Practical Handbook of Thin-Client Implementation

233 Pages·2005·7.67 MB·English

by  Nasimuddin Ansari

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Copyright'2008,NewAgeInternational(P)Ltd.,Publishers
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Preface
Thin-Client/Server computing is probably the most under-rated technology of this era. Until
we got involved in implementing this Thin-Client/Server model, we really hadn’t understood
the advantage of this cutting edge technology.
We found that there are not many books available on this technology in the market to
help the professionals to get the know-how quickly. Therefore, when the idea of this book was
conceived, we thought of coming up with a book that could deal with practical aspects of
technology along with basic concepts. We finally settled on writing a handbook instead of a
textbook, having step-by-step guidance and pictorial representation. We have tried to use simple
and lucid style for better comprehensiveness. Screenshots and pictures have been used to
clarify the concepts. As it is not a textbook but a handbook targeted at a large audience, we
have avoided too much theoretical explanation.
Every IT support personnel must have felt, how difficult it is, to support an enterprise
network having large number of hardware & software components. It attracts frequent human
intervention for problem solving and maintenance. This book is an effort to make the IT-
industry aware of this wonderful technology & its enormous potential that reduces maintenance
to a great extent. It is our belief that very soon the Thin-Client/Server model would be playing
a crucial role in the information infrastructure of almost every enterprise, be it, government
organizations, health sector, educational institutions or even small businesses.
Thin-Client/Server computing model removes almost all the vulnerabilities of hardware
failures, OS crashes & data losses at Client System. To begin with, this is a multi-user, server
based model in which almost all the applications run on the server. This helps in managing
users, resources and even data, centrally. Also, this requires low network bandwidth for users
to be able to work on the server.
We tried to provide step-by-step details of every process involved in the implementation
of this model. Both Microsoft and Open Source Operating systems support this model. We
have discussed the pros & cons of implementing this model mostly around Microsoft platform
and presented a glimpse of Open Source technology just to help you in deciding your choice.
We wrote the book on Windows 2000 Server Operating System because after 4 years of
its release, it can now be considered as a stable system as compared to Microsoft’s latest releases.
Microsoft releases Service Packs, patches and HotFixes over an extended period of time for its
products. Sometimes it takes a long time to find and fix such problems. Even some of the
HotFixes related to Terminal Services of Windows 2000 have been released only during last
year-end. Another thing, with newer Microsoft OS releases, we must purchase Citrix MetaFrame
Series of products to use ICA protocol. However, If we wish to use RDP protocol (to avail
advanced features of these Operating Systems), we must upgrade RDP client on Thin-Clients
to a latest version. That again adds cost because no manufacturer upgrades it for free.
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We hope this book would be able to answer all the queries pertaining to this upcoming
Technology. We also expect that this effort will help a bit in emergence of this technology in
the vast horizon of network computing.
We have divided the complete handbook in TEN chapters:
CHAPTER ONE: “Introducing Thin-Clients” discusses the concept, architecture,
benefits and the need for Thin-Client based implementation.
CHAPTER TWO: “Windows 2000 Server Installation” deals with the installation
and configuration details of Windows 2000 Server.
CHAPTER THREE: “Licensing Policies of Windows” explores the type of licenses as
proposed by Microsoft, their functionality and activation.
CHAPTER FOUR: “Communication Protocols” discusses various communication
protocols used by Thin-Clients to communicate with the server.
It also describes configuring them and presents a brief
comparison.
CHAPTER FIVE: “Managing Users & System Resources” talks about
authenticating users and giving them access rights of resources.
CHAPTER SIX: “Understanding Windows 2000 Print Services” gives the idea
on configuring and installing various printers connected locally
or remotely to a Thin-Client. In addition, we discuss common
problems faced by Administration in controlling printers and
print service.
CHAPTER SEVEN: “Performance & Tuning” establishes the appropriate way to
Monitor various Parameters of Windows server and tuning them
if required.
CHAPTER EIGHT: “Integration of Thin-Clients With Linux Server” introduces the
philosophy of Open Source and the license related jargons. The
advantages and drawbacks are narrated and a brief idea of using
Linux for Thin-Client or diskless Client has been presented in
this chapter.
CHAPTER NINE: “Bridging Windows & Linux Operating Systems” - suggests
methods to access two entirely different platforms for
interoperability and presents Comparative Study of Windows
& Linux
CHAPTER TEN: “Problem Solving & Frequently Asked Questions” throws light
on common issues faced during operation and overcoming them
suitably.
Nasimuddin Ansari
Shekhar Tiwari
Neeraj Agrawal
Acknowledgements
This is our first endeavor in authoring a book, which would not have been possible if
Sri. Saumya Gupta of New Age International (P) Ltd would not have offered us this wonderful
opportunity. It is our privilege & pleasure to have worked with this esteemed Publishing House.
We owe so much to the Production crew at New Age International (P) Ltd for making the book
possible, and for making it to come all together. We are extremely thankful to them for showing
their trust and belief in us during the course of this project.
We are extremely indebted to Sri.Vishwaroop - GM (NTPC Ltd), Sri. R.L Deohans -
AGM-IT (NTPC Ltd), Sri. Sujoy Dasverma - DGM-IT (NTPC Ltd) & Mr. Sourajit Ghosh -
Sr.Manager-IT (NTPC Ltd) for providing us the necessary infrastructure required for research
and testing on this emerging technology. Not only this, they also guided us on various front
and provided moral boost during this project.
We also extend our thanks to Sri. M.S.Raizada, Sri. Indrajit Khandai & Sri. Zafar Aslam
of CMC Limited who motivated us and provided opportunities to enhance our technical skills.
We feel extremely humble & grateful to our friend R.Vaidyanathan for reviewing the
manuscript and suggesting ways to make the book better and more user friendly. His past
experience with Indian Express has benefited us enormously. We must extend a warm “Thank
You” to all our friends & folks who continuously encouraged and supported us - particularly
Kamlesh Kukrety & Saurabh Agrawal.
Last, but not the least, we are most appreciative of the blessings and support provided
by our families. It was all because of their faith & trust that we could successfully complete
this book.
We definitely hope that our book will attain a vast readership and appeal the minds of
IT aspirants to deploy the proposed architecture. We assure all our readers to provide more
informative books on newer & latest technologies in the future.
Nasimuddin Ansari
Shekhar Tiwari
Neeraj Agrawal