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GCN Home > October 2, 2000 issue

Thin clients

Microsoft and Citrix set the protocol pace

By J.B. Miles
Special to GCN

Understanding the relationship between Microsoft Corp. and Citrix Systems Inc. is necessary to understanding their significant contributions to thin-client computing.

Several years ago, Microsoft announced Windows NT Server, Terminal Server Edition (TSE) 4.0, a multiuser operating system capable of bringing server-based Windows applications to many desktop platforms, including Macintosh, Unix and others.

The Terminal Server portion of the software provided the ability to host multiple, simultaneous client sessions on Windows NT Server 4.0 and future versions, namely Windows 2000.

A key component of the software is the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), which allows thin clients to communicate with the terminal server over the network. According to Microsoft’s definition, a thin client can be any one of a wide range of hardware, including the new category of terminals or PCs running Windows 9x, NT or Windows for Workgroups 3.11.

Citrix developed a licensing agreement with Microsoft that built on the multiuser capability of Windows NT Server 4.0 TSE but added its own Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) that provides a foundation for turning any client—thin or fat—into the ultimate thin client.

ICA separates application logic from the user interface on the server. On the client side, users see and work with the application’s interface, but 100 percent of the application executes on the server. Citrix claims that, with ICA, applications consume as little as one-tenth of their normal network bandwidth.

Win 2000 builds in the RDP protocols and multiuser capabilities of Windows NT Server 4.0 TSE along with some other features such as server load balancing. Citrix’s MetaFrame software for Unix and Win 2000 brings end-to-end command and control features, enterprisewide application portals and Web information-on-demand to virtually any client device, regardless of its operating system.

Just remember RDP and ICA—they are the protocols that make Windows-based thin-client computing work.
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