Resource Requirements
The LTC will run on nearly any PC-compatible system, and the minimum requirements
are much lower than the requirements of a usable Win95/98/NT system. This
means that there are 2 different paths one can take in designing an LTC:
-
Low cost, high-performance systems using new hardware
-
Very low cost, adequate performance systems utilizing "retired" hardware
There are several drawbacks to the second option, including:
-
Lower performance may cause user dissatisfaction when compared with newer
Windows systems
-
Each unit must be separately tested and configured because the hardware
varies so much
-
The additional labor costs involved in configuration may offset the saving
on hardware costs
-
There may be a limited supply of "retired" hardware and it may be more
subject to failures
The only drawback of the first option is that budget constraints may delay
the implementation.
Obviously, a combination of the 2 may also be used, selecting
the best of the retired hardware to lower costs somewhat during implementation.
The "theoretical" minimum system would be a 386SX with 16 MB of RAM,
but I would not recommend using anything less than a 486DX with 32
MB of RAM. Nearly all testing to date has been done on Pentium-class systems.
Current PC hardware pricing presents a great opportunity to obtain high
performance hardware for about $400 (not including a monitor). This compares
favorably with commercial thin client systems that range in price between
$500 and $1200 per unit (not including servers).