Avtek

What is a thin/zero clients ?

A thin/zero clients is an alternative to computer rooms, offering some strong benefits to the education sector and business environments alike. In a thin/zero clients, the noisy and bulky desktop PCs and clumsy laptops have been replaced with compact computer terminals installed on the rear of each display housing.
All such terminals are connected to one central host – the server. Thanks to the dedicated architecture of the server machines and MultiPoint software, each workstation user in a thin/zero clients can have their own separate desktop environment and can access a set of preinstalled applications.
Working with a terminal feels identical to working with a conventional, standalone PC workstation, as each terminal is equipped with the same standard peripherals, such as a keyboard and a mouse, and supports all the well-known basic PC operation techniques. Need to access your own files? No problem at all! All you need to do is connect your pendrive to your terminal's USB port. The operating system’s desktop, the applications, multimedia and internet access all work exactly in the same way and have the same look and feel as if they were used in a standard computer room.

Advantages of a thin/zero clients

Thin/zero clients that employ Avtek terminals offer numerous advantages over computer rooms set up as networks of desktop or laptop PCs:

Lower upfront implementation cost. Thin/zero clients can cost as much as 30% less compared to computer rooms composed of desktop or laptop computers.
Lower administration costs. Installing software and setting up all the terminals in the room is quick and easy.
Domain controller equivalent features. Individual user accounts, simplified management, optional Active Directory domain controller integration.
Savings resulting from the significantly reduced power consumption. Each terminal draws as little as approx. 3.5W during normal operation.
Better workspace management. Avtek terminals are mounted on VESA brackets at the back of each display, so they do not occupy any space on the users’ desks and make it easy to organise all the cabling.
A working environment that is friendlier to users. Avtek terminals do not generate any noise or heat, which increases the comfort of work.
High reliability. No moving parts and the use of well-tested solutions dramatically reduces the likelihood of a malfunction.

Centralised management

Supervising and maintaining computer hardware at a company or school computer room is often a responsibility of a single administrator or computer science teacher. Fortunately, managing an IT environment that is based entirely on Avtek terminals essentially boils down to managing a single server-side system. Instead of installing software components separately on the individual workstations, they only need to be installed once – on the central server – and it will become accessible to all connected users.
Among other features, the server-side Multipoint software lets the administrator view the desktops of the individual users and run any application on all thin/zero workstations at once.
Managing the system from the server makes it substantially easier to install new software, fine-tune system settings or keep a watch over data security. Another fact worth mentioning: as the server is the exclusive location in the network where the data of all users is stored, if any user’s workstation is physically damaged, that user will not lose their document files.
Due to their advantages, strongly simplified administration and much lower implementation and maintenance costs, Avtek thin and zero clients are perfect for the education sector (as the school computer room or library workstations) and have been gaining popularity in public (authorities, offices, hospitals) and business organisations (office workstations, open space environments).