[plug] X-Windows MBA

[Steve Baker]

-----Original Message-----
From: Beau Kuiper <ekuiperba at cc.curtin.edu.au>
To: plug at linux.org.au <plug at linux.org.au>
Date: Sunday, 10 October 1999 0:02
Subject: Re: [plug] X-Windows MBA


>About windows MBA: I imagine that windows doesn't support remote graphics
>because microsoft didn't want to (Nothing is impossible, only
unimplemented) I
>imagine networked windows would be slow anyway, all user input for a window
>must go through a message loop in the program then back to the server, only
to
>be sent back to the program as input. Don't quote me on this since I am not
a
>windows expert though.
>

Windows does support remote graphics - check out Windows NT Terminal Server
Edition, or CItrix WinFrame, or (TekTronix?) WinDD.  Allows you to use a
grunty server to run everything, and have 386 or better on the desktop (even
running Linux!) to access it.  A windows NT logon window comes up, you log
on, you get a start button on the task bar, you run anything you like.

Citrix came up with the idea  - at least I think they did, they did it well
anyway if it wasn't their idea - ages ago, and MS didn't like it because you
don't need a Windows desktop to access it.  MS then released their own
version, which obviously isn't nearly as good, and charge you an NT
workstation license for every client you run - whether it runs Windows or
not.  Pretty good, huh?

With that move, MS effectively took the market away from Citrix
(anti-competitive? NO! ;-) but fortunately Citrix still make money from an
add-on to the basic MS product that cuts the network traffic down, and adds
some other nifty features.

Traffic for each client averages about 15K (I think - could be 12K) for
Terminal Server bare, or about 8K down to as little as 4-6K with Citrix
added on.  Of course it's only really practical for regular office type
stuff - any hefty graphics will definitely bog the network down.

Performance is pretty good over a LAN, almost as if you were sitting at the
NT Server console.  I haven't tried it over a WAN, but apparently it is
reasonable - again not for heavy graphics though.

bakes
--
Steve Baker (aka sbaker at icg.net.au) -- Integra Consulting Group
http://www.icg.net.au
Open your mind, then look at http://www.nexusmagazine.com