Connecting thin clients to free ESXI version

mishy

I am looking at deploying the free ESXI in a working environment but I am not sure how the clients will connect to the ESXI host, will they use view agent or RDP?

Currently the users are using a MyRiad server which means if someone installs their own softwares like skype, itunes when every user logs on the machines running off the server they have the programes running on their session too. In other times users have sessions of IE running over 250 000Kb per every tab they have open and it uses all the ram for everyone and trying to explain to the users to close IE and start again or close any unused tabs is a waste of time.

I need to deploy a solution were by you assign a user his/her fixed resources so if they install any applications it will only affect their sessions that is why I have gone for the VMware option. The main challenge is a solution that does not cost more than actually deploying standalone desktop computers. We are currently looking at about 20 users who will need this situation resolved. The current budget or quote is about £6 000 which is for upgrading the existing Myriad server.

jibbajabba

I think you misunderstand what ESXi is - ESXi is a hypervisor and not a piece of software people can use to install their own software on. On top of ESXi you will need to install virtual machines (Linux / Windows and so on) and to THAT people can connect via SSH / RDP etc.

ESXi would not eliminate the need of your solution as it would merely give you a way to consolidate physical resources.

mishy

Sorry I was not clear but yes I am aware that ESXI is HyperVisor. It is almost similar to MyRiad but the MyRiad software also requires you to have a base OS like Win Xp or Win Server and the install the Hypervisor on top of that, the limitation are the amount of RAM available to the VMs unless you are running a 64 bit you can only get a max of 3.5GB ram on XP or a 32bit OS.

I think ESXi would definitely eliminate the problems I am having because each VM will run independently from one another with the limitations of ram assigned to the VM and the total amount of ram on HyperVisor. In an Esxi solution is if my server had 20GB ram with 15VM's each running 1GB of Ram, if any user installs his dodgy softwares only his VM will be slow or affected. With current our setup if IE crashes for one user or uses a lot of resources then it affects everyone or if someone installs itunes/skype then it runs for every user with sometimes the only solution being to restart the whole machine and log out 20 users. Our goal is to have every VM independent from the others.

We will maybe install Windows 7 OS for the VM's, currently they are on XP but we eventually have to upgrade hence I think VMware is the way to go but the cost of the paid for versions is always going to be prohibiting us.

jibbajabba

With ESXi you are getting a client which you can use to connect to the ESXi server (in order to install VMs etc.).

Just make sure you got enough Windows Licences for this setup ... Also check the limitation of ESXi Free, one being a maximum of 32GB of RAM per host.

mishy

Yes it is a maximum of 32GB per host but my question is how will the users connect to the VM's on the ESXi host, do they use Remote Desktop or ViewAgent from their thinclients. They currently have MyRiad thin clients but if we decide to implement the ESXi solution then we might also replace the thinclients with newer models.

At home my lab runs ESXi free version and I connect to my VMs through remote desktop and WMare Vsphere Client but in the working environment I am not sure which protocol the thin clients will use.

As for the Windows Licensse which ever option we choose will need the licences so I am not that concerned about it at the moment.

QHalo

They would use RDP to connect to the machines hosted on the ESXi server just like it was any other server. There's no other protocol to use. Using the vSphere client should only be for consoling to the servers not for end user use.

jibbajabba

mishy wrote: »

but in the working environment I am not sure which protocol the thin clients will use.

Depends on the Thin Client. Via Google I see MyRiad uses HTML over HTTP by default so you'd have to check if they can be configured to use RDP.

mishy

In our new solution we would get probably get rid of the MyRiad Thin Clients too and replace them with new ones because one of the reason why we are having these problems is because they cannot be upgraded to connect to the latest version of MyRiad server which allows you to limit resource usage on applications and has better management of a shared host environment.

What protocols does the free ESXi allow you to connect to it using? I know RDP works but that uses up a lot of network bandwidth but I am not sure you will be able to use PCoIP.

jibbajabba

ESXi doesn't care about the protocols. If you connect the ESXi server to your local network then each Windows Virtual Machine on it is like a physical machine. ESXi doesn't care what you use - it doesn't block any particular protocols. Each thin client would connect directly to a virtual machine as if it is a physical PC. As for PCOIP - that would require a whole different thing. That would require a proper VDI infrastructure which you cannot do with ESXi Free. You'd require VMware view or Citrix Xen Desktop. Both requiring a lot more oompf and kit and money.

If you want to use ESXi Free then you are pretty much limited to anything you can do with a standalone PC - RDP / VNC and maybe other client based protocls those thin clients support .. but PCOIP - nope, no chance ..PCOIP is not just a display protocl, it virtalizes display / USB and other peripherals

mishy

Thanks Jibbajabba that answers my question but not exactly I what I had hoped for though . I know that to implement a VDI infrastructure its not worth it unless it is being deployed to over 100 users. I will carry on looking for other solutions. I had opted for the Vmware solution because with Ncomputing (MyRiad) you would need a base OS preferably Win 2003 Server 64bit, then the Myriad Server software and CAL licences for Windows.

jibbajabba

If your budget only allows ESXi Free as base system and you need to use the thin clients, then VNC / RDP is probably the only option.

MentholMoose

There's a free edition of XenDesktop, which would let end users connect to the VMs with an ICA client. It would likely be better than RDP, and certainly better than VNC. The free edition only allows 10 users, though.