Typically they are all on the same LAN segment, but WANned. There is nothing preventing a workstation at location A from connecting to a server at location B.
For security you'd need a VPN setup. As for performance, that is mostly controlled by the horsepower of the server, since that's where all the work is done. We find that using a Citrix session can actually out-perform a desktop, since the servers are interconnected at 4gbps, where the PCs are typically 100 mbps. (We get the 4gbps by teaming 1 gb adapters running full duplex to a gb Cisco switch.) Disk I/O is the weakest link, and having that very wide connection to the file server shows great benefit. The machines boot into the specific applications we have assigned to them, but there is no reason you couldn't boot into a desktop session. As an aside, I can, from my PC here in CT, go out over a VPN to our NC location, and from there link to a Citrix session in Cleveland, for instance, and the application runs just as it would if I were in the specific location. Emmitt Dove Manager, DairyPak Business Systems Evergreen Packaging, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] (203) 643-8022 From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lawrence Lustig Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 3:48 PM To: RBASE-L Mailing List Subject: [RBASE-L] - RE: Thin clients << We use Metaframe on top of TS. Most of the thin clients are Neostations (Neoware) and include some that are touch-screen with no keyboard, but we also use a variety of RF devices, including PSC Falcon guns (320x200 screen) and some vehicle-mount screens with 800x600 resolution. All work just fine. >> Are these all on the same local network? In the case of our client, they are setting up a periferal building that looks like it will be connected via DSL and the public internet to the main building. How do you handle the security of a connection like that? And how do the machines boot -- do they boot directly to the remote desktop session? What's the performance like compared to doing the same thing on a PC? -- Larry
