Hosted Desktop

[sanjiv]

Hello,

Does anyone use a cloud based Hosted Desktop solution for their business? We are at a point where IT needs updating. There are 7 users and Hosted Desktop looks like a good solution.

My worries are reliability of the system and quality of it as the connection will be over the internet. The other option is to have a server running Terminal Services and have 7 computers, maintained by an IT company that we currently use.

We do have some specialist software which will need to be on the machine, however the companies I have already contacted to get information have not had any problems with the softwares I mention.

Can anyone recommend any providers of this service?

Thank you
Sanjiv

 

[safesys]

Why do you want a cloud solution over running a small business server in house? You would have much more control over the latter (especially if you are using custom software), and not be at the mercy of internet unreliability.

Before you go for a hosted solution, be 200% sure that you have the connection to support it - I have had to rescue countless companies that thought the cloud was a good idea, and then discovered it wasn't due to performance and provider issues - costs a lot more to go back after changing than it does to stick with local hosting in the first place.

I am not against the cloud, and I do think it has its uses, but at the moment, with UK internet infrastructure as it is, for most I would never recommend it unless you have multiple synchronous redundant leased lines. Definitely not over ADSL.

Cheers,

Chris

 

[dizzysolutions]

Whilst this does not answer your immediate question of 'recommend service providers', I wanted to share some experience that hopefully will help.

An internal Terminal Services client is something that I have implemented for a manufacturing company. Why internal server rather than cloud based?

Well, obviously there is the already mentioned connection quality and control of the service; but I also find that this is a great way of reducing your expediture on 'PC replacements'. Let me explain:

Every year this company would replace all computers that were 3-4 years old - quite a budget was allocated each year. With introducing the terminal services approach they managed to reduce there annual budget significantly: All computers were booted using a linux based live cd that simply booted immediately to the terminal services login screen. This method meant that hard drives were not needed, the machine started quicker and all hardware that was slow and earmarked for replacement was re-used.


It all depends on the requirements however. If you and your colleagues do things that are memory hungry/requires alot of power then is this approach ideal for you? In the above scenario we kept the office staff as-is but moved all of the factory computers to terminal services just because of the type of work the office did (CAD/advanced data analysis).

 

[liams7]

We use a cloud based solution and it is amazing.

Caloboration is easy. Back up is done and i dont have to worry about security its all done by an external company and the price is fantastic.

You dont need expensive pcs to run it.

We use www.spidergroup.com and there fantastic.

I cant tell you all the benefits of lower electricity bills and all but for us and about £50 a station a month its a no brainer.

If you call spider group ask for James Cook and he will really look after you. They offer all solutions so im sure he could help you any way.

 

[sanjiv]

A cloud based solution would be very similar to the in house solution as they would both be Terminal Services or Citrix or something along those lines. We would get a Virgin business broadband line and probably an ADSL backup line. I have been advised that each desktop uses 200Kb/s download from one company so 7 would be easily manageable for us even on ADSL. Is this right?

Reasons for the cloud:
- No servers to maintain (server room with regulated temperature)
- Little/no upfront costs (rather than buying server or expensive lease and also some licensing costs)
- All software updates are done
- Backups regularly done (would keep one onsite backup also)

That is what I can think of straight away.

It would be difficult to do so but I would want to run Hosted Desktop side-by-side with our existing solution to see if it is any good before making the transition. Difficult to do so though because of databases and files having to be mirrored.

 

[astutiumRob]

I have been advised that each desktop uses 200Kb/s download from one company so 7 would be easily manageable for us even on ADSL. Is this right?

Very much depends on what they're doing on the hosted desktop, how busy the staff are with their machine, what your local internet connection is like and what applications they'll use.

 

[sanjiv]

Very much depends on what they're doing on the hosted desktop, how busy the staff are with their machine, what your local internet connection is like and what applications they'll use.

With Hosted Desktop, is it not just images, clicks and key presses that are transmitted?

 

[andygambles]

With Hosted Desktop, is it not just images, clicks and key presses that are transmitted?

