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HP, Dell tee up Citrix desktop virtualization support; Will thin clients ever be in?

Summary: Hewlett-Packard and Dell are lining up their wares to better support Citrix's desktop virtualization platforms, XenDesktop and XenServer.

Larry Dignan

By for Between the Lines |

Hewlett-Packard and Dell are lining up their wares to better support Citrix's desktop virtualization platforms, XenDesktop and XenServer.

First up, HP rolled out a HP 4320t Mobile Thin Client---essentially a laptop without much on-board computing. In addition, HP said its thin client line better supports multimedia. HP's Compaq Elite Business Desktop and HP EliteBook 8440p notebook will also be "Citrix Ready" and support the XenClient (statement).

[The Toybox: HP introduces Citrix-friendly 13.3-inch 4320t mobile thin client]

Whether these devices are dubbed thin clients, virtualized desktops or blade client hardware there's still a bit of a stigma among users that have been around for a decade or more. Simply put, we've been told thin clients are in forever, but the revolution never quite gets here. IT departments love thin clients on the white board since they have more control, but it's still a tough sell.

HP has tweaked its architecture to better support things like Adobe's Flash, but as smartphones are increasingly getting powerful it's tough to pitch a hollowed out desktop or notebook to a worker.

On the Dell side of the equation, said it is supporting the Citrix XenClient technology. Dell said it's working with Citrix to validate its Latitude laptop and OptiPlex desktops. The general idea is that Dell is looking to extend desktop virtualization to more users.

[The Toybox: Dell rolls out new Latitude enterprise laptops]

Dell, which didn't mention thin clients, instead talked about flexible computing, remote desktop controls, application virtualization and other managed services. Dell prefers the term virtual client over the thin client. Dell did launch new additions to its Latitude E family of laptops. These laptops are the traditional types.

It's good that vendors are supporting more desktop and laptop virtualization schemes, but that doesn't necessarily mean thin clients will ever be in. Thoughts?

Topics: Laptops, Dell, Hardware, Hewlett-Packard, Virtualization

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13 comments
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  • RE: HP, Dell tee up Citrix desktop virtualization support; Will thin clients ever be in?

    Oracle can advertise the new Sun Ray 3 Plus Client,
    promote them in schools like Sun did, and use them like Microsoft uses them, that can make a difference.
    Roland Sassen
    sassen
    Reply Vote

  • Does IT desire to go "Back to the Future"?

    All this talk of thin clients, cloud services, virtualization...
    reminds me of the late 1970s and early 1980s. We had
    "dumb terminals", networked to some big iron mainframe
    via telephone network interface at 120 baud. Data and
    applications were stored and ran from the mainframes,
    nothing but the display was on premise. This to me is what
    the so-called "cloud" vendors, along with "thin clients",
    are pitching. The problem is, you can purchase a full
    computer for almost the same cost as one of these thin
    clients, plus have the added benefit of using your own
    software, controlling your data, and having a tool that
    will do more than just display what is running on someone
    else's "mainframe".
    Then add to the mix the mobile factor (smartphones, PDAs,
    and tablets/netbooks) and you subtract yet another sales
    pitch from the thin client argument.
    I'm just not sure that anyone is ready to go back to having
    everything stored off-premise, along with what I'm sure
    would be hefty monthly subscription rates.
    wizard57m-cnet
    Reply Vote

    • RE: HP, Dell tee up Citrix desktop virtualization support; Will thin clients ever be in?

      @wizard57m@...
      What about syncing files on the desktop with smartphones? It's not easy with the traditional, backwards way of thinking about computing. When every computer is an island, it's difficult accessing data.

      It's much different times now than the 70's. Clients are much more powerful (more eye candy) and network bandwidths much higher. It makes for a completely different experience than monochrome monitors and 1200 bps modems.
      chefp
      Reply Vote

    • RE: HP, Dell tee up Citrix desktop virtualization support; Will thin clients ever be in?

      @wizard57m@...<br><br>Exactly, but you never hear the "experts" and "trade journalists" pointing this out. Then again, consider the source. What money is there in writing this stuff anymore?<br><br>I guess we shouldn't be surprised when these publications trowel out the same old ignorant statements year after year. Just look at the fawning over Apple; you can tell from most of the reviews that these writers haven't ever actually tried to DO something with these products.
      dgurney
      Reply Vote

  • Reminds me of the old joke about professional soccer

    Professional soccer in America is the sport of the future - and always will be. The same can be said of thin clients.
    vwalton
    Reply Vote

    • don't forget

      This is the year that Linux is going mainstream!
      dgurney
      Reply Vote

  • RE: HP, Dell tee up Citrix desktop virtualization support; Will thin clients ever be in?

    While I agree with the other posters that thin clients are not the next big thing in computing. I do thing they have a place in some organizations. We have deployed them in our newer offices to employees who were only accessing software that was on our mainframe servers or in the 'cloud' in the first place. They are more secure and easier for our IT department to maintain and replace. For the employees like wizard57m who have a need to produce documents and other work product that needs local storage, they work on standard desktops or laptops. But for the majority of our workforce, the thin client is a good fit.
    KerrieG
    Reply Vote

  • Thin clients and VDI have a place...

    What most of the VM and "VDI" hype is about are soft costs that many business do not pay anyway. Most groups ignore the associated hard costs in their hype as well (see the assumptions in the cost models). Then there is the security question.

    The question for business is does the cost of these virtual infrastructures verse the potential benefits make it right for you. And security may make that choice a good fit. For most people the answer is no. For those that can justify a yes answer, it is a great tool.
    pjboyles
    Reply Vote

  • RE: HP, Dell tee up Citrix desktop virtualization support; Will thin clients ever be in?

    Thin is in, especially in the healthcare enviroment. EZ for IT depart to maintain and support, energy cost savings a plus for CFO and besides your typical clinicians input data in an EMR system. No printing. Done.
    Clinical_IT
    Reply Vote

    • Re: Healthcare environment

      @Clinical_IT
      Internally...yes, that would be a good use, in some
      clinical situations. But what you're probably seeing,
      rather than the typical "thin client" is the tablet form
      factor. By the way, not all healthcare would benefit.
      Pharmacy is one field that is probably best served in a
      stand-alone system. However, in many clinics, I could
      see a sort of mixed environment, where individual
      practitioners used some sort of tablet to input data to
      the clinics in-house server.
      (disclaimer...I'm a pharmacist)
      wizard57m-cnet
      Reply Vote

  • No, thin clients will never be mainstream because ...

    ... while they serve a purpose in settings involving a small number of dedicated applications, they lack the flexibility needed in most settings to be cost-effective.

    For instance, for the cost of a thin client, one can purchase a fully functional desktop computer.
    M Wagner
    Reply Vote

  • We are implementing them...

    They save a lot of bandwidth, when you have multiple locations. With Email and ERP systems at base, the other sites burn bandwidth downloading email and files.

    Moving them over to Citrix saved a lot of bandwidth - and allowed a centralised ERP system to become a reality. Without thin clients, we wouldn't have been able to modernise.
    wright_is
    Reply Vote

  • RE: HP, Dell tee up Citrix desktop virtualization support; Will thin clients ever be in?

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    yarinsiz
    Reply Vote
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