ThinManager Alternatives

Currently, we are using ThinManager to deploy Citect Runtime to 12 Thin Clients. We are at a point where we are upgrading out servers, and the current version of ThinManager we have (v3.2) has not been tested to work with Windows Server 2012. The price to upgrade ThinManager is way too expensive.

I am looking into alternatives to ThinManager, but it doesn't seem like there is anything like it out there that is meant for this application. I've been mainly looking at NComputing's vSpace software with their L300 devices. They look like they will suit our application, but it seems too good to be true for the price.

This new solution needs to:
-be able to handle dividing licenses between the two servers, for example, have 4 sessions open on each server, and when one server goes down, the powered server picks up those sessions.

-have the ability to view the operators' screen while he can see it as well.

-hold up in an industrial environment (lots of dust)

-easy to replace units

OR, if you've had any success stories getting ThinManager v3.2 to work with Windows Server 2012, that would help too!

thanks!

nobody?

It's clear that you want an answer to your question so let's be honest.

ThinManager is the best product for what you have described and it's priced in that range. I don't consider it expensive for what it does. It's at version 7 now so of course version 3.2 is not going to be fully supported on the most recent Microsoft server operating system and it's just plain stupid to expect it to.

Thing change and things upgrade and get better and your business has to change also at some point. It's just the cost of doing business. You can get thin client hardware that will hold up in your environment and use VM Ware Horizon or Citrix,Etc but it's going to cost on order the same or more than it would to get up to date with thin manager so IMHO I think it would be foolish to implement a new solution when you have the best industrial solution out there it just needs to be brought up to a current revision.

I don't mean to rant but it really ticks me off when business wants something for nothing. You get what you pay for and if you want the correct product for the job that's reliable sometimes it's not priced at what you may consider cheap.

Some may companies today want to make huge excessive profits in the millions and think they can run their facility on a yearly budget of 20 dollars.

Tell your managers you need an up to date version of thin manager to complete your project and move forward. It's the cost of doing business and they are responsible for getting it for you.

Don't put an office system where an industrial systems belongs just so some manger can get pat on the back for saving a couple grand and you and your coworkers will be fighting the system for the next 10 years. In this business mistakes tend to hang around for a long time so be careful what you do as you may just be stuck with it.

ThinManager is still an option, I just find it hard to believe that there are no real competitors in that market. Thanks for your honest response!

perhaps the problem is not with thinmanager, but with the limitation of the citect software.

Sorry but if you re-read, this has nothing to do with limitations of Citect. I'm looking for a cost-effective alternative to ThinManager, if there is one.

I agree with The PLC Kid. You pay for what you get. Thinmanager is by far the best and most versatile product in their class. I would happily pay the upgrade fees.

Most hardware units are well supported, and i find their company very helpful when it comes to updating drivers and testing new thin client ranges.

Honestly just pay the upgrade. The cost of looking, testing and replacing the current infrastructure justifies those costs.

thanks!

RheinhardtP said:

I agree with The PLC Kid. You pay for what you get. Thinmanager is by far the best and most versatile product in their class. I would happily pay the upgrade fees.

Most hardware units are well supported, and i find their company very helpful when it comes to updating drivers and testing new thin client ranges.

Honestly just pay the upgrade. The cost of looking, testing and replacing the current infrastructure justifies those costs.

Click to expand...

I'll be another +1 on The PLC Kid's post.

ThinManager is the best at what they do - and you get what you pay for.

I've dealt with environments where they don't want to pay the costs for what they need, and we end up using some Microsoft RDP deployment solution and it's inferior. The troubleshooting and issues and support they've put in would have paid for itself if they did it the right way from the get go.

Set it up for RDP

Just use MS RDP it is simple and free
But if you disconnect, you must reboot the thin client