Wyse Streaming Manager

Oops. This is a common pattern for me:

1. Install new technology.
2. Use new technology.
3. Realize there were better ways to install said new technology.
4. Rip new technology out and install it again.

If it is new, I don't think I have installed it less than twice. Sometimes I do it several times. Minus several points for productivity, but I usually gain in knowledge of how the product works and (especially) how it is installed.

So I set up Wyse Streaming Manager last year and wasn't real happy with how I set up the base image. This summer, I deleted the old base image and recreated it. I used Windows XP Pro both times but the new image has the shiny new SP3 installed.

Whoops! WSM doesn't recognize SP3 and so will not allow my streaming apps to work. So now I'm in the middle of base image creation #3, carefully avoiding SP3.

*sigh*

Lesson Learned

When you are a tech, you need to think things through completely before acting. When you are the only tech in the organization, you need to spend a little extra time thinking things through. After all, no one is going to have your back so you have to double-check yourself.

Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 sounds really nice. I read up on RemoteApps, TS Gateway, Web Access, and even EasyPrint (we use network printers not local, so EasyPrint would be of marginal use for us.) I checked into Active Directory integration. I read about the changes to the Session Broker. I was even aware of the changes in RDP.

Ah, the RDP client. We mainly use Neoware C50s from about three years ago. We're adding HP t5135s now (since HP bought Neoware), but the majority of our thin clients are the old Neowares. These clients run a modified version of Linux with an old version of rdesktop.

The problem? rdesktop is not compatible with the new RDP used in Terminal Server 2008. So for now I am back to Windows Server 2003 for my Terminal Servers. All the cool functionality will have to wait until I can replace my old thin clients.

The kicker to the whole thing is that one of the reasons I went to server-based computing in the first place in order to get longer life out of my clients. I guess you really can't fight progress.

Neoware Image Manager (The Saga Continues)

Thanks to the great input from you guys, I'm trying to set up some demos so I can compare Neoware Image Manager with Wyse Streaming Manager. I'm still working on Wyse, but here's what's going on with Neoware.

I called my reseller to set something up. In a three-way call with the Neoware rep, I was told point-blank that Neoware doesn't recommend using their Image Manager! According to the representative of Neoware, there wasn't a lot of effort put into this product. He called it non-intuitive and complicated. Then he spent some time talking about their VDI offering.

It sounds to me like Neoware came out with the Image Manager as a response to WSM. Now that VDI is hot, they are waiting to see what happens in the virtualization space before they spend much effort on NIM.

I may still try it out so I have something to compare WSM to, but I'm leary of this. If VDI takes off, I imagine NIM will get dropped fast.

Wyse Streaming Manager

I've mentioned before that I'm no fan of Wyse. In past lives I've worked in Wyse environments and didn't find their Rapport software to be particularly intuitive and firmware upgrades without Rapport were painful experiences. Now the readers of this blog have told me that Wyse has answers to some of my problems and I find myself re-examining my biases. (Don't you just hate when that happens?)

The original problem I had when I began working in a public school system was maintaining aging PCs. (I say "aging" when I should probably say "Tell the Smithsonian I found their missing obsolete technology exhibit!") The problem was addressed by moving the district toward a server-based solution of Windows Terminal Servers and Neoware thin clients. We haven't completely moved over, but the drop in maintenance requests is already remarkable.

Unfortunately, solutions tend to bring new problems. Going into this, I knew that legacy applications and media-intensive applications would not work on terminal servers. I didn't know how many educational applications are media-intensive or how many teachers will only part with their ten-year old software when you pry it from their cold, dead hands. I run the risk of splitting our environment in two -- PCs for lower grades and thin clients for the higher grades. That's not good enough. I need to remove PCs from the equation or run myself ragged trying to keep them running.

Wyse Streaming Manager looks like the right solution here. I still haven't seen it in action, so I don't know for sure. If you believe marketing material then this is a slam dunk:

1. Put Wyse Streaming Manager in place,
2. Buy a couple hundred Wyse terminals,
3. Profit! (Well, if we weren't a non-profit organization...)

I'm going to contact some people and try to set something up. I'll post my observations after that. In the meantime, has anyone actually used this setup? Does it perform as advertised? What are the hidden gotchas?

DABCC

Check out dabcc.com. Actually, most of you probably have. The only reason I discovered it was because I noticed a large amount of traffic coming here from there. Someone (thank you!) posted a link to my article on VDI there.

As much as I appreciate the publicity, I'm more happy that they turned me on to a great resource for server-based computing information. I'm a firm believer that server-based computing improves the ability of LonelyTechs out there to support their organization. This site collects the information, downloads, news and tips you need to make it work for you.

Now excuse me while I start adding their RSS feeds to my Bloglines page...