General » Industrial Thin Client Technology Blog

MailBag Friday (#45)

General, Real World ThinManager No Responses »

May 172013

Every Friday, we dedicate this space to sharing solutions for some of the most frequently asked questions posed to our ThinManager Technical Support team. This weekly feature will help educate ThinManager Platform users and provide them with answers to questions they may have about licenses, installation, integration, deployment, upgrades, maintenance, and daily operation. Great technical support is an essential part of the ThinManager Platform, and we are constantly striving to make your environment as productive and efficient as possible.

We have a repeating video problem that started right after we upgraded to ThinManager 6.0. We have an Advantech 3072 thin client, with one of the 6200 graphics cards fitted. If we run the two displays at 1920 x 1080 we see 16bit color, but if the displays are spanned, then its dropping to 8bit. Do you know if this is down to a lack of memory on the graphics card, or is it a limitation of ThinManager 6 ?

Sounds like it is a known problem with Server 2003. There is a Microsoft patch for it at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942610

-TM

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I was wondering what options are available in ThinManager regarding monitoring/reporting on the number of times a user logs on through a WinTMC session?

WinTMC does not have any user accessible logs. The WinTMC Terminal in ThinManager does have login and logout information and reports could be run from that information. If you need even more fine grain control, Active Directory Auditing would be the way to go.

-TM

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I am currently running ThinManager 5.0 and upgraded some hardware. As a result, I had to transfer my ThinManager license to a different server. Now I need to point my thin clients (Arista 7824-ACP) to my new server’s static IP. My problem is that bootup of the client appears too fast for me to access a configuration screen. How can I access the configuration screen and change the static IP of this client?

The ThinManager BIOS is configured to wait 5 seconds before connecting to IP specified. It sounds like the monitor isn’t syncing quick enough. Here is what you can do:

Unplug the 7824
Make sure there is a keyboard attached to the unit
Power on the 7824
Once the unit is done POSTing, it will beep – immediately after this beep hold down the Space Bar.
Keep the space bar held down until the screen syncs, you will be shown your ThinManager Configuration info.

-TM

_________________

I would like to run ThinManager from Internet Explorer for the purpose of terminal shadowing – is this possible?

This is not possible nor are we planning on implementing it. Shadowing, by design, is only allowed from within ThinManager to maintain a high level of security.

-TM

__________________________________________

To view our “Tips & Gems” video tutorials, visit our video links page here.

To review cost savings of using the ThinManager Platform, visit our ROI Calculator here.

To read about successful ThinManager Platform deployments, visit here.

To see when the next ThinManager 2-Day Training Session is being offered, visit here.

MailBag Friday (#44)

General, Real World ThinManager, Security No Responses »

May 102013

We are in the middle of a system upgrade to Windows Server 2008R2 and Citrix Xenapp 6.5 for our terminal servers in a ThinManager environment. To test the new system, I set up an application and have been trying to run it as an application link and I can’t get it to work. I keep getting the following error message:

"Connection Error- The application you are trying to open is currently unavailable"

If I logon on to the desktop without using application link, I can run the program from the run prompt using the same text string and it works. Any ideas?

The short answer is that ThinManager will function properly using Citrix in a ThinManager environment via Windows Server 2008R2. Please see the enclosed link for tech notes regarding getting ThinManager and Citrix:

http://www.thinmanager.com/kb/index.php/Xen_App_6_Fundamentals

-TM

_________________

I had initially downloaded a demo version of ThinManager to run it in a test environment with our current HMI and system architecture and have decided to move forward with full deployment but I’m having some issues with applying my new license. How do I navigate between the demo license, product license, and master license?

Please see the License Activation Article on the ThinManager Knowledge Base for details on how to license and activate the software. You will need to Create a Master License, Populate it with your Product License, then activate:

http://www.thinmanager.com/kb/index.php/License_Activation

-TM

________________

We are looking into using the TermSecure functionality in ThinManager 6.0 and wanted to layer in RFID cards/ Proximity cards for engineer logins on the floor of our facility. Are there any hardware manufacturers or card types you would recommend that would work well with ThinManager and not require additional configuration beyond standard Plug & Play?

We currently support the RF readers listed here:

http://www.thinmanager.com/kb/index.php/RF-ID_Readers

RFIdeas are our current hardware partner, but you should be able to use any login devices that are compatible with the RFIdeas readers. In this case RFIdeas would know better what cards their hardware would support.

-TM

_________________

I am trying to setup a terminal, with 2 separate clients. The first client is running a Rockwell FT View SE client from a server. The second client is a workstation (PC).

When configuring the terminal, I can only setup a single user login. I setup the login to our server application. As a result, I have to perform a manual login to the workstation.

Is it possible to specify two separate logins within the ThinManager terminal configuration so that I can have the client automatically login to both sessions?

You need to setup an override.

Double click on your terminal > Next until you come to the Display Client Selection Page > Select the Workstation Display Client > Override > Check the Override box in Windows Login Settings and specify your credentials.

