Read an interesting article in the new PC Pro the other day regarding PC Blades (the PC equivalent of Blade Servers). Anyone else noticed it & got an opinion?
My personal thought is that this could be a good alternative to thin-client systems in school...
<prepares for flaming...>
I don't see the advantage of this over regular desktops. Its fairly irrelevent if they boxes are on the desk or in a rack. They are still seperate boxes you have to manage.
Thin clients don't have this problem because they use a fundamentally different approach.
The way I have understood it is that it means all your support is in one area, hardware is secured away and more room on desks. Plus the costs should be lower after the inital blade frame is bought. I was told some thin client annalogy but can't remember it now though
I can see that your getting some of the benifits of thin clients but not IMHO the most important one. You don't have to deal with loads of client PCs.
Securing the PC is only half the problem. I have just as much trouble with screens/keyboards/mice as with the boxes themselves.
I'm dubious about the cost savings too. Plus I'd have to buy a rack to put them in plus all the fun and games with the cabling.
I think it might work well to complement a thin client setup (where you need a 'fat' client for some paticular graphics/processor/etc intensive process) but on the whole, I think its not suited to the average network enviroment unless you've specifically planned for it..
I think this is the article I saw about it on the Register.
It does look a good idea, and with IBM getting behind it may take off a it more I think. But it is a radically different approach for most IT groups, especially schools.
You never know though.
I have to admit that this is the main benefit I can see. I don't think PC Blades could ever compete with thin clients on price, but they have the advantage (at the moment, at least) when it comes to graphics & other such things.Originally Posted by Geoff
Always good to see the range of opinions though...
I like the idea I think it has some potential. It would all come down to cost in the end though. I like the idea of connecting someone to a system that adequate for their needs eg a more powerful box for someone using photoshop and a modest one for the person using office.
And a cornflakes box for those that p*** you off...? :P
You know if you take a cardboard box and write "Computer" on the side. That is sufficent to be able to boot Linux on it.And a cornflakes box for those that p*** you off...?
Cool. This weekend's project - The Variety Pack Cluster!
rofl damn you vile.. errr nvm lolCool. This weekend's project - The Variety Pack Cluster!
he he
beeswax
It so happens that once I get back to work from 1/2 term, (well, Thurs) I'll be meeting with a rep to look at this as an option. From my POV, the potential saving is in A/C costs. Rack out in a cupboard with forced air circulation. Wiring to desktop breakout box is CAT5. I hope we can fing low voltage TFTs so we can put a big PSU in the rack to serve TFT and pods.
I'll keep you posted.
I bet the penguin freezes the flakes and thats how they get all white and sugary lol.
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