2008 Terminal Services

[cookie_monster]

We're looking into our first terminal server which we will be installing in the summer, i've read lots of good things about 2008 TS has anyone here started using it (i know it's new but by august it should have a few months behind it)?
This will be a small deployment to start only 14 clients and we'll build from there so it won't be critical infrastructure straight away.

We're a bit sceptical about going with Citrix now as it seems expensive expecially if 2008 can nearly match it for performance.

Also what about the 32-bit / X64 question, any of you running 2003 TS on X64 hardware?

Cheers for any input.

[apearce]

I have played around with a RTM version and its improved from the RC1 and the betas. Comes with TS Gateway which is a web page for your terminal services applications and remote access. One site can look after several servers.

You can also have the web part appear in SharePoint 2007. Here a document how to

http://www.sharepointblogs.com/ajp/a...harepoint.aspx

[Oops_my_bad]

We are currently testing out 2008 enterprise 64bit as a TS and well, we love it. OK so it's not quite there in terms of citrix but for our needs it looks to serve well. Like you we are looking at a small scale deployment initially but were always put off by the Citrix pricing and the (then) alternative 2003TS

There is a good discussion and citrix/2008 comparison at http://www.brianmadden.com/forum/topic/95426

[Ric_]

@TeddyKGB: The comparison chart from Patrick Rouse on that thread is particularly good and shows just how many extra features Citrix has.

I would certainyl recommend Citrix for anyone with more than 3 servers. You also have to remember that your Citrix licenses are concurrent and it is highly unlikely that you will have all your terminals in use at once anyway.

[cookie_monster]

Ric, can you tell me an approximate difference in licencing costs?


If our workstation use now is anything to go by i suspect that they will almost always be in use so i don't think concurrent licencing will be of much benefit to us.

Cheers for the input guys.

[Ric_]

IIRC educational licenses for the Enterprise Edition of Presentation Server (or XenApp as it now is) were about £120 each. By far and awayt he best feature you get for this is the load balancing which can be performed on ANY metric - not just session count! - so it is ideal if your servers are of different specifications.

[wesleyw]

2X can do load balancing too and is far cheaper I believe the cutter project uses a 2X server to load balance the Sun Secure Global Desktop system. Citrix uses the Windows Terminal Servers you've setup but over the last few years has functionality that just hasn't and isn't available from Windows TS alone. However Sun SGD and Powerterm webconnect have similar functionality, most schools wouldn't need any more. Citrix is the best of course but the price is restrictive however I believe at present that have the licenses at 50% £60-£70.


Wes

[Netman]

Citrix is the best of course but the price is restrictive however I believe at present that have the licenses at 50% £60-£70.
Wes

Do you have a source for this please? I've been getting quotes and no-one has mentioned this

[linescanner]

Sun Ray and SGD is a good way to go.

SGD has the ability to load balance servers but for Sun Ray we use 2x as Wes said.

We have done some testing on TS2008 and all looks good

Sun Ray/SGD licensing costs are much cheaper than Citrix and the feature set is similar.

Sun are working hard on developing both systems to increase the AV capabilities for schools.

Both systems just work and give you realyy power and flexibilty

[wesleyw]

I think it was Axess systems that mentioned it to me?

Ericom is another cheaper alternative to Citrix and was the first accredited (By microsoft) system to support windows 2008.

Wes

[wesleyw]

Citrix licenses price many people out of the equation. Ericom Webconnect and Sun SGD are cheaper by far however Suns main cost comes from additional hardware needed to run tarantella which for larger installs can mean enough to compare it with citrix pricing. The Cutter Project keeps the prices down as much as possible though. Webconnect is by far the cheapest but it doesn't have quite as much functionality as SGD or Citrix I don't believe.


Wes