Corporate America has been looking for ways to reduce the cost of ownership associated with Microsoft Windows®-based computing causing the popularity of Windows-based Thin Clients coupled with deployment of Terminal Server and Citrix grow at a rapid rate. A new trend has been developing; enterprises are now trying to reduce costs further by moving to “intelligent” Thin Clients.

In contrast to “dumb” thin clients, which simply acted as terminals allowing access from desktops to server-based applications, “intelligent” Thin Clients come with built-in emulation software; e-mail; a full-function browser—such as Mozilla Firefox or full Internet Explorer—supporting JVM, Flash and XML; and pop-up window support. These intelligent Thin Clients are served up with Linux or Windows XPe operating systems, and allow access to a file server as well as Web-delivered applications such as Lotus Notes, WebSphere, etc. Several options now exist for companies wishing to deploy Microsoft Office-type thin client products:

Traditional: Serve up these applications using Microsoft Terminal Server (2000 or 2003 server), Citrix, etc., delivered using a remote desktop protocol. Costs associated with this method are: Terminal Server Client Access License at $120; Client Access License at $30; Microsoft Office Professional at $395; and Citrix (if applicable) at $250. The total software cost per user is $545 to $795. The total cost of ownership for software and hardware (Windows CE Thin Client) in a LAN environment is $994 and in a WAN environment is $1,194.

Hybrid: Keep Microsoft Office and serve it up using a Linux server and CrossOver Office. This product allows some Microsoft products to be installed and served up via X-Windows to a Linux desktop or Linux Thin Client. The costs for this method are: CrossOver Office at $50 and Microsoft Office Professional for $395. The total software cost per user is $445. The total for software and hardware (Linux Thin Client) in a LAN environment is $895 and in a WAN environment is $995.

Local Linux: Install OpenOffice on a Linux Server and use X-Windows on a Linux desktop or Linux Thin Client. The cost of this method is: X-Windows at no cost and OpenOffice at no cost. The total software cost per user is $ 0. The total cost of ownership for software and hardware (Linux Thin Client ) in a LAN environment is $450.

Versatile Linux: Purchase a Thin Client with embedded OpenOffice. Files are accessed / stored via a Linux or Windows file server. This option incurs an additional cost for a hardware upgrade since it requires more disk space and more memory. It is best suited to remote users, as X-Windows can be bandwidth-intensive and is therefore not recommended for WAN use. Cost of this method: OpenOffice at no cost and additional memory for $125. The total software cost per user is $125. The total cost software and hardware Linux Thin Client) ( in a LAN/WAN environment is $575.

Remote Linux: Install OpenOffice on a Linux Server and serve up applications using the Tarantella Enterprise 3 product. This option supports compression and encryption of the X-Windows protocol, allowing applications to be served up efficiently on a WAN. The cost of this method is: X-Windows at no cost; OpenOffice at no cost and Tarantella Enterprise 3 at $100. The total software cost per user is $100. The total for software and hardware (Linux Thin Client) in a WAN environment is $550.

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