Transcript Network Computers (KLOE General Meeting)

KNOWLEDGE...COMMUNICATION...INNOVATION...
WORLDWIDE...
Network Computers: The Future Clients
Some of the presentation data got from
IDG survey results
Network Computers
Jun 13th, 1997
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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
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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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Jun 13th, 1997
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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 NC&trade
• 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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Jun 13th, 1997
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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
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- 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 evolution
of 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 Massimo Pistoni
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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 Xterminals (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
Operations Staff
Desktop Client Costs
Installation Costs
Applications
Development Staff
Hardware Upgrades
End User Training
0
200
400
Networked PC
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600
800
1000
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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
60
50
Networked PC
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40
30
20
10
0
Annual number
of failures
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Hours down per
failure
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Annual Hours
lost
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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...
60
50
58
40
30
20
24
18
10
0
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Networked PC
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Other/Don't Know
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…and to manage
45
40
42
35
30
33
25
20
23
15
10
5
0
Network
Computers
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Networked PC
Jun 13th, 1997
Other/Don't Know
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System attributes top purchase
criteria
Security
5
Access to legacy apps.
Performance
0
Ease of installation
Reliability
Cost
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Ease of Use
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NCs: high growth expected
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1996
1997
US
1998
Western Europe
Source: IDG 1997
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1999
2000
Rest of World
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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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Jun 13th, 1997
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Tests in the LNF
• Already tested:
– IBM
– Tektronix
– Sun
• To test soon:
– HP
– NCD
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Jun 13th, 1997
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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 don’t 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 Explorapro
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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
166MHz
• Available inPentium
late
with Java 1997 at very low cost
0
10
20
Seconds
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interpreter
Pentium 166MHz
with Java
interpreter
Pentium 166MHz
with Java compiler
Pentium 166MHz
with Java compiler
PicoJava
simulation
PicoJava
simulation
0
30
Javac tests
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100
Seconds
200
RayTracer tests
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Questions?
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