KNOWLEDGE... COMMUNICATION... INNOVATION... WORLDWIDE...

1. KNOWLEDGE...COMMUNICATION...INNOVATION... WORLDWIDE... Network Computers: The Future Clients Some of the presentation data got from IDG survey results

2. The Network Defines the Client • Network maturity and bandwidth satisfies demand • Software development delivers the opportunities • Established platforms offer best integration potential

3. The NC defined... • The NC is not a product, it is a spectrum of client devices • NCs will differ in capability from consumer devices • NCs will be used to access corporate information • Intranet and Extranet growth will feed NC adoption in early stages • The next generation client needs to be designed for intranet/extranet implementation

4. What is a Network Computer? • Apple, IBM, Netscape, Oracle and Sun are introducing a Reference Profile for the Network Computer: the NC&trade • This Reference Profile is intended to provide a common denominator of popular and widely used features and functions across a broad range of scaleable network computing devices, including personal computers

5. In practice what is a NC? • One of the simplest example of Client-Server network based application • Powerful low cost RISC CPU and RAM • Disk or diskless peripheral device • LAN card for the comminucation I/O • Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse and Audio Output

6. IP-based protcols defined • TCP - Transmission Control Protocol • FTP - File Transfer Protocol • Telnet - Terminal emulation and remote login • NFS - Network File System • UDP - User Datagram Protocol • SNMP - Simple Network Management Protocol • DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol • Bootp - Boot Protocol

7. World Wide Web Standards • HTML - HyperText Markup Language is the publishing format for WWW sites • HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol • Java Application Environment • Java Virtual Machine and runtime environment • Java class libraries

8. Mail protocols • SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol • IMAP4 - Internet Message Access Protocol Version 4 • POP3 - Post Office Protocol Version 3

9. Common Multimidia Formats • Pictures and bitmap images: GIF and JPEG • Sounds and audio: WAV and AU And security supported • ISO 7816 (SmartCards) • Europay / MasterCard / Visa specifications • OpenCard Framework

10. In practice a particular evolutionof the classical X-Terminals • But with local CPU running applications capability: • HTML Browser • Java Developer Kit and Java class libraries • Java interpreter • Java Virtual Machine • X-Windows • Windows NT Operating System (Windd, etc) • Security for the Intranet and Extranet support

11. Cost-To-Use analysis is key • IDG research utilises Cost-To-Use model • Established model measures business computing costs • IDG survey contacted 125 IT managers in France, Germany, UK and US • All businesses had networked PCs and X-terminals (Intranet NC) • Cost-To-Use model reveals significant savings when deploying X-terminals

12. Survey finds Intranet NC attractive • NC has lower acquisition cost • Offers reduced costs for software and for software maintenance and distribution • Offers reduced administration, support, training and backup costs • Costs less to upgrade and maintain • Provides universal access to applications and information together with Internet integration

13. Cost-To-Use model reveals potential

14. Cost-To-Use reveals savings • All line items yield a cost saving for the Intranet NC over the networked PC • Most significant savings in hardware upgrades and applications development staff • Five year costs of Intranet NC show 44% savings compared to networked PC ($39,114 vs $69,686)

15. Down time critical to user productivity

16. Upgrades impact productivity • Hardware and software upgrades extend the user down time • Loss of productivity due to scheduled upgrades for intranet NC 25% of networked PC costs • Loss of productivity due to unscheduled down time for intranet NC 36% of networked PC costs

17. Intranet NC easiest to install...

18. …and to manage

19. System attributes top purchase criteria

20. NCs: high growth expected Source: IDG 1997

21. Network offers choice • Rise in network development offers choice to IT managers for occupational fit • NCs provide the ideal client characteristics: simple, standard access without the cost and support expenses • NCs promise is low-cost, low-administration, highly secure, enterprise access client desktops • Intranet NCs deliver the NCs promise

22. Tests in the LNF • Already tested: • IBM • Tektronix • Sun • To test soon: • HP • NCD

23. IBM Network Station • H/W: Low cost Power PC, 32 Mbytes RAM, no disk (with partnership of NCD) • S/W: NetStation Support downloaded from an IBM AIX system • Advantages • Good X-Terminal • Java Virtual Machine • Disadvantages • HTML Browser not yet available

24. Tektronix Network Station • H/W: RISC CPU, 24 Mbytes RAM, no disk (model: XP421C) • S/W: XPressWare Version 4.1 downloaded from a Digital OSF system • Advantages • Good X-Terminal • HTML browser (NAVIO = Netscape) • Disadvantages • Java interpreter and JVM not yet available

25. Sun Net Station • H/W: RISC CPU 32 Mbytes RAM, no disk (model: Java Station) • S/W: Name Netra J Version 3.1 downloaded from a Sun Solaris system • Advantages • JAVA Interpreter and Java Virtual Machine • HTML browser • Disadvantages • X-Terminal S/W not yet available

26. HP and NCD (not tested yet) • We don’t know anything yet about HP NC • For the NCD are available both HTML Browser and Java Virtual Machine (the XWindows S/W is already well known in the LNF) • The already installed NCD (Explora series only) are upgradable to become Network Station with a simple S/W reinstallation on the X Server • HMX model has best performance of Explora-pro

27. SUN JAVA chip • Sun announced PICOJAVA chip • Specifically engineered to run Java applications • Built to execute in H/W many Java instructions • Available in late 1997 at very low cost Javac tests RayTracer tests Seconds Seconds

28. Questions?