Publish Desktop vs. Publish Application and other

[shariq2003]

Hello,
I am new to Metaframe XP technology. I am curious as to what is the difference between publishing desktop and publishing applications? Is one preferred over the other? Is one method better than the other?
Also are there links available that discuss bandwidth requirements for Citrix traffic on WAN (bandwidth requirement per connection)?
How does the licensing work from Microsoft's side? If I am using XP or Win2k or Linux clients do I have purchase a "Windows Termserv CAL"?

Thanks,

Shariq

 

[BeerGood]

what is the difference between publishing desktop and publishing applications?
The difference is pretty much for the user - a published application can look as if it is running on the user's workstation just like any other locally installed application. A published desktop is as if you are running a complete workstation eg it's like running VNC or PC Anywhere remotely controlling a pc, only the pc is a "virtual pc" running on the citrix server. Frequently published apps are used when there is a specific application a company wants to run via Citrix, whilst published desktops are used when a company wants to use cheaper thin clients that are easier to maintain.....

Is one preferred over the other? Is one method better than the other?
Not really - it depends on what you want to use the system for. For remote/wan users published applications can use less bandwidth simply because less (screen) data gets transferred, but again the final choice is usually dictated by business requirements...... many places run a blend....

Also are there links available that discuss bandwidth requirements for Citrix traffic on WAN (bandwidth requirement per connection)?
Yup. Stacks. Just do a google search but you can also check out the Citrix knowledgebase at

http://support.citrix.com/

for example

http://support.citrix.com/kb/entry!default.jspa?categoryID=168&entryID=616&fromSearchPage=true

How does the licensing work from Microsoft's side?
Ah. It's probably easier to point you towards

http://www.metaframebook.com

and grab a copy of the book - it's free and very worthwhile. Otherwise:
Terminal Server 4.0 -

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...port/kb/articles/Q187/6/29.ASP&NoWebContent=1

Win2k Terminal Services -

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/howitworks/terminal/TSLicensing.asp

If I am using XP or Win2k or Linux clients do I have purchase a "Windows Termserv CAL"?
Licensing is a bit of a black art with Terminal Services and Citrix, and a lot of it is explained in the book & links noted above. Assuming XP is XP Pro (not home) then if the terminal server you have Metaframe running on is running Win2k, then the answers are no, no, and yes (because both XP and win2k workstations contain a license, but linux doesn't - but even if you don't need any licenses you still need to setup a licensing server otherwise everything will stop working after 90 days or so....). To get the official word though, it's best to talk to your local Microsoft rep who will confirm exactly what you will need for your specific setup.

Hope this helps.....

Cheers