Linux thin clients gain bandwidth-sparing technology

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Jan. 04, 2005

A company selling Linux thin clients since 1994 has added a new X compression technology to its latest firmware revision. SmartFlex says NX technology from NoMachine reduces the per-client bandwidth usage of its Netion SmartClients, enabling use on low-bandwidth networks, and greater scalability.

SmartFlex's Netion line of SmartClients includes several hardware configurations sourced from third-party manufacturers. The clients run SmartFlex's Netion thin client firmware, which is based on an embedded Linux operating system.

According to SmartFlex founder Hans Knobloch, the Netion environment is modular and configurable, enabling the company to offer both standard, off-the-shelf Netion clients, available in several configurations, and customized firmware for corporate installations. SmartFlex is the first North American thin client vendor to offer an NX client, according to Knobloch.

NoMachine's NX technology aims to lighten up the X, RDP, and RFB (VNC) protocols by placing caches at both network ends. NX was first announced in September of 2003, and a 1.4.0 version was released in November of 2004.

NX architecture diagram (click for larger view)

Knobloch says that NX technology reduces the amount of network traffic per client, enabling thin clients to work over low-bandwidth connections such as ISDN lines. It also allows more clients to use the same network, albeit at the expense of a higher load on the client and server, due to compression and decompression tasks.

According to Knobloch, a single switched network could support 500 to 600 NX-enabled clients running graphically lightweight applications. "[Scalability] really depends on what the users are doing. If you have 20 or 30 users pulling down a lot of graphics, that can saturate a network, especially if it's not switched." Knobloch says.

Knobloch adds that NX traffic is encrypted, for greater security.

NoMachine CEO Gian Filippo Pinzari said, "One of the challenges to successfully implementing Linux in the corporate thin client scenario is putting together the right components and getting them to work together. SmartFLeX and NoMachine do just that."

Availability

SmartFlex distributes off-the-shelf versions of Netion SmartClients, priced at $399 (retail price) through a network of resellers. Customized versions may cost more or less, depending on RAM and Flash requirements. SmartFlex also offers the Netion software environment pre-installed in Flash chips, direct to thin-client hardware manufacturers.

SmartFlex operated as IGEL LLC (InteGrated ELectronics) from 1994 to 2000, and then as IGEL USA (InteGrated Easy Linux) until 2001, when the company changed its name to avoid association with IGEL GmbH of Germany, then undergoing stock market difficulty, according to Knobloch.

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