client SEPTEMBER | 2011 computing Centralizing computing resources can improve security, speed application availability and reduce support costs. 800.808.4239 | CDWG.com/clientguide cWRD •g eFeRence guiDe A guide to the latest technology for people who get IT CLIENT COMPUTING REFERENCE GUIDE IN THIS ISSUE: Chapter 1: Client Computing Comes of Age ........................ 3 • The Evolutionary Path • Real-world Benefits • Innovation Continues Chapter 2: Client Computing Architectures ....................... 6 • Architecture Options • Client Computing and Virtualization • Client Computing Meets the Cloud Chapter 3: Client Computing Devices ...................................11 • Thin Clients and Zero Clients • The Benefits of Thin Client Hardware • Client Caveats Chapter 4: Client Computing and COOP ............................ 25 • Continuity of Operations: Being Prepared • Clear and Present Dangers WS HaT I a CDW•G • COOP Components REfERENCE GUIDE? • How Client Computing Can Improve COOP Chapter 5: Client Rollout and Management ..................... 29 • • How to Select the Right Architecture At CDW G, we’re committed to • Infrastructure Considerations getting you everything you need • Thin Client Support to make the right purchasing • Management Best Practices decisions — from products and services to information about the Glossary ............................................................................................. 33 latest technology. Index ........................................................................................................ 35 Our Reference Guides are designed to provide you with an in-depth look at topics that relate directly to the IT challenges you face. Consider them an extension of your account manager’s knowledge and expertise. We hope you find this guide to be a useful resource. chapter 1 The Evolutionary Path Real-world Benefits Innovation Continues Client Computing Comes of Age Many benefits accrue by managing applications from a central location. Client computing is a robust large, highly efficient data centers or 90 percent of medium- and large- technology that helps IT managers private and public clouds that offer size organizations are considering manage their desktop fleets more scalable computing power and storage or implementing at least one form efficiently and supports greater resources that can be provisioned on of client virtualization, with the vast productivity for their organizations. the fly. The second piece is a high- majority of that group planning to In short, this technology replaces speed wired or wireless network install a client virtualization solution expensive desktop PCs with more optimized to keep data throughput within the next 12 to 24 months. modest end-user devices that latencies low and service quality high. That’s the big picture. But, as with any draw strength from centralized The final piece is the clients, which large-scale IT endeavor, the success of processing power, applications run the gamut of hardware available client computing depends on a number and data that’s available for end today, from desktop PCs to a wide of factors. They include designing the users anytime and anywhere. variety of modern thin clients, including right architecture; making wise choices It’s a battle-tested approach to those without onboard CPUs or hard about devices, operating systems computing that dates back to the disks. Increasingly, the list of devices and applications; and managing the mainframe era, but with important also includes the latest tablet PCs and rollout and ongoing operation of the updates that take advantage of today’s smartphones. Client computing lets infrastructure. Setting up and running leading technology innovations, each organization’s requirements and a client computing environment is including virtualization, cloud the personal preferences of individual getting easier all the time thanks to computing, smartphones and tablets. end users guide what hardware maturing technologies and a host of Like many game-changing works best in each situation. well-documented best practices. technologies, the strength of client IT managers are gravitating toward computing lies in its simplicity. This this strategy. Market research firm IDC The Evolutionary Path technology’s building blocks consist of predicts that shipments of hardware for Each generation of client computing three main essentials. The first piece client virtualization could rise from about has been marked by a shift in which is centralized computing resources. 13 million in 2011 to 34 million by 2014. organizations concentrate processing In the past, this meant mainframes. Similarly, CDW’s 2010 Client power. In the mainframe era, processing Today, client computing consists of Virtualization Straw Poll found that occurred in data centers that housed 3 chapter 1 these ”big iron” machines. patches, software updates, service access to networks and applications. Later, when desktop PCs proliferated, tickets and refresh strategies. In contrast, a client-computing end users crunched data locally using Client computing seeks to offer strategy concentrates security efforts their own CPUs and information stored the best of old-school centralized on a smaller and more manageable on internal hard drives. Today, the computing and new-school number of data center servers. pendulum is swinging back to centralized innovation, with the ultimate This centralized approach eases processing resources, either in central goal of balancing affordability, the auditing burdens associated data centers or public and private clouds. manageability and better computing with regulatory compliance. Finally, For many CIOs, the concept of client environments. Some far-reaching client computing extends an computing may seem suspiciously and complementary technology organization’s security practices to familiar. However, what is new is how trends are making this a reality. mobile users, no matter where or client computing mixes the best of Server virtualization is a natural fit when they tap into IT resources. this technology’s past offerings with for client computing because it lets IT Centralized management: By today’s innovations in ways that give managers extend their goal of shared centralizing computing power, data organizations more choice, economy and IT services, allowing clients of all and applications in core data centers, efficiency for delivering IT resources. types to tap into back-end servers for organizations reduce the burdens In the past, dumb terminals served processing power, data and applications. of maintaining and supporting a a specific purpose, giving multiple End users get the resources they need diverse PC environment. For example, users within an organization individual for their individual requirements, while when a new edition of a software on-ramps to expensive mainframe IT managers centralize management application arrives, the IT staff updates computing power. Access to mainframe control, allocate resources as needs only a few data center servers, not data was a precious resource, and change and limit the hardware footprint every PC in the organization. terminals made it possible for both for greater security and cost savings. It’s the same with data backups. IT administrative and technical staff Virtualization is now extending administrators only need to worry about to share time on the system. these principles further out to end a manageable number of file servers IT management problems weren’t users. Client virtualization, primarily and networked storage systems, unheard of, but they were well virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), is not scores of local hard drives. contained because IT did not yet becoming a foundation for many new Application availability: Centralized have the challenges of securing and client computing implementations. management is also an important maintaining the scores of PCs that factor in keeping users connected eventually arrived on users’ desks. The Real-world Benefits to important applications. If an end aptly named dumb terminals, rather Fat clients, thin clients, zero clients — user’s desktop PC crashes, work than housing any local processing the specific devices deployed aren’t comes to a halt until someone fixes or storage, drew their computing of overriding importance unless the problem or installs a replacement power from their mainframe hosts. organizations see clear-cut benefits unit. Not so with client computing. Organizations eventually came from rethinking how they deliver Clients typically have fewer to see the limits of this setup, but IT services to end users. For client moving parts, so there are fewer many IT departments noted the computing, there’s a lot to like for opportunities for failure. But if a benefits of a closely controlled both IT administrators and end users, device does go down, the user merely environment of centralized computing including the following five benefits. needs to log in using alternative resources, and this approach to Security: Fat clients may have hardware to immediately access all computing would resurface. ushered in a new world of computing the data, applications and power as Fast-forward to today: Computing flexibility, but it came with many before. Downtime may be reduced environments are anything but drawbacks. Security management to minutes rather than the hours or controlled. Even the days of proliferating became a full-time job at many days of traditional environments. PCs seem like a simpler time as