How do you convert a huge network of legacy PCs into one that can run the latest software and is year-2000 compliant, without replacing current hardware and without bankrupting you? By installing thin client technology, says IT staff at King David`s Schools and the school`s technology partner, the Accronym Group.
Accronym recently installed NT 4.0 Terminal Server with Citrix MetaFrame to link seven school sites, bypassing the limitations of the hardware, says King David IT manager Avron Rabinowitz.
Saying the solution is "perfect for a school with limited funds", Rabinowitz nevertheless recommends thin client technology to corporates with bigger budgets, given that it lowers total cost of ownership (TCO), ensures compatibility with other platforms, eases management and enables remote education through "shadowing".
IT group Accronym`s networking division, proposed the solution to give King David`s network of legacy systems a new lease on life. Keith Benjamin, sales manager at Accronet, says the 486 PCs ran PC DOS with Windows 3.11 on 8MB of RAM, rendering the hardware unable to load the latest in productivity and educational software.
"With the installation King David were able to do that. Total cost of ownership was lowered in several ways: software installation as well as administration is done centrally, an upgrade in software was effected without a significant hardware upgrade, and year 2000 compliance was achieved."
The central management and application server system ensures no single point of failure. Whereas existing hard drives may fail, they are only needed for booting up the machines. Applications are accessed via the file server (Intel-based servers, assembled by Accronym, were also installed). At workstation level, only DOS 6.22 and an ICA client is loaded.
"To have replaced the current system would have been too costly", says Benjamin. "At R5 000 plus per replacement workstation, and the cost of the file server and software, Accronym proposed thin client technology to make it cost effective, without forfeiting functionality."
Jan Roux, Accronet networking manager, says the system is not vulnerable to inept usage by individual children, since the local drive does not house the operating system. "The benefits in terms of saved costs are also significant.
"The network administrator can shadow individual users to track their actions, and users may also shadow the central point of application, which has distance learning possibilities," Roux says. In addition, the technology affords a single point of login.
Roux says any customer with a central database and a concern for bandwidth will benefit from thin client technology. "Absolutely no processing is done on individual workstations - just screen clips, mouse clicks and key strokes are performed locally."
Steve Mazabow, CEO of the Hix group of Internet companies, and a board member of the SA Jewish Board of Education, under whose auspices King David`s Schools fall, says the installation saved the school R2 million.
Mazabow commends Accronym on a professional, timeous presentation and delivery of a well-specced solution.
Thin client technology has taken off lately, with benefits like load balancing between servers, scalability, bandwidth savings and cost efficiencies.
Stanley Ichikowitz, Citrix product manager at Workgroup Distribution, says the initial struggle to get thin client technology accepted by corporate seems to be over. "We have just had our biggest ever deal in Workgroup history, with 1 500 users, and we have trebled monthly sales on our October figures. I am talking millions of rands in sales."
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