or the equivalent of 2 Cray Supercomputers :-) or the storage capacity of fifty 10GB hard disks (500,000,000,000 characters or approximately 25,000,000 letters) and take it from me, you don't, then read on because there are are serious benefits to be had.
What are the main benefits?
Lower acquisition cost of PC's & software
Today's software needs high-spec PC's - tomorrows software will need even higher spec'd PC's. The basic price of a 'business' PC is not dropping that much - the spec's are just going up to keep pace with the new software. For example I have just ordered 5 more PC's and found that the DELL L600 has just been withdrawn to be replaced with the DELL L700c, and the price has gone up by £53! The fact that is has twice as much RAM and hard disk as well as a processor that is 100 MHZ faster is admirable - but we do not need a more powerful machine.
How long can you keep chasing the ace. With each PC being replaced on average every 2 to 3 years perhaps now is the time to get off the Microsoft merry go round and go back to the server based computer model with Windows terminals - enter 'thin client'
However, when installing a 'thin client' system for the first time you will not realise as much of this cost saving as you might think!
As all of the work of the PC will now be done on the server it will be necessary to increase your server specification (and maybe your network specification) to cater for this. You might actually need 2 servers instead of one. You might also have to hire some highly technical people to install the system in the first place, and we all know what these people charge!
All of these costs will detract from your potential PC savings and perhaps even your year 1 and year 2 TCO savings also (see below). Needless to say you need to clarify exactly what the pros and cons of this will be before committing
Lower running costs or TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)
TCO is something that IT experts talk about when assessing exactly how much each PC is costing you to run. You can be sure this is much more than you think and 'thin client' will reduce this considerably. PC running costs include:
- The cost of lost productivity when the PC crashes, or when the user suffers software 'problems' or decides to play a game, send a personal e-mail, go on-line to do some shopping or click an e-mail attachment that infects the PC or worse still , the whole network.
- The cost of running the PC which includes annual maintenance contract, cost of software, cost of upgrades, applying patches and replacing faulty parts. And what happens when things don't load and work as they should - more lost time!
- The cost of PC management which includes anti-virus issues, replacement strategy, user training, and license control [heaven forbid if it is running unlicensed software!]
The fact is that the already over priced PC (because of its bloated specification ) will cost you 5 times more than its purchase price in terms of these 'hidden costs' PER ANNUM. Multiply this by 50 PC's and stretch this over 5 years and you begin to see some real cost benefits in swapping your PC base for 'thin-client' Windows terminals.
Your IT is centrally managed by the people qualified to do it.
A PC is for life - not just for Business. Each PC will need to be installed, maintained, supported, upgraded and replaced as I have said.
Most fee earners are not PC or software experts (there are some exceptions I am sure) and do not want the responsibility of looking after what is a complex and sophisticated piece of equipment like a PC fully loaded with software. They just want to get on with their work (again there are some exceptions here also).
'Thin client' takes this responsibility away due to its centralized architecture, bringing IT back full circle since all of the complicated bits are on the server, in the computer room, and looked after by the computer experts. Heaven!
Avoid the never ending Microsoft churn
Not a month goes by without Microsoft announcing a new technology, strategy, operating system, office suite, Windows upgrade or service pack release. This is causing firms with a large PC user base to get very confused and concerned.
Against this background of constant churn firms do not know what to do for best and find it impossible to get any form of standardisation or commonality of software throughout - let alone define and deliver a working IT strategy. With a 'thin client' system upgrading your entire firm to a new operating system or office suite can be done in minutes because you only need do it once - on the server!
What systems are available?
The 'thin-client' market has matured considerably over the last 5 years and there are now 3 key players vying for your business. These companies are listed below with clickable name links to take you to their web-sites.
Citrix
In 1990 Citrix, a Florida based company developed a 'multi-user' version of Microsoft NT Server (contrary to popular belief NT is not a multi-user operating system - it is a multi single-user system but that is a different fact-sheet).
Citrix paid Microsoft to licence Microsoft NT for its own use and combined this with its own multi-user elements (something called ICA - a language which enables low cost display devices to communicate with the operating system for display and keyboard purposes) and made hay whilst the sun shone!
This product has evolved considerably over the years and you may have heard of it lately as Citrix Winframe or Citrix Metaframe. This system is probably the market leader at the present moment in time but the experts say it is loosing ground technically and it is expensive when compared with other systems.
Microsoft
Needless to say it was not long before Microsoft decided to get in on the act. Instead of developing a 'thin-client' system of its own it took the market by surprise by simply licensing the Citrix software for its own use, merging it into its own operating system and calling it Windows NT 4 Server, Terminal Server Edition.
It goes without saying that they have also built a 'thin-client' option into the recently released Windows 2000 Server operating system. I still have to find any legal firms using the basic Windows 2000 Server system let alone the Windows 2000 Terminal Server Edition- perhaps if you are one of the few out there you can let me know!
Tarantella
Sun Microsystems' Tarantella is a new breed of 'thin client' claiming to be a technically superior and far more elegant solution offering much more in the way of power and flexibility than just a boring old 'thin client'. The expert opinion would seem to agree.
This power and flexibility is very much to the fore with instant 'web-deployment' meaning that you can access your office applications from the ultimate 'thin client' - any device with a web browser on it. With web-browsers about to appear on just about anything that moves in the next few years this might be important. More significant is the cost - the lowest of the group.
As things stand the Tarantella 'thin-client, server based nomadic' computing model means that you can access your systems any time, any place and from anywhere using a range of browser enabled 'thin-clients' such as:
- Ordinary low spec PC's (i.e. PI or PII 100MHZ )
- Windows terminals running a web browser like IE5
- NET PC's
- PDA's (Personal Digital Assistants like Palm or Psion)