Yes which means it can work reasonably well over a dial-up connection if you disable all the fancy background graphics and aero desktop.

You can even use 3G to connect. I have connected via my iPad over the 3G.

 

[sanjiv]

Yes which means it can work reasonably well over a dial-up connection if you disable all the fancy background graphics and aero desktop.

You can even use 3G to connect. I have connected via my iPad over the 3G.

Yep I tried out a Citrix demo on my Galaxy S2. Pretty efficient.

Its just so difficult to weigh up the downsides to it. Using a demo is fast but not sure how great it will be with our files and programs loaded onto it.

 

[andygambles]

Yep I tried out a Citrix demo on my Galaxy S2. Pretty efficient.

Its just so difficult to weigh up the downsides to it. Using a demo is fast but not sure how great it will be with our files and programs loaded onto it.

That will depend on the power of the virtual machine rather than the speed of your Internet connection.

 

[sanjiv]

That will depend on the power of the virtual machine rather than the speed of your Internet connection.

But also reliability of internet connection. Will need a backup internet connection if available. Is there any hardware available that can have two broadband connections and use both (by splitting computers between) and if one goes down, put everyone on one connection?

Thanks

 

[astutiumRob]

But also reliability of internet connection. Will need a backup internet connection if available. Is there any hardware available that can have two broadband connections and use both (by splitting computers between) and if one goes down, put everyone on one connection?

Yes, and will take a phone-sim for GPRS/3G in the event of failure.

You must remember to always keep your own backups - every provider _eventually_ has an issue, and losing all your documents can be the end of a business, but remote-desktops can be fantastic - I'm out a _lot_ and simply connect to mine from wherever

In practice, you do need a reasonable connection at your end if having multiple users - around 400Kb/s per desktop would be similar to being there, occasionally when typing an email reply or spreadsheet a few key presses might get lost, so it's important to adjust your typing speeds and navigation accordingly.

 

[mehamgul101]

well very nice sharing and thanks for it

 

[bediwin]

But also reliability of internet connection. Will need a backup internet connection if available. Is there any hardware available that can have two broadband connections and use both (by splitting computers between) and if one goes down, put everyone on one connection?

Relatively little at the cheap (say, up to £100-150) domestic ADSL router end of the market, but this is dead easy once you start to look at more sophisticated routers. You could even buy a PC with two or more network cards (probably three in this case) and install pfSense; bob's your uncle.

 

[andygambles]

But also reliability of internet connection. Will need a backup internet connection if available. Is there any hardware available that can have two broadband connections and use both (by splitting computers between) and if one goes down, put everyone on one connection?

Thanks

But you also need to weigh up the cost of that backup internet connection? Is it worth it or worth just getting a more reliable internet connection?

Plus it could be as simple as sending everyone home. Since it is a hosted desktop they can login from there.

 

[computer storm]

Draytek do a router that will support a number of connection that you can use simultaneously. Have a look at the link provided.

http://www.draytek.co.uk/products/vigor2830.html

 

[sanjiv]

Relatively little at the cheap (say, up to £100-150) domestic ADSL router end of the market, but this is dead easy once you start to look at more sophisticated routers. You could even buy a PC with two or more network cards (probably three in this case) and install pfSense; bob's your uncle.

We were hoping to not have the need to have any server in the office but might need a backup server so this could be an addition to that.

But you also need to weigh up the cost of that backup internet connection? Is it worth it or worth just getting a more reliable internet connection?

Plus it could be as simple as sending everyone home. Since it is a hosted desktop they can login from there.

Looking at a Virgin business connection. With any connection, there is always the small chance that it might fail and I think it would always be better to have a backup when relying so heavily on the connection. Not really feasible to send everyone home due to the nature of our business. In the property business.

Draytek do a router that will support a number of connection that you can use simultaneously. Have a look at the link provided.

http://www.draytek.co.uk/products/vigor2830.html

Thank you. I will take a look at that.

