We’re all familiar with the concept of data streaming. Most of us will also have come across thin-client computing, but few will have thought of combining the two. And yet, that’s exactly what Wyse has done to give network managers greater control over the desktops in their organisations.

Called Wyse Streaming Manager (WSM), the aim of the exercise is to do away entirely with local desktop storage and, instead, stream both the required operating system and application software, on demand, from a central server.

The target device will, typically, be a stateless thin client, such as the specially designed Winterm V00 which has no built-in operating system at all. However, any PCs can also be used, even virtual PCs if you want. Either way the software runs locally so, unlike a traditional thin client (where the software is hosted on a shared application server), there are no performance issues or problems when it comes to running multimedia applications.

Security and availability are also enhanced, with no local storage to corrupt, plus there’s fast recovery from hardware or software failure. Other benefits include the ability to use a common software image across the entire organisation and manage any patches or updates centrally.

It sounds like a good idea but, although we found WSM reasonably straightforward, a lot of careful planning and preparation work is required and it’s far from a simple solution. To begin with the main server component needs to be installed on a well-specified Windows Server, with SQL Server also required somewhere on the Lan.

We then had to build the operating system images we wanted to stream using a reference platform on which the software is loaded together with any drivers required. Windows 2000 and XP are both supported, but the usual Microsoft licensing still applies and you really need a volume licensing agreement to avoid product activation issues.

Once created, operating system images are used by the WSM server for streaming to the Winterm V00 and other devices. These in turn use the PXE (Pre-boot Execution Environment) protocol to boot the images remotely over the Lan with users, who are optionally allowed to choose what they boot from.

A special Wyse client can also be installed to enable users to subscribe to applications that are likewise streamed, on demand, to the client device.

Those applications are then streamed separately with yet more preparation work required. Again, it’s not difficult but it does take time – a separate Publisher tool is provided to take snapshots before and after each application is installed onto a clean reference system (typically, a virtual machine) from which the required dataset is then built.

A web-based console is used to manage the server and its software images with tools also to allocate and manage licence counts.

Because the software runs locally, performance is mostly dictated by the local processor, and the Via C3 inside the V00 is far from the fastest chip on the block. Despite this, we were surprised at how quick the overall solution was. In fact at times it was hard to tell we weren’t using an ordinary PC.

However, whether it’s worth all the time and effort will depend on your organisation, with WSM most likely to appeal to larger setups with significant desktop management overheads. Only then will the benefits outweigh the lengthy setup required.