InformationWeek

September 28, 1998

Terminal Velocity For NT

continued...page 4 of 4

When I installed MetaFrame on the system that had been upgraded from Citrix 1.6, it detected that and converted the existing WinFrame accounts to MetaFrame accounts. Once MetaFrame was completely installed, I was able to use all the existing clients to access the server, and to use all Windows NT 4.0 applications.

Speed varied considerably, depending principally on the client's graphics card and capability--the faster the card, the faster the system's response. However, even the terminals and the 286 with a 256-Kbyte VGA graphics adapter worked, though much more slowly than a late-model PC running NT 4.0 locally.

Using Terminal Server Edition alone, clients must have the RDP client installed. This means that the minimum system is a 386 processor with 8 Mbytes of RAM running at least Windows for Workgroups. Administrators who've been using Citrix's product with older PCs will either have to upgrade the PCs or add MetaFrame.

Terminals
Most new systems will probably be set up using Windows Terminals or NCs. Again, if Terminal Server Edition is used alone, the terminals must support RDP--and many current terminals do not. Using MetaFrame adds compatibility with ICA-based Windows Terminals, X.11 terminals, and Web-based terminals and JavaStations.

I had two terminals in the lab, an Esprit PC-TC from Esprit Systems, and a Maxspeed Corp. Maxstation. Both required ICA, so I was unable to test them with Terminal Server Edition alone. Both worked well once MetaFrame was installed.

In general, Windows Terminals really are plug-and-play. Simply plug them into the network and a power supply, turn them on, and they'll connect to an available terminal server and begin working. There are a few configuration issues that need to be set up the first time a unit is used, but after that, it's a very straightforward, quick process to start one up.

In addition to terminal replacements, Windows Terminals are also in demand for sales kiosks and retail applications. Units can be set to automatically boot directly into a particular application, bypassing the network and application menus. Many terminals also have touchscreen compatibility to allow kiosk applications.

Most administrators will need to carefully consider the intended use of terminals before installing Terminal Server Edition. Given the licensing structure, the additional cost of the often-necessary MetaFrame, and the additional server requirements, departments with lots of knowledge workers are unlikely to realize any savings on the hardware side, and many users will be dissatisfied with the performance levels of the terminals. On the other hand, as replacements for a mainframe and its text terminals, Terminal Server Edition system is a very good value, and much less expensive to administer and maintain. And for some types of work environments, it may be the only way to deliver Windows applications to users.

Citrix users upgrading to add compatibility with Windows NT 4.0 should be satisfied, although the new licensing structure from Microsoft and the necessity for MetaFrame to support most existing WinFrame clients may cause many to do some careful financial evaluations before they begin.