 

[chrishankinson]

Hi There

Sounds to me like what would be ideal would be an onsite server along with some cloud for remote users. In the past I have provided onsite servers with a link to a hosted platform; data replicates between the two locations for backup and accessibility, and in addition this means that users accessing your network from outside the office can have full access to their desktops. This can also mitigate the problem of low bandwidth at your location.

I'd be more than happy to provide some more ideas if they would be of use.

Thanks

 

[sanjiv]

Hi There

Sounds to me like what would be ideal would be an onsite server along with some cloud for remote users. In the past I have provided onsite servers with a link to a hosted platform; data replicates between the two locations for backup and accessibility, and in addition this means that users accessing your network from outside the office can have full access to their desktops. This can also mitigate the problem of low bandwidth at your location.

I'd be more than happy to provide some more ideas if they would be of use.

Thanks

We don't really have any remote users as such that would require access when they are out of the office, so a hosted platform in addition to onsite servers may be unneccessary. That is why we are looking at a full cloud solution. We can currently remote login to desktops but trying to spread costs and having little physical and software maintenance.

If you could provide more ideas, that would be great.

Thanks

 

[chrishankinson]

We don't really have any remote users as such that would require access when they are out of the office, so a hosted platform in addition to onsite servers may be unneccessary. That is why we are looking at a full cloud solution. We can currently remote login to desktops but trying to spread costs and having little physical and software maintenance.

If you could provide more ideas, that would be great.

Thanks

Well what I would do then as I have done in the past is provide an onsite server with some back end cloud integration where required (backup usually). In the past, I have rolled out an onsite Small Business Server, however I have provided this on a usage basis. This means that the server is provided on a per user basis, meaning that you will only pay for your exact requirements. This is ideal for smaller businesses that don't perhaps require the full capacity of a server, or perhaps would like to pay for their IT on a usage basis. I think this type of solution meets your requirements as it will avoid this issue of low bandwidth and also will allow you to spread the cost of IT. Almost all maintenance can be done remotely.

Usage based IT provisioning is done via Microsoft's SPLA agreement. This means that you never actually have to purchase SBS or other Microsoft products, simply "use" them. This therefore means your software can always be updated free of charge, and you can pay for usage on a monthly basis.

The additional benefit of this way of working is that you have an onsite server that is fully maintained both in terms of hardware and software. Your server will never get old, as the hardware will simply be updated, and the same goes for the software. It also means that it completely removes the need for capital expenditure when it comes to your IT. It's very cost effective as support, upgrades, maintenance and hardware/software provision are all with one provider.

Its a bit of a complicated setup, however I think I have a case study on one of the clients I provided this to if it would be of interest. If you would like me to give you a call and explain how I would go about doing this, send me a message and I will do so.

 

[dizzysolutions]

Hi Sanjiv,

I know you have had plenty of feedback already with regards to advantages/disadvantages of cloud computing. However, I came across this document which is great when weighing up pros and cons of cloud computing...

http://www.microsoftpartnercommunit...oud-Computing-Pros-and-Cons-for-End-Users.doc

I hope it is of some use.

 

[jaydeee]

just wanted to share that our office uses Citrix to connect to our cloud desktop. Looks working. However I guess it would be better if we'll use web application than accessing the whole desktop.

 

[internetspaceships]

Wonderful. How many people have actually grasped that "Cloud" is the new name for a datacentre.

Talk about rebranding......

 

[sanjiv]

just wanted to share that our office uses Citrix to connect to our cloud desktop. Looks working. However I guess it would be better if we'll use web application than accessing the whole desktop.

What company is it?

Wonderful. How many people have actually grasped that "Cloud" is the new name for a datacentre.

Talk about rebranding......

I thought cloud computing was to use remote servers like they are your PC (i.e. Hosted Desktop and Dropbox etc.) rather than just web hosting type thing. Perhaps using processing power of servers to do things or to store more or all data on remote servers.

 

[internetspaceships]

Yes but it's still all based in a datacentre mate.

 

[iandc6]

I'm sure this is really late, but I thought I'd add my tuppence worth. You can find loads of information about a virtual hosted desktop at wikipedia