ID Number: G00204025



Through Thick and Thin: Zeroing in on the Perfect HVD-Client Device
12 July 2010
 
Nik Simpson  

Selecting the best hosted virtual desktop (HVD) client for a HVD implementation presents IT organizations with a dilemma: What's the best choice--thick-client, thin-client, or zero-client? Each approach comes with trade-offs that include performance, network bandwidth requirements, manageability, security, and flexibility to adapt to a changing HVD implementation. Failure to understand the impact of these trade-offs in a particular HVD-client deployment can seriously undermine the success of the project. In this Gartner assessment, Research Director/Analyst Nik Simpson examines the various approaches to providing the client device for a HVD implementation.





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Table of Contents

Contents
  • Summary of Findings
  • Comparison
  • Analysis
    • Characteristics of Thick, Thin, and Zero HVD-client Devices
      • Thick-Client Characteristics
      • Thin-Client Characteristics
      • Zero-Client Characteristics
    • Usage Models for HVD-clients
      • Remote Terminal
      • Local Processing
    • Comparison Between Thick-, Thin-, and Zero-Client Devices
      • Flexibility
      • Manageability
      • Security
      • Performance
      • Costs
    • Strategies for Selecting a HVD-client
    • Future Technologies
      • Hardware Acceleration for Server-Side Rendering
      • Windows 7 Embedded Edition
      • Cloud-Based Applications
      • Mobile Devices
  • Recommendations
    • Categorize User Requirements
    • Consider Reusing Existing Desktops
    • Consider Security Implications
    • Be Wary of Server-Side Hardware Acceleration
    • Consider Web-Based Alternatives to Support
    • Consider Alternatives to Hardware Maintenance
  • The Details
    • HVD-client Protocol Implementations
      • Client-Side Rendering
      • Host-Side Rendering
      • Multimedia Offload
      • Selective Refresh
      • Client-Side Caching
    • HVD-client Implementations
      • Thick-Client
      • Thin-Client
      • Zero-Client
  • Related Research and Recommended
  • Notes
Tables
Table 1.
Comparing Thick-, Thin-, and Zero-Clients
Table 2.
Typical Thick-Client Attributes
Table 3.
Typical Thin-Client Attributes
Table 4.
Typical Zero-Client Attributes
Table 5.
Power Cost Savings
Table 6.
Classifying Users into Classes for HVD-client Selection
Figures
Figure 1.
Remote Terminal Protocol Fundamentals
Figure 2.
PC Graphics Pipeline
Figure 3.
Client-Side Rendering Using Graphics Primitives
Figure 4.
Virtual Graphics Adapter
Figure 5.
Host-Side Rendering
Figure 6.
Host-Side Rendering with Video Encode and Decode Stages
Figure 7.
Host-Side Rendering with Adaptive Compression
Figure 8.
GPU Acceleration for Host-Side Rendering and Encoding
Figure 9.
Hardware Media Encoder for Host-Side Rendering
Figure 10.
Bandwidth Requirements for Host-Based Video Decode and Playback
Figure 11.
Bandwidth Requirements for HVD-client-Based Video Decode and Playback
Figure 12.
Reducing Bandwidth Requirements Through Selective Refresh
Figure 13.
Client-Side Caching
Figure 14.
Thick-Client Platform Components
Figure 15.
Thin-Client Platform Components
Figure 16.
Zero-Client Platform Components (Courtesy of Teradici)




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