Citrix: the "small" business solution?

[teknophyle]

I've heard quite a few good things about Citrix and how well it works on an enterprise level. However, I'm a bit perplexed in regards to whether or not it's right for my business.

We have a fairly small business with a home office of about 15 people and 3 satellite offices with no more than 5 in each and all with broadband connections. We have one server with Windows 2000 running Terminal Server and the satellite offices would like to primarily have the capability to access our database through it on a multi-user level to update and print information from it. Simple stuff, right? We really don't want to go the PCAnywhere or Laplink route. We've heard about Citrix from a tech who recommended it when he installed our server and ever since I've been debating whether or not Citrix is too much for what little we'd like to use it for.

I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to the thin client scene. Any advice on a good high tech or even low tech solution to my situation would be greatly appreciated!

-Tek

 

[ATCal]

What you need to do is weigh the costs associated with implementing Citrix against the benefits for your organization. You probably wouldn't need some of the advanced features of XPe and may want to consider XPa or XPs to save some money (XPs starter with 20 users w/ subscrition adv. should run approx. $4000). The new Citrix Secure Gateway (free with subscription advantage) will allow you to publish your apps. securely over port 443 without tampering with any port settings on your firewalls.
I have been selling and supporting Citrix products for 6 months now and my clients have all been very satisfied.
One important selling point is that with remote access to a database, remote users often get knocked off for various reasons which can potentially wreak havoc on open database files. With Citrix, the user session is still running on the server, and can be rejoined where it left off upon reconnect.
Al
atc-computing@home.com

 

[CitrixEngineer]

I would add that, since Citrix have changed their licensing model, you would be able to roll out a system with huge upgrade potential in terms of both scalability and resilience;

If you bought a 20-user solution, you could install the software on as many servers as needed, and load-balance the database application (by using XPa - XPs will not give you this feature). This would be an ideal way of integrating a test server into the live environment, so that if you needed to upgrade, you could upgrade the test server first, without impacting the live system in any way.

The security that ATCal mentions is possibly justification in its own right for the use of MetaFrame over "vanilla" Terminal Services.

Another huge advantage that MetaFrame gives is the ability to publish individual applications. If you used Terminal Services, you would have to give each user a complete desktop - which you would obviously need to spend some time locking down.

The initial learning curve with MetaFrame is, however, somewhat steep. Again, I would use this as justification for a test server, which is something I do not see as optional in any client-server environment.

I would summarise by saying that if the Database is mission critical, then the additional expense is worthwhile. If not, then Terminal Services may be adequate.

I hope this helps

 

[hourang]

We use citrix in a small business, we have like 50 employs and two locations, one in mexico, one here in troy, mi. I think that it works great, but i heard that you can do just as much with VPN which is free with windows 2000. The advantages of citrix being that all apps are run at the server, makes easier for administering, faster for slow computers, but at a high price. What do you guys think?

 

[ATCal]

Have you tried the FREE Win 2k VPN?

Also don't forget that a VPN is an extension of a standard network connection; meaning that you better have a piece of fiber run from Mexico to Troy if you want to touch the performance benefits of Citrix.

etc
etc
etc
Al
atc-computing@home.com

 

[teknophyle]

Thanks for all your responses! Your insight has given me a good foundation to start building on. I appreciate it very much!

-Tek