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    Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?

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    • S
      StorageNinja Vendor @scottalanmiller last edited by

      @scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

      Chromebooks just seem like the best physical solution for delivering it at the endpoint

      Unless I need redirection capabilities that ChromeOS can't do.
      Need serial redirection for a cheque reader?
      Need WAN-efficient printer or scanner redirection that's seamless and can be managed by GPO to devices and work with EXISTING devices that are required for xxx compliance?

      I LOVE Chromebooks as end devices. Sadly they don't work everywhere yet...

      scottalanmiller Dashrender 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • scottalanmiller
        scottalanmiller @StorageNinja last edited by

        @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

        @scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

        Chromebooks just seem like the best physical solution for delivering it at the endpoint

        Unless I need redirection capabilities that ChromeOS can't do.
        Need serial redirection for a cheque reader?
        Need WAN-efficient printer or scanner redirection that's seamless and can be managed by GPO to devices and work with EXISTING devices that are required for xxx compliance?

        I LOVE Chromebooks as end devices. Sadly they don't work everywhere yet...

        Why can't they do those things? Things are all functions of the thin client software, not of the OS.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Dashrender
          Dashrender @scottalanmiller last edited by

          @scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

          @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

          That said, VDI and thin clients are neither dying anytime soon, nor are they the future of End-user computing.

          VDI isn't dying. Chromebooks just seem like the best physical solution for delivering it at the end point. Along with loads of other solutions.

          The question is only why would you use an expensive, under powered, "pure" thin client when normal computers now do a better job at all of that stuff?

          When did they ever not do a better job though? that's my question. I've run them side by side since the early 2000's, a full desktop was always way better. Granted required one to lock it down.

          scottalanmiller 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Dashrender
            Dashrender @StorageNinja last edited by

            @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

            @scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

            Chromebooks just seem like the best physical solution for delivering it at the endpoint

            Unless I need redirection capabilities that ChromeOS can't do.
            Need serial redirection for a cheque reader?
            Need WAN-efficient printer or scanner redirection that's seamless and can be managed by GPO to devices and work with EXISTING devices that are required for xxx compliance?

            I LOVE Chromebooks as end devices. Sadly they don't work everywhere yet...

            Why are you locked to GPO? Why can't another management solution be used?

            When you have existing solutions - well - you're just boned.

            S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • scottalanmiller
              scottalanmiller @Dashrender last edited by

              @Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

              @scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

              @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

              That said, VDI and thin clients are neither dying anytime soon, nor are they the future of End-user computing.

              VDI isn't dying. Chromebooks just seem like the best physical solution for delivering it at the end point. Along with loads of other solutions.

              The question is only why would you use an expensive, under powered, "pure" thin client when normal computers now do a better job at all of that stuff?

              When did they ever not do a better job though? that's my question. I've run them side by side since the early 2000's, a full desktop was always way better. Granted required one to lock it down.

              That's not really true. Fat clients used to be more costly, have shorter life spans, were harder to manage. All that stuff has only recently changed. Your idea of "better" is incredibly subjective, it doesn't address "cost" which is the primarily definition of "better" to a business.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • PhlipElder
                PhlipElder last edited by

                Ugh, I put thin clients out there with e-Machines PCs. 😛

                We decided years ago to avoid them and stick with the smallest form factor PC would could deploy Windows Pro on. It's paid off well. No driver headaches, no print issues, dual display is plugging in a second cable and monitor, and security can be hardened via Group Policy.

                scottalanmiller 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • scottalanmiller
                  scottalanmiller @PhlipElder last edited by

                  @PhlipElder said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                  Ugh, I put thin clients out there with e-Machines PCs. 😛

                  We decided years ago to avoid them and stick with the smallest form factor PC would could deploy Windows Pro on. It's paid off well. No driver headaches, no print issues, dual display is plugging in a second cable and monitor, and security can be hardened via Group Policy.

