US Surgical
Norwalk, Connecticut
Challenge: Replace aging manufacturing application with SAP R/3 on NT. Replace aging 3270 terminals, PCs, and Macs without increasing support costs. Reduce TCO and support requirements for 2000 desktops and maintain centralized control of software distribution. Want interoperability with HP UNIX workstations used for CAD.
Evaluation: US Surgical, a manufacturer of minimally invasive surgical tools, evaluated several terminal manufacturers but chose Tektronix because of its interoperability with UNIX clients. In addition, the Tektronix terminals have an embedded Web browser, a feature US Surgical wanted.
Solution: US Surgical uses 600 Tektronix WinDD terminals running on nine servers. Each server is load balanced and can handle about 100 users. Each of the Tektronix terminals, 125 CAD users, and 50 remote dial-up users can access the company's SAP R/3 manufacturing application. The SAP application uses Oracle on UNIX as a back-end database engine. US Surgical also uses Tektronix's built-in browser to access a human resources intranet application. Other users run WRQ, Microsoft Office, and departmental accounting applications.
"As PCs or Macs reach the end of their life cycle, we'll look at replacing many of them with terminals with a Web browser and a Java OS embedded. We want to stop visiting the desktop in response to broken hardware requests. We also want the ability to run the browser on the workstation in some cases—machines that are not assigned to a particular person," said Stephanie Johns, US Surgical's manager of LAN/desktop technology. US Surgical is using Microsoft's Systems Management Server (SMS) to update the company's PC software.
Results: "[TCSC] has reduced desktop cost and centralized management. It works. I use a terminal as my primary machine," Johns said.
Recommendations: Stephanie Johns offers the following recommendations to companies interested in implementing TCSC. "First, be careful when you hear about 500-dollar terminals. You want a monitor that performs [as well as] and looks as good as a PC. We bought 17-inch monitors, which brought our total terminal cost to around a thousand dollars. Second, if you want centralized management, you must put powerful servers on the back end. Third, you need to get close to your business requirements to make sure [your TCSC solution] really works for your environment now and in the future. For single-function users [TCSC] is great, but multiple functions require more work. For example, if you need access to CD-ROMs, faxing, and scanning, you'll need to install CD-ROM towers, fax servers, and centralized scanners. They must be on the network, not attached to someone's PC. Your users coming from terminals will have no problem, but users coming from PCs are not receptive to terminals. Finally, plan to put in some time just to get the application to work. You'll need to tweak many applications before they'll work well in this environment."
BJC Health System
St. Louis, Missouri System
Challenge: Replace mainframe-based healthcare applications (patient registration, clinical documentation, scheduling, and laboratory and pharmacy data tracking) that are not Y2K-compliant. Replace proprietary dumb terminals with graphical terminals; new terminals must support X-based applications. Use older 386 and 486 IBM-compatible PCs to run NT-based applications.
Evaluation: BJC Health System, a nonprofit healthcare provider serving two states in the Midwest, ran performance and compatibility tests against all major NT-based multiuser systems. The company chose NCD WinCenter Pro for its superior performance and support for X terminals.
Solution: BJC Health System installed four 4 * 200 Compaq load-balanced servers running NCD WinCenter Pro. The company uses Octopus' DataStar replication software to automatically replicate changes on one server to the other three servers. Client devices at BJC Health System include 150 NCD Explora X terminals and 230 older 386 and 486 PCs that run ICA for the DOS protocol.
Results: "Users can move from machine to machine and get their own desktop," said Dave Schultz, MIS manager for BJC Health System. "This is centralized computing at its best. One person in MIS can support 380 thin-client devices." Achieving similar results to those other companies have achieved, BJC Health System pushed application changes from a server to 380 clients within 2 hours.
Dave Schultz voiced some complaints about Microsoft's Terminal Server licensing model. "The new Microsoft Terminal Server client licensing sucks. I made a bunch of business proposals based on Citrix's concurrent usage model. Currently, I have 260 concurrent licenses for 380 devices. With the new Terminal Server licensing model, I would need 380 client access licenses (CALs) and NT Workstation licenses. The immediate net increase is $48,000. One of my hospitals has 1400 beds—with a thin-client device at every bed. With concurrent licensing for roaming users, I could get away with two hundred licenses. With the new scheme, I need 1400 licenses. That's a serious amount of money. Microsoft could kill this technology with its licensing scheme."
Recommendations: Dave Schultz says, "Make sure the business model fits: You're looking for a set of workers who use a monolithic set of applications. Be prepared to spend more time than usual in the up-front configuration." Schultz recommends taking a long-term approach to implementing TCSC: "Look real hard at where you're going to be in 18 months to 36 months. You want to avoid the turmoil that obsolete thin-client devices will cause."
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