Configuring Citrix MetaFrame for Windows 2000 Terminal Services
Helps administrators get up to speed on MetaFrame, including designing solutions, installing the software, and configuring remote client access.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Configuring Citrix MetaFrame for Windows 2000 Terminal Services
Bottom Line Value of Using Thin-Client Technology
One of the chief benefits of thin-client technology is the improved total cost of ownership (TCO) that it provides. TCO can be pretty easily figured for an organization when you divide the costs into hard costs, such as hardware and software prices, and soft costs, such as maintenance and upkeep. Soft costs are most commonly associated with support issues such as user training and problem solving. Of the two, soft costs are the harder to calculate. The goal of TCO is to achieve the maximum return on investment (ROI) with the minimal cost involvement.
Calculating Hard Costs
To calculate the hard costs, you must first determine the hardware and software that will be used in a project and then total that number. In a thin-client project, this means looking at the existing hardware and determining if it can still meet your needs as a client for the new server. For instance, old 386 and 386 machines running Windows for Workgroups 3.11 can still be utilized as 16-bit clients with Terminal Services and MetaFrame. UNIX workstations that have been sitting in the closet could function as ICA clients for MetaFrame. All of these are factors to be considered when calculating hard costs.
The easiest way to decide whether Terminal Services or MetaFrame is a cost-effective solution is to look at a comparison between a traditional desktop upgrade and a MetaFrame solution. In Table 1.7, an example is given where a company with...
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