                  We are using NX for our VDI right now, which has been good for the use case that we have.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • S
                    StorageNinja Vendor @Dashrender last edited by

                    @Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                    Why are you locked to GPO? Why can't another management solution be used?

                    Because plenty of people have other applications and platforms that for AAA use AD and don't support other LDAP/Kerberos systems so given how cheap per user a CAL is they say "screw it" and use AD to distribute GPO (note GPO isn't tied to AD it's just commonly viewed that way).

                    scottalanmiller 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • scottalanmiller
                      scottalanmiller @StorageNinja last edited by

                      @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                      @Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                      Why are you locked to GPO? Why can't another management solution be used?

                      Because plenty of people have other applications and platforms that for AAA use AD and don't support other LDAP/Kerberos systems so given how cheap per user a CAL is they say "screw it" and use AD to distribute GPO (note GPO isn't tied to AD it's just commonly viewed that way).

                      Wouldn't that affect the other side of the VDI, though, not the client side?

                      Dashrender 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • Dashrender
                        Dashrender @scottalanmiller last edited by

                        @scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                        @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                        @Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                        Why are you locked to GPO? Why can't another management solution be used?

                        Because plenty of people have other applications and platforms that for AAA use AD and don't support other LDAP/Kerberos systems so given how cheap per user a CAL is they say "screw it" and use AD to distribute GPO (note GPO isn't tied to AD it's just commonly viewed that way).

                        Wouldn't that affect the other side of the VDI, though, not the client side?

                        Couldn't it do both?

                        scottalanmiller 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • scottalanmiller
                          scottalanmiller @Dashrender last edited by

                          @Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                          @scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                          @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                          @Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                          Why are you locked to GPO? Why can't another management solution be used?

                          Because plenty of people have other applications and platforms that for AAA use AD and don't support other LDAP/Kerberos systems so given how cheap per user a CAL is they say "screw it" and use AD to distribute GPO (note GPO isn't tied to AD it's just commonly viewed that way).

                          Wouldn't that affect the other side of the VDI, though, not the client side?

                          Couldn't it do both?

                          Maybe, I mean you CAN control thin clients with GPO, but not normal thin clients.

                          S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • S
                            StorageNinja Vendor @scottalanmiller last edited by

                            @scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                            @Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                            @scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                            @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                            @Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                            Why are you locked to GPO? Why can't another management solution be used?

                            Because plenty of people have other applications and platforms that for AAA use AD and don't support other LDAP/Kerberos systems so given how cheap per user a CAL is they say "screw it" and use AD to distribute GPO (note GPO isn't tied to AD it's just commonly viewed that way).

                            Wouldn't that affect the other side of the VDI, though, not the client side?

                            Couldn't it do both?

                            Maybe, I mean you CAN control thin clients with GPO, but not normal thin clients.

                            Correct. The thin client itself I see managed by either thin client management tools (Terradichi) or by MDM API's.

                            bbigford scottalanmiller 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • bbigford
                              bbigford last edited by bbigford

                              Thin client, absolutely. They are slow as fuck in most environments as they are just terrible hardware with an onboard OS that still needs to be patched. They are neither a stand-alone computer with full functionality, or a zero client with speed and security; they are the worst of both worlds.

                              Zero clients though, completely different story as that's a software-delivery discussion.

                              S scottalanmiller 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • bbigford
                                bbigford @StorageNinja last edited by

                                @StorageNinja 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?:

                                @scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                @Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                Why are you locked to GPO? Why can't another management solution be used?

                                Because plenty of people have other applications and platforms that for AAA use AD and don't support other LDAP/Kerberos systems so given how cheap per user a CAL is they say "screw it" and use AD to distribute GPO (note GPO isn't tied to AD it's just commonly viewed that way).

                                Wouldn't that affect the other side of the VDI, though, not the client side?

                                Couldn't it do both?

