By deploying vSpace in multiple virtual machines and load balancing across multiple servers, you could not only support hundreds of users but also bring fault tolerance to the system. This could be accomplished by combining vSpace with "traditional" virtualization - that is, running virtualized vSpace servers on a hypervisor such as VMware, Hyper-V, or XenServer. I feel that NComputing's claim that a server only needs 4GB of RAM to host 30 simultaneous users is probably right on.Īn obvious concern is scalability, as many deployments will need to scale beyond a few dozen users. Server resource statistics on my host system showed that the guest VMs played a minimal role in resource utilization.
Even media playback, from either Windows Media Player or YouTube, was handled with no discernable issues. I had no trouble browsing the Web or doing basic office tasks with all clients connected. NComputing performance and scalability During my tests, I had 10 元00 endpoints connected to an older Xeon-based Windows Server 2003 host (4GB of RAM) with Microsoft Office 2003, IE 8, and Windows Media Player installed. The 元00 comes with two USB 2.0 ports for remote devices, two USB 2.0 ports for keyboard and mouse, 1/8-inch microphone and speaker jacks, a 10/100Mbps Ethernet port, and a standard DB15 VGA port. There are no moving parts in the 元00 - no noisy fans or spinning hard drives. The L-Series client devices - I tested the paperweight-sized 元00 - are stand-alone Ethernet-enabled devices that require only a VGA monitor and USB keyboard and mouse.
There is no support for third-party thin clients, software clients on laptops, or Web-based remote access. One downside to the NComputing solution, as with Pano Logic, is that it works with the vendor's proprietary access devices only. (See InfoWorld's " Thin Client Computing Deep Dive Report" for more on Terminal Services and thin clients.)
This does not mean that a group of engineers can all run AutoCAD on this host, but normal everyday business apps, like word processing and email, will have little trouble.
For instance, an off-the-shelf desktop PC with 4GB of RAM and a decent CPU can host up to 30 simultaneous clients on Windows XP Pro. Performance on a LAN was excellent, but the NComputing solution suffered some performance issues over a WAN.īecause vSpace is so low-overhead and well-optimized, it doesn't require the latest in server virtualization technology to handle multiple users. Much like Terminal Services, it carves up the underlying system's resources among multiple users, allowing a single computer to host as many as 30 simultaneous desktops. NComputing's vSpace is a virtualization application with an ultrasmall footprint that runs on any Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 host operating system. NComputing is the only VDI solution of the three reviewed that provides its own virtualization layer - no VMware, Citrix, or Microsoft hypervisor required.