Getting the Most Out of Yesterday’s Computers

All too often, deploying new software solutions requires a hardware upgrade. A strong feature of the thin-client/server infrastructure is the freedom to deploy applications regardless of available hardware. With the ICA client, you can add new life to old PC hardware with 286, 386, and 486 CPUs.

ICA allows you to use 32-bit Windows applications with old PC hardware.

If you plan to access a thin-client/server solution over a dial-up connection, you need to make sure that the hardware has a minimum of 2 MB of RAM, a VGA card, and a network card or modem.

One ICA licensee, VXL, has created an ISA card, the EaziTC, that fits into an older PC, turning the PC into a Windows-based terminal. You install the EaziTC in lieu of a network card into your older PCs. The EaziTC has the following specifications (which can be found on the VXL Web site at http://www.vxl.co.uk/):

• The EaziTC plugs into any 16-bit ISA slot.
  
  
• Using the EaziTC, administrators can maintain a user’s private data on his or her local hard disk, excluding such data from the corporate network.
  
  
• The EaziTC allows administrators, during the setup process, to prevent the transfer of corporate data to private storage.
  
  
• The independent nature of the EaziTC means that the administrator can be absolved of the responsibilities associated with the user’s hard disk.
  
  
• A built-in OS and ICA engine allows Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT, and MS-DOS text applications to be delivered directly to the desktop via WinFrame application servers.
  
  
• The network interface can be programmed to be avail-able to either PC or EaziTC or to both.
  
  
• The EaziTC uses the computer’s keyboard, display, memory, and mouse.
  
  
• The EaziTC is 100 percent ICA/3 Protocol compliant.
  
  
• A built-in 10BaseT network interface is included.

Basically, you can bring old hardware up to a minimum standard for working with a thin-client/server infrastructure by adding a VGA card, 2 MB of RAM, and a network card. You can also add a card such as the EaziTC from VXL. You’ll find the ability to add a thin-client/server solution extremely valuable in almost any organization.