[OPLINTECH] FW: Thin client computers

Tue Jul 22 12:44:44 EDT 2008

Good point! That would certainly give an XPe Thin Client a good deal of 
protection.

With ThinStation, you can simply boot from a static ThinStation image 
from floppy, CD, USB stick, or PXE. The cleanest and most flexible is to 
boot a PXE-enabled computer from a remotely-served ThinStation boot 
image. It's a small image so it's served to the workstation and boots 
quickly. That way there's no storage device on the hard drive to infect 
or damage.

So many options...so little time to decide which one is best for your 
situation and to test it! LOL!

Chad

-----------------------
Chad Neeper
Senior Systems Engineer

Level 9 Networks
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)

--   Full LAN/WAN consulting services   --
-- Specialized in libraries and schools --

JKENZIG wrote:
>
> However if your Thin Client has  XPe (windows xp embedded) on it and 
> as long as you have enough room on the flash disk you very easily can 
> use deepfreeze and workstation management software as well as lock it 
> down with group policy and even steady state.  Xpe is just a lean 
> version of XP that we used successfully for several years here at 
> CCPL.  We've only recently gone back to full PC's due to the expanding 
> plethora of necessary plugins for all of the different databases.   
> She specified she wants them for email so a TC would work beautifully 
> for that.
>
>  
>
> Jim Kenzig
>
> Network Manager
>
> Cuyahoga County Public Library
>
>  
>
> *From:* oplintech-bounces at oplin.org 
> [mailto:oplintech-bounces at oplin.org] *On Behalf Of *Chad Neeper
> *Sent:* Tuesday, July 22, 2008 12:07 PM
> *To:* oplintech at oplin.org
> *Subject:* Re: [OPLINTECH] FW: Thin client computers
>
>  
>
> For what it's worth, I've used ThinStation 
> (http://thinstation.sourceforge.net), which is a FOSS (Free Open 
> Source Software) solution to turn nearly any old computer into a thin 
> client. This way old decommissioned computers were given new life 
> without any additional hardware expense. It works well with 
> Microsoft's terminal services, so you can use a MS server as the 
> back-end if you like. It also supports several other protocols besides 
> RDP, so you have several back-end server options besides Microsoft.
>
> If you want to purchase new TC devices, Neoware (recently purchased by 
> Hewlett-Packard) makes some good thin clients with various models to 
> choose from and reasonable prices.
>
> On the back-end, you have options also. Microsoft, of course, and then 
> any number of free Linux options, might be among the most popular for 
> libraries. I've even used a product called XPUnlimited 
> (http://www.xpunlimited.com/) to share out a Windows XP desktop to a 
> small number of computers. It looks like they have a version now that 
> supports Vista, FWIW. Locking down either environment probably 
> shouldn't be too difficult, depending on your expertise in your chosen 
> server operating system. Locking down the thin client's themselves 
> isn't the issue. It's the server and the user profiles that you need 
> to focus on. In a TC environment, on the server, Deep Freeze and/or 
> the full hard drive protection features of SteadyState probably aren't 
> your best options.
>
> Then the next hurdle is trying to get your pc reservation system 
> and/or print management solution to work in a TC environment...
>
> Plenty of hands-on testing and configuring to do here before you roll 
> out your solution!
>
> Good luck!
>
> Chad
>
> -----------------------
> Chad Neeper
> Senior Systems Engineer
>
> Level 9 Networks
> 740-548-8070 (voice)
> 866-214-6607 (fax)
>
> --   Full LAN/WAN consulting services   --
> -- Specialized in libraries and schools --
>
>
>
> Lucretia Wiley wrote:
> > Sunflower BODY { MARGIN-TOP: 25px;
>
> FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT:
>
> > 20px; COLOR: #666600; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica } IMG {
>
> > MARGIN-TOP: 10px; MARGIN-LEFT: -20px } Sorry, had to resend the
>
> email
>
> > below.
>
> >
>
> > *Lucretia Wiley * *Computer Systems Technician* *Warren Trumbull
>
> > County Public Library* *444 Mahoning Avenue* *Warren, OH 44483*
>
> > *330-399-8807 ext. 141* *Email: wileyl at wtcpl.org 
> <mailto:wileyl at wtcpl.org>
>
> > <mailto:wileyl at wtcpl.org>*
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > ------------------------- *From:* Lucretia Wiley *Sent:* Monday,
>
> July
>
> > 21, 2008 12:36 PM *To:* oplintech at oplin.lib.oh.us 
> <mailto:oplintech at oplin.lib.oh.us> *Subject:* Thin
>
> > client computers
>
> >
>
> > ** *Good Afternoon,* ** *I wanted to find out if any of you have
>
> thin
>
> > client computers at your* *library being used as email only
>
> stations
>
> > and if so, what brands and* *models do you have? Also, how are you
>
> > locking them down and do * *you have a time limit as to how long
>
> the
>
> > patron can use the station?* ** *We currently use deepfreeze to
>
> lock
>
> > the computers down and PC * *reservation to reserve and limit the
>
> > time a patron can use a computer.*
>
> >
>
> > *I would like to look into using Windows Steadystate to lock the
>
> > computers* *down with so any suggestions that anyone could give me
>
> > would be highly* *appreciated.* ** *Thanks,*
>
> >
>
> > *Lucretia Wiley * *Computer Systems Technician* *Warren Trumbull
>
> > County Public Library* *444 Mahoning Avenue* *Warren, OH 44483*
>
> > *330-399-8807 ext. 141* *Email: wileyl at wtcpl.org 
> <mailto:wileyl at wtcpl.org>
>
> > <mailto:wileyl at wtcpl.org>*
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > -------------------------
>
> >
>
> > _______________________________________________ OPLINTECH mailing
>
> > list OPLINTECH at oplin.org <mailto:OPLINTECH at oplin.org>
>
> > http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/oplintech
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> OPLINTECH mailing list
> OPLINTECH at oplin.org
> http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/oplintech
>   
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/private/oplintech/attachments/20080722/35ba471d/attachment.html