Advertisement
Quick Links
Download this manual
See also:
User Manual
Configuring a U170 Shared Computing Environment
NComputing Inc.
March 09, 2010
Overview
NComputing's desktop virtualization technology enables significantly lower computing costs by
letting multiple users share a single PC. With the U170 product up to 10 users can share and
simultaneously access a single PC.
The concept of shared computing is not new, in fact if you go back to the early days of
mainframe computing, multiple users shared a single system using basic access terminals. PCs
forever changed the economics of computing – allowing people to have the power of the
mainframe on their desk. As technology has progressed, the PC has become so powerful that
most users are now only using a fraction of the capability of the machine, resulting in wasted
resources and wasted power.
NComputing takes this excess power and shares it among multiple users, resulting in more
efficient usage of resources and hence lower costs, easier set-up and management and a far
superior environmental footprint.
NComputing manages the shared PC resources with the vSpace™ desktop virtualization
software and distributes those resources to each access device. NComputing vSpace software
efficiently accesses the features and functions inherent in the host PC's operating system to
distribute its capabilities among users with minimal overhead. Therefore every U170 station can
see operating system responsiveness and application performance that is nearly the same or equal
to that of the host PC.
Setting up a multi user environment is straight forward but there are a few fundamental
computing attributes that should be known and understood. The document will outline how to
best configure a U-series environment by discussing the best configurations and topologies for 5
and 10 multi-user environments.
NComputing is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2010.
Advertisement
Related Manuals for NComputing U170
Summary of Contents for NComputing U170
- Page 1 Overview NComputing's desktop virtualization technology enables significantly lower computing costs by letting multiple users share a single PC. With the U170 product up to 10 users can share and simultaneously access a single PC. The concept of shared computing is not new, in fact if you go back to the early days of mainframe computing, multiple users shared a single system using basic access terminals.
- Page 2 The USB 2.0 specification calls for 500 mA per port. Each USB device with a standard mouse and keyboard attached is expected to use about 400 mA of power (this includes a power allowance for the mouse and keyboard is up to 150 mA). Therefore there can be only one U170 per USB port.
- Page 3 The maximum length of a USB 2.0 compliant cable is 5 meters. A hub or repeater can be used to extend the cable to 10 or even 15 meters, but each hub (the U170 is a hub) or repeater counts as a hop and you can’t exceed 5 hops on a port.
- Page 4 ION Series 120 MB/s * Note: This is NOT a comphrensive list of chip set that have more than one USB bus. NComputing is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2010.
- Page 5 U170s downstream of one USB connection. Adding an additional USB controller card through a PCI slot to a PC is also an option. Depending on how many U170 devices attached to the PC and how many USB buses the PC has, there are typically no bottlenecks between the U170 stations and the host.
- Page 6 USB hubs. Cables Use quality cables Using quality cables don't exceed more than 5 hops on a single USB port Distance NComputing is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2010.
- Page 7 This is a topology of only 3 hops. Note that the first power hub add the ability move up to 5 meters from the host and then split out four U170 devices (at up to another 5 meters). And the second series of powered hubs are optional but shown here add extra USB ports for flash drives, a printer or other USB devices.
- Page 8 CPU and memory usage from the host with Windows Task Manager. A 720 x 480 video clip typically represents a widescreen DVD quality image. NComputing is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2010.
- Page 9 Our topology for this five user environment looked like this: U170 U170 Port 1 Port 2 Port 1 Port 2 U170 Port 1 Port 2 U170 Port 1 Port 2 NComputing is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2010.
- Page 10 USB 2.0 PCI card can be added to the host. A topology that looks like this: Each U170 kit contains one device that adds a new user to a shared PC. Up to nine U170 devices may connect to a PC and support ten users (including the host) simultaneously. The U170 combined with a modern PC provides the most affordable and powerful shared computing environment in the market today.
- Page 11 $789. We connected nine U170 devices, ten LCD monitors, and Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition as the OS. There are not enough USB ports on this PC for 9 U170 devices. We divided the nine devices into two groups. Five U170 devices are connected to a D-Link seven- port powered hub and four U170 devices are connected to a D-Link four-port powered hub.
- Page 12 Five U170 devices connected to a hub Four U170 devices connected to a hub NComputing is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2010.
- Page 13 (~720 x 480) in full screen mode and one video clip playing at normal mode (430x370), the environment provided excellent interactive performance with no discernable dropped video frames. NComputing is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2010.
- Page 14 User 8 Excel Word PowerPoint Internet Explorer User 9 640 x 360 video User 10 Internet Explorer Roboworks Excel Outlook Express NComputing is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2010.
- Page 15 DDR2 SDRAM Memory. Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 R2 SP2 Standard Edition and Office 2003 (system hardware cost was $789, excluding software and taxes). NComputing is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2010.
-
Page 16: Appendix A - Setup Details
PC; then connect each U170 device to a keyboard, monitor, mouse, and host PC (via USB 2.0 cable) and speakers and microphone to their ports. NComputing is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2010. -
Page 17: Appendix B - Benchmarking Comments
System Boot time. How long does it take to get to a Windows logon prompt and access a usable desktop after powering up the system? NComputing is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2010. - Page 18 NComputing vSpace virtual desktops deliver a user experience that is close to that of the host PC. NComputing is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2010.