Devon IT attended Citrix Synergy in San Francisco, CA from May 9-11. We’ve been attending Citrix events since 2005 and this year’s Synergy was certainly not a disappointment.

Synergy boasted its largest attendance this year, with a record-breaking 6500 attendees from 50 countries. Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth to play basketball, drink beer, or scanned his or her badge for a chance to win our raffle. If you did enter the raffle for the Acer tablet, stay tuned for the upcoming winner announcement!

If you didn’t get the chance to talk to us, or had more questions about any of our products, schedule a webinar to learn more!

Going to Citrix Synergy this year? Us too!

Come meet us in booth #519 and enter for a chance to win some big giveaways.

We are so excited to join our partners, Citrix, at this year’s Synergy. Devon IT fits right into this year’s theme: The cloud era is here. We agree! Want to know more about our thin client solutions? Click here.

Check back next week for our Top Trade Show Tips live from the show!

Want to meet up at Citrix? Contact us! We’d love to connect.

Regardless of how large a number is, the minute a zero is introduced into the equation that number plummets to zero. Zero really means nothingness, the absence of value. Zero. What would a zero mean if placed in an equation determining the value of your thin client implementation?

In this case, we’re going to  substitute a large number with a check mark and a zero with an “x.” Let’s do a little math discovery…

1. Server – How many? What type?

The first component of a virtual environment is a server. Depending on the size of your deployment, multiple servers could be required. There are also options for how these servers store data: while a rack server is great for enterprise-sized deployments, it might not be necessary for a smaller deployment to a single classroom, for example. Knowing which servers to get depends largely on the size of the deployment and the scalability of the VDI solution being implemented.

2. Hypervisor – What are the needs of your environment?

The next component of a successful VDI is a hypervisor. There are many kinds of hypervisors that differ depending on what sort of environment you’re setting up, but they all perform the same basic function. The hypervisor allows the servers to run multiple virtual machines. Common hypervisors are Hyper-V for RDP connections, XenServer for Citrix ICA, and ESXi for VMware.

A virtual machine is essentially a self-contained instance of an operating system running on a server and being managed by a hypervisor. These virtual machines are what make VDI possible. One server can host many virtual machines, and these virtual machines provide the end users with complete desktop experiences that are independent of each other.

3. Terminal – Which option is right?

The next stop in VDI is the terminal. A terminal is what connects the server and virtual machine to the user’s desktop and connects to the monitor, mouse, and keyboard. There are many different options when it comes to terminals, and many different terminals can be used within the same VDI. This gives IT departments the freedom to choose the terminal that best suits the needs of their users.

4. Management Platform – Provides the greatest benefits of VDI, which one to choose?

The last stop for successful VDI is a management platform. In large deployments, maintaining a virtualized environment without good management software can be daunting. It can require many IT employees scrambling around trying to keep up with any issues that the users may encounter, and really loses out on one of the greatest benefits of VDI. Good management software will allow the system administrator to trouble shoot, update, and monitor all the terminals in their system from a single location. This method of maintaining a virtualized environment streamlines the maintenance process.

There are many options that can be used in each of the components mentioned above. Determining which setup to go with is a process that must account for what your IT goals are and what the needs are of your end users. However, understanding the basic components to a successful VDI deployment is the first step to saving time, money, energy, and effort.

Devon Zero™, the zero configuration feature of the Devon Terminal Operating System (DeTOS) takes a novel approach to accomplish this goal.  Rather than creating hardware that has been stripped down and focused solely on making a connection, Devon IT has added a software alternative.  This provides some inherent benefits not found in other zero client options.

By removing or limiting the processor contained within their terminals, many zero clients place a higher burden on the server and network.  Instead of data being decompressed on the device, the server has to pick up the slack and transmit the uncompressed data, leading to decreased performance and greater lag time.  Devon Zero™, on the other hand, is capable of running on every DeTOS thin client that Devon IT produces, allowing users to choose the hardware options they want to support their zero configuration environment!