                                Maybe, I mean you CAN control thin clients with GPO, but not normal thin clients.

                                Correct. The thin client itself I see managed by either thin client management tools (Terradichi Teradici) or by MDM API's.

                                FTFY 🙂

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • S
                                  StorageNinja Vendor @bbigford last edited by

                                  @bbigford said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                  They are slow as fuck in most environments

                                  Are they slow, or did someone underprovision the Shitrix environment behind it?

                                  Dashrender bbigford 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • Dashrender
                                    Dashrender @StorageNinja last edited by

                                    @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                    @bbigford said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                    They are slow as fuck in most environments

                                    Are they slow, or did someone underprovision the Shitrix environment behind it?

                                    the problem I've always had with thin clients was flash. Any app or webpage that used flash caused the whole screen to flash white between pages. Though this never happened on a typical PC - Even Windows XP with 1 GB RAM - it never flashed and worked well.

                                    scottalanmiller 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • scottalanmiller
                                      scottalanmiller @Dashrender last edited by

                                      @Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                      @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                      @bbigford said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                      They are slow as fuck in most environments

                                      Are they slow, or did someone underprovision the Shitrix environment behind it?

                                      the problem I've always had with thin clients was flash. Any app or webpage that used flash caused the whole screen to flash white between pages. Though this never happened on a typical PC - Even Windows XP with 1 GB RAM - it never flashed and worked well.

                                      You mean you had a problem with RDP or other remote sessions, not Flash locally on a thin client? I think you are mixing the concept of the hardware with the effects of some remote access protocols. Very different things. It's like being unhappy with your car based on not having found a road that wasn't congested.

                                      Dashrender 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • scottalanmiller
                                        scottalanmiller @bbigford last edited by

                                        @bbigford said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                        Thin client, absolutely. They are slow as fuck in most environments as they are just terrible hardware with an onboard OS that still needs to be patched. They are neither a stand-alone computer with full functionality, or a zero client with speed and security; they are the worst of both worlds.

                                        And rarely any cost savings! That's exactly how I feel. Old, expensive, no benefits to the traditional thin client hardware approach.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • scottalanmiller
                                          scottalanmiller @StorageNinja last edited by

                                          @StorageNinja 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?:

                                          @scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                          @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                          @Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                          Why are you locked to GPO? Why can't another management solution be used?

                                          Because plenty of people have other applications and platforms that for AAA use AD and don't support other LDAP/Kerberos systems so given how cheap per user a CAL is they say "screw it" and use AD to distribute GPO (note GPO isn't tied to AD it's just commonly viewed that way).

                                          Wouldn't that affect the other side of the VDI, though, not the client side?

                                          Couldn't it do both?

                                          Maybe, I mean you CAN control thin clients with GPO, but not normal thin clients.

                                          Correct. The thin client itself I see managed by either thin client management tools (Terradichi) or by MDM API's.

                                          Or Salt, Ansible, Google Endpoint Management, etc.

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • Dashrender
                                            Dashrender @scottalanmiller last edited by

                                            @scottalanmiller said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                            @Dashrender said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                            @StorageNinja said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                            @bbigford said in Is the Physical Thin Client Era Dead?:

                                            They are slow as fuck in most environments

                                            Are they slow, or did someone underprovision the Shitrix environment behind it?

                                            the problem I've always had with thin clients was flash. Any app or webpage that used flash caused the whole screen to flash white between pages. Though this never happened on a typical PC - Even Windows XP with 1 GB RAM - it never flashed and worked well.

                                            You mean you had a problem with RDP or other remote sessions, not Flash locally on a thin client? I think you are mixing the concept of the hardware with the effects of some remote access protocols. Very different things. It's like being unhappy with your car based on not having found a road that wasn't congested.

                                            It was RDP in both cases into TS/RDS. The only difference was the hardware. So yeah, pretty sure I was comparing only the cars on the same road.

                                            scottalanmiller 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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