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I'm currently investigating options regarding thin clients following a move to a system based on Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Currently users are using their existing desktops as RDP clients, but at some point this hardware will be due for replacement, prompting me to investigate thin clients in a little more detail.

I've been spending some time looking into the HP thin client range, which offer a number of OS options, including Windows Embedded.

One of the main reasons for switching to thin clients would be the reduced management burden compared to fat desktops. From the point of view of hardware maintenance, it seems quite obvious why that would be the case. From a software point of view, I appreciate that write filters reduce maintenance requirements, but I'm unsure how things would work when it comes to OS updates. This has led me to wonder - is it normal practice to keep Windows Embedded thin clients up to date in terms of security and reliability patches in the same way that one would with the full version of Windows (Windows Update, WSUS, etc)? If it's different, how exactly, and why? If it's more or less the same, it seems to negate one of the main advantages of switching to thin clients (at least where Windows Embedded is concerned).

In my particular case, it looks as though I would have the thin client configured in kiosk mode to drop straight into the RDP client, so security updates seem less of an issue. However, I get the impression that thin clients are also used as browser terminals for web-based apps, in which case security updates would be more of a concern.

I'd appreciate it if someone with some in the trenches experience can fill in some of the blanks to help me understand things a little better.

dbr
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  • Please explain what you think the "reduced burden" is for thin clients. – Jim B Jan 24 '16 at 20:18
  • I'm not quite sure what you're getting at. I continued by splitting it into hardware and software aspects, explaining that it's quite obvious to me why there's a reduced hardware maintenance burden, but the software side is less clear, which is the point of my question. Happy to elaborate, but not quite sure what you think is missing? – dbr Jan 24 '16 at 20:23
  • I just wanted to make sure you were wondering what the software difference was and not hardware costs (which are obviously more expensive since its industrialized hardware, usually fanless). – Jim B Jan 24 '16 at 20:56
  • Well, simplified application management and delivery is one benefit. You'll only need to install your LOB software on your RDSH servers rather than on the individual client machines. This doesn't negate the need to keep the client machines (fat or thin) updated appropriately. Simplified or reduced patch management of the desktop OS isn't a benefit that I've ever seen advertised or touted as a reason to deploy thin clients. – joeqwerty Jan 24 '16 at 21:00
  • @joeqwerty In a situation like mine where you've already switched and are using the old desktops just as RDP terminals, you've already removed the need to maintain LOB apps locally without moving to thin clients. That's more of a case for moving to a virtual desktop model rather than a case for moving to thin clients per se. That's really what's behind my question though - having already moved to RDS, what advantages am I gaining by replacing the fat desktops that are already just asking as terminals with thin clients? The hardware case makes complete sense - software is less clear. – dbr Jan 24 '16 at 21:37
  • To be honest, I think I might rewrite the question. I think it could be clearer. – dbr Jan 24 '16 at 22:04
  • @DBR the workload to maintain 1 app instance vs 1000 is only marginally higher and generally offset (if not demonstrably higher) with the hardware and software costs of VDI as well as the complexity of VDI. It seems like you are trying to get someone to agree with your proposition that somehow vdi is going to save you something. Perhaps the question is too broad. – Jim B Jan 25 '16 at 07:18
  • If you're trying to reduce the workload in maintaining the client end, look for zero clients, which use an even thinner layer at the client end (firmware only.) – Jeter-work Sep 28 '16 at 16:36

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Just in case somebody else stumbles across this question later, let me throw this in as well. There is nothing "THIN" about an embedded OS from Microsoft. Its over 4GB, usually 8. It takes an hour to push out an image. HP doesn't recommend using windows updates or WSUS to push updates and because of the slower disk and CPU it takes a lot longer to roll through updates so make sure you are staying up to date every month.

Oh, and if you are choosing windows for your thin clients, make sure you order the version of the OS that you want. There is no such thing as downgrade rights with HP thin clients and windows OS versions (if you have a way let me know but I spent 4 months dealing with HP sales and support). You can install another version of an OS on your machine but it can't be an HP branded version from an HP image because it will tell you its not licensed for that machine, even if you are windows 8 trying to go to windows 7. You can also install a newer version (ie Windows 8.1) but the management tools didn't work for more than an hour before it would disconnect and never come back. HP couldn't help with that either.

IMHO the only way you can go with a thin client setup is to get rid of Windows 7 embedded. It can be managed but the maintenance costs are a LOT higher. Go with ThinPro. You can image a machine in about 45 seconds, it captures most of the settings and there are a lot fewer patches for it.

Dennis Aston
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  • What was originally known as a thin client is now sometimes called a zero client. The only thing on the client is enough to handle I/O. The barest minimum of OS, installed as firmware. This connects to a Citrix, VMware or RDS server to present the VDI image. The client component is maintained much the same as you would a monitor or keyboard. If it glitches, you swap it out and then troubleshoot the glitched component and possibly do a warranty replacement. Of course your VDI image has to be a full desktop, not just apps. – Jeter-work Sep 28 '16 at 17:14
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There is not a software burden decrease (its actually an increase as now you have to patch 2 oses, the thin client OS(which nowadays is either android, windows or Linux) and the OS the VDI solution runs in, and the apps. There CAN be a savings in app patching depending on the application provisioning process (App V, Azure remoteapp etc). The savings in thin clients is in replacement hardware. While I can absolutely find cheap laptops under 200 for full windows OS, they are not as rugged as the fanless, sealed thin clients, and in harsh environments (high humidity, dirty, acrid, etc) they can save you a pile of money over the cheap laptop.

Jim B
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