Some zero clients offer little in the way of options when it comes to connection types.  Devon Zero™ offers users the Microsoft RDP connection type, as well as the Citrix ICA connection type.  This gives administrators the ability to choose the connection type that best suits their users.  In fact, Devon Zero™ allows administrators to discriminate which connection types groups of users can use, so while one group might prefer RDP, the other can still use ICA!

Another key point of zero client computing is to require minimal management from system administrators.  Devon Zero™ requires a system administrator to establish a DNS environment to tell the terminals what sort of connections their user groups need.  After that, the user simply turns the terminal on, enters their credentials, and they’re connected! 

At this point, the management for these terminals is completed.  Should the system administrator wants to apply further management, Devon IT terminals running Devon Zero™ are able to be sent commands via the Echo Management Software if desired.  It’s nice to have a system that requires no management: it’s even better if that system allows for some management to really give system administrators an extra bit of control.

The definitions for what constitutes true zero client computing will always be a matter of some debate.  In the end, though, a zero client solution is one that meets the key goals of simplicity and low management requirements.  If that solution also offers hardware versatility, connection type variety, and extra management options as well?  Well, that would be a pretty good zero client solution.  We call it Devon Zero™.

But none of these vital benefits can be realized without a reliable management system. To make a football analogy, running and passing the football is what you need to score touchdowns, but you can’t do either without an offensive line blocking in front of you!

So what features that make up a good thin client management system? It must be easy to set up. It also must have a well thought out GUI that is intuitive for any operator.

It should also interface with common database structures. In many cases the desktop environment is a hosted Windows desktop, MySQL and MS-SQL should be through the system.

Power is also key. Basic functionality should include, at minimum, the ability to inventory all available terminals on the network, apply connections and profiles, clone full disk images, and remotely shadow devices. End user authentication should be achieved using common authentication methods like active directory.

Especially today, it must also be cost-effective. Many of the powerful management platforms are offered for a nominal or no fee from the manufacturers. This is the case with Devon IT’s Echo™ Thin Client Management Software, Devon IT Echo™ Management Console Dell Edition, and HP Device manager.

I make all these points about device management as we at Devon IT launch our Echo™ Management Platform Version 7.1. Devon IT Echo™ is the result of 7 years of field usage in some of the most demanding data centers in the world. I think you will like what you see!

Please share any thoughts about thin client management software and systems as well.

Some of the very best features of Echo™ have come from our specific interactions with our customers and with our partner Dell. With this latest release of Echo™ we have combined the feature, function, and scalability requirements for VDI implementations ranging from 100 desktops to global implementations in the hundreds of thousands.

All VDI and thin client devices that run DeTOS or Devon IT’s WES operating systems can be managed by Devon IT’s Echo™ thin client management software. This includes our TC2 and TC5, the Dell FX130 and FX170 OptiPlex thin clients as well as PCs repurposed with VDI Blaster™.

For more information about Devon IT Echo 4™ please visit our software page at http://www.devonit.com/software/echo/overview and you can view a preview of Echo 4™ on the Devon IT Thin Client TV YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/ThinClientTV#p/u/0/Z0ziFKR43HU

Two weeks ago, Dell launched its inaugural Dell World. While I was there, I became reminiscent of the Comdex days. I had to step back and ask myself, “Is Dell World the Comdex of the modern era?” While Dell World is on a smaller scale than Comdex was, it clearly showcased a well-rounded and expansive list of technology. Technology from Dell and its partners included: networking gear, servers, PCs, end point devices, Database (Oracle and MSFT), software (Oracle, MSFT, Dell, Citrix, VMware, Salesforce and others) storage, and all kinds of peripherals.

Dell World also had more headliners than Woodstock with iconic luminaries Steve Ballmer, Marc Benioff, and Paul Maritz who were welcomed by none other than Michael Dell himself.

Dell World as the new Comdex might be a crazy notion, but here’s to Dell, one of our great American companies. Dell is not only expanding its product reach, but remembering how it got there by staying in the business it helped create – PCs! Thanks for putting on a great show in Austin!

Keep a look out for our next sneak peak video!

Questions or comments? Let us know!