Network Computers (KLOE General Meeting)

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KNOWLEDGE...COMMUNICATION...INNOVATION... WORLDWID
E...
Network Computers The Future Clients
Some of the presentation data got from IDG survey
results
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The Network Defines the Client

• Network maturity and bandwidth satisfies demand
• Software development delivers the opportunities
• Established platforms offer best integration
  potential

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The NC defined...

• The NC is not a product, it is a spectrum of
  client devices
• NCs will differ in capability from consumer
  devices
• NCs will be used to access corporate information
• Intranet and Extranet growth will feed NC
  adoption in early stages
• The next generation client needs to be designed
  for intranet/extranet implementation

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What is a Network Computer?

• Apple, IBM, Netscape, Oracle and Sun are
  introducing a Reference Profile for the Network
  Computer the NCtrade
• This Reference Profile is intended to provide a
  common denominator of popular and widely used
  features and functions across a broad range of
  scaleable network computing devices, including
  personal computers

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In practice what is a NC?

• One of the simplest example of Client-Server
  network based application
• Powerful low cost RISC CPU and RAM
• Disk or diskless peripheral device
• LAN card for the comminucation I/O
• Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse and Audio Output

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IP-based protcols defined

• TCP - Transmission Control Protocol
• FTP - File Transfer Protocol
• Telnet - Terminal emulation and remote login
• NFS - Network File System
• UDP - User Datagram Protocol
• SNMP - Simple Network Management Protocol
• DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
• Bootp - Boot Protocol

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World Wide Web Standards

• HTML - HyperText Markup Language is the
  publishing format for WWW sites
• HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol
• Java Application Environment
• Java Virtual Machine and runtime environment
• Java class libraries

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Mail protocols

• SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
• IMAP4 - Internet Message Access Protocol Version
  4
• POP3 - Post Office Protocol Version 3

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Common Multimidia Formats

• Pictures and bitmap images GIF and JPEG
• Sounds and audio WAV and AU

And security supported

• ISO 7816 (SmartCards)
• Europay / MasterCard / Visa specifications
• OpenCard Framework

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In practice a particular evolutionof the
classical X-Terminals

• But with local CPU running applications
  capability
• HTML Browser
• Java Developer Kit and Java class libraries
• Java interpreter
• Java Virtual Machine
• X-Windows
• Windows NT Operating System (Windd, etc)
• Security for the Intranet and Extranet support

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Cost-To-Use analysis is key

• IDG research utilises Cost-To-Use model
• Established model measures business computing
  costs
• IDG survey contacted 125 IT managers in France,
  Germany, UK and US
• All businesses had networked PCs and X-terminals
  (Intranet NC)
• Cost-To-Use model reveals significant savings
  when deploying X-terminals

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Survey finds Intranet NC attractive

• NC has lower acquisition cost
• Offers reduced costs for software and for
  software maintenance and distribution
• Offers reduced administration, support, training
  and backup costs
• Costs less to upgrade and maintain
• Provides universal access to applications and
  information together with Internet integration

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Cost-To-Use model reveals potential
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Cost-To-Use reveals savings

• All line items yield a cost saving for the
  Intranet NC over the networked PC
• Most significant savings in hardware upgrades and
  applications development staff
• Five year costs of Intranet NC show 44 savings
  compared to networked PC (39,114 vs 69,686)

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Down time critical to user productivity
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Upgrades impact productivity

• Hardware and software upgrades extend the user
  down time
• Loss of productivity due to scheduled upgrades
  for intranet NC 25 of networked PC costs
• Loss of productivity due to unscheduled down time
  for intranet NC 36 of networked PC costs

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Intranet NC easiest to install...
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and to manage
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System attributes top purchase criteria
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NCs high growth expected
Source IDG 1997
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Network offers choice

• Rise in network development offers choice to IT
  managers for occupational fit
• NCs provide the ideal client characteristics
  simple, standard access without the cost and
  support expenses
• NCs promise is low-cost, low-administration,
  highly secure, enterprise access client desktops
• Intranet NCs deliver the NCs promise

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Tests in the LNF

• Already tested
• IBM
• Tektronix
• Sun
• To test soon
• HP
• NCD

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IBM Network Station

• H/W Low cost Power PC, 32 Mbytes RAM, no disk
  (with partnership of NCD)
• S/W NetStation Support downloaded from an
  IBM AIX system
• Advantages
• Good X-Terminal
• Java Virtual Machine
• Disadvantages
• HTML Browser not yet available

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Tektronix Network Station

• H/W RISC CPU, 24 Mbytes RAM, no disk
  (model XP421C)
• S/W XPressWare Version 4.1 downloaded from a
  Digital OSF system
• Advantages
• Good X-Terminal
• HTML browser (NAVIO Netscape)
• Disadvantages
• Java interpreter and JVM not yet available

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Sun Net Station

• H/W RISC CPU 32 Mbytes RAM, no disk
  (model Java Station)
• S/W Name Netra J Version 3.1 downloaded from a
  Sun Solaris system
• Advantages
• JAVA Interpreter and Java Virtual Machine
• HTML browser
• Disadvantages
• X-Terminal S/W not yet available

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HP and NCD (not tested yet)

• We dont know anything yet about HP NC
• For the NCD are available both HTML Browser and
  Java Virtual Machine (the XWindows S/W is already
  well known in the LNF)
• The already installed NCD (Explora series only)
  are upgradable to become Network Station with a
  simple S/W reinstallation on the X Server
• HMX model has best performance of Explora-pro

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SUN JAVA chip

• Sun announced PICOJAVA chip
• Specifically engineered to run Java applications
• Built to execute in H/W many Java
  instructions
• Available in late 1997 at very low cost

Javac tests
RayTracer tests
Seconds
Seconds
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Questions?