VMware Horizon Community
mrstorey303
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

'Best Of Breed' Thin / Zero Client - Blast, Horizon 7

We've deployed a new VDI environment based on some pretty high end server and storage infrastructure, and I've been tasked with identifying a few thin / zero client devices to get in and test.

I'm not too familiar with this hardware space, so I just wondered what you guys considered 'best of breed' or industry standard thin / zero client devices which support all the latest Horizon 7 tech like Blast Extreme?

Thanks

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tjbailey
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

For our non-zero client devices we repurpose the machines with Stratodesk and utilize NoTouch Center (included in the license) for centralized management.

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virtualkim
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

I am using 10ZIG clients in production for a segregated environment on Horizon 6 and 7.

The Configuration Manager is free and very easy to use. You can deploy configuration (to a single unit or group of units) to your thin clients over the network using a graphical interface which relies on PXE boot. If PXE boot is not allowed, you can also deploy thin clients using USB pen drives containing different configuration files.

There is also a possibility to manage your client environment now over the internet using the cloud manager, however I am not using that.

The nicest thing though is that you can easily swap from thin to zero clients at no additional cost. Just ask the support team if you can have the other image files for the models you have purchased.

10ZiG will support both PCOIP and Blast extreme, so no worries there either.

So far I am very satisfied with the model I am using (the ancestor of the model you have ordered)

Kim

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Skmr
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Hi Gagan,

what is the difference between Zero client and Thin client?

Thank you,

Pere

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Ray_handels
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Zero client is what it says, sero. It's more of a system on a chip. No local OS to maintain. When looking at the PCoIP chip you can only change settings using the webinterface or the manager. It's just a few settings that you can manage.

ThinClients normally have a local OS like Linux or Windows PE (or soemthing like that) that you need to manage. Positive about these clients are that they normally support multiple protocols so you can use them with more VDI solutions if needed.

markadams123
Contributor
Contributor

Hi!

Personally, I prefer PCoIP because this protocol comes with support for multiple codecs which deliver great UX and offer optimal bandwidth and CPU load in VDI environments. This expands your options because you can then choose between various codecs for specific tasks. Blast Extreme, on the other hand, is a single-codec protocol.

I would recommend you to narrow down your choices to Wyse, HP and ClearCube. All three vendors offer endpoints that support the Blast Extreme protocol. However, my personal favorite is ClearCube because their customer support team has been very responsive to my needs. I was not familiar with their VDI endpoints but after understanding my business model, they suggested a thin client solution that delivered. 

The CD8841 thin client device might resonate with your particular VDI environment as it did in my case. It comes with support for Linux® operating systems and Cloud Desktop OS and protocols including:

1.        VMware Horizon® View with PCoIP® and Blast Extreme.

2.       Citrix® XenDesktop®, XenApp®.

3.       Microsoft® RemoteFX.

You can always configure the system according to your needs. Other than that, keep your options open to further understand what would best suit your use case.

Feel free to share your views with me!

ap_idb
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

HP ThinPro OS allows you to select the protocol for View (Blast, RDP or PCOIP) as well as utilize the thin client for Citrix, RDP or Web Browser. I've found the thin clients to be extremely easy to use, and updates are frequent.    

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DrivebyIT
Contributor
Contributor

+1 on Clearcube. Super helpful from start to finish. I use them for direct connect to Windows server and 7 VMs and really have no issue other than I wish I could switch between VMs quicker. I haven't implemented Blast yet, was hoping for an agent for Linux VMs that would work with PCOIP but that might not happen...but still, CC has been great.

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