-TM

__________________________________________

To view our “Tips & Gems” video tutorials, visit our video links page here.

To review cost savings of using the ThinManager Platform, visit our ROI Calculator here.

To read about successful ThinManager Platform deployments, visit here.

To see when the next ThinManager 2-Day Training Session is being offered, visit here.

MailBag Friday (#43)

Education, General, Real World ThinManager, Virtualization No Responses »

May 032013

Could you please advise me what configuration is required on a Windows PC to allow for a WinTMC session to span multiple monitors? We found the configuration on the thin server but still can’t get the WinTMC session to maximize across both monitors on the client system.

It is almost the same process as setting up MultiMonitor for a thin client. In the terminal configuration wizard select Enable MultiMonitor, select the resolution of your monitors, and setup the layout of the sessions. If you choose the resolution that your monitors are running at it should open full screen across both monitors once it’s received its configuration.

-TM

_________________

I am planning to install a barcode reader on each thin client to control its process. That means I will have to enable COM port redirection and configure the appropriate module. My concern is related to how many COM ports ThinManager will able to handle? Is there any limitation? There are about 30 thin clients so I’m not sure about the behavior to expect.

There’s no total limit for the server that you are connecting to. You’re really only limited by the number of COM ports on the thin clients.

-TM

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I’d like to know if ThinManager works with video resolution with a ratio different than 4:3? I’m referring to wide screen resolution like 16:9 or 16:10. I’m going to test a generic PXE boot thin client: does it support wide screen?

Yes, there are multiple 4:3, 16:9, and 16:10 resolutions. The available resolutions in ThinManager is based on what thin client’s you are using. The software hides incompatible video modes. As long as the hardware that your using supports widescreen resolutions, then yes. A vast majority of thin clients support all the normal standard and widescreen resolutions up to 1920×1200.

-TM

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I am in the process of evaluating ACP ThinManager and had a quick question. We currently have a few legacy systems that are on Windows NT 4.0 and are in the process of being virtualized. I would like to use ThinManager and a thin client to connect to the Virtual Server, is this possible?

We have not tested ThinManager against a Windows NT 4.0 System. It might work against NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition but the oldest OS we have tested with is Server 2000 and we cannot guarantee any level of stability or performance.

You will not be able to install ThinManager onto your NT4.0 System as ThinManager 6.0 requires .NET Framework 4.0, which is only supported in Windows Server 2003 and above. If you have ThinManager setup on a Win2003+ Server and tell the Terminal to start a session on the 4.0 box, you might have some luck.

There are no known issues connecting a ThinManager Terminal to a Virtual Terminal Server.

I would like to recommend that you try ThinManager 6.0 SP3 (our latest release) with a demo code to see if you can connect. You can grab an install and a demo code from: http://downloads.thinmanager.com/

Also, our Compatibility Matrix has information on which OS’s are compatible with ThinManager.

http://www.thinmanager.com/kb/index.php/Compatibility_Matrix

-TM

__________________________________________

To view our “Tips & Gems” video tutorials, visit our video links page here.

To review cost savings of using the ThinManager Platform, visit our ROI Calculator here.

To read about successful ThinManager Platform deployments, visit here.

To see when the next ThinManager 2-Day Training Session is being offered, visit here.

MailBag Friday (#42)

Education, General, Real World ThinManager No Responses »

Apr 262013

We recently added an EloGraphics E719160 touchscreen to our ThinManager system and are having an issue. The unit responds to touches, but does not respond to the calibration utility? Will ThinManager work with this touchscreen client?

When using a USB touchscreen device, you need to unplug any other USB devices that might be plugged in. After successfully calibrating the unit, you can then plug your other USB devices into the unit.

-TM

_________________

I am currently designing a system in which we’re planning on using ACP ThinManager with three operator thin clients in a Control Room. Since environmental factors wont be a concern, can we use commercial grade HP thin clients with Windows 7 Embedded? Are these devices compatible with ThinManager?

An HP box may work with ThinManager if we support the chipsets. http://www.thinmanager.com/kb/index.php/ThinManager_Supported_Hardware is a list of hardware we have tested.

It doesn’t matter what their embedded OS is. They will need to be set to PXE Boot/Boot from LAN. They will then download the ThinManager firmware and run the ThinManager OS in RAM.

http://www.thinmanager.com/kb/index.php/ThinManager_and_PXE_Boot is a Knowledge Base article on PXE boot.

-TM

________________

We are currently running multiple ThinManager servers at our facility and your product works great! I do, however, have a question…

We have two pairs of ThinManager controlling multiple thin clients and each pair consists of a primary and backup. I would like to merge all of the managed clients on to a single pair, with thin clients running on both. How do I copy the “group settings” from the one pair to the other?

If you want to ‘merge’ two existing ThinManager Installations, you will have to go in and manually add the thin clients on the server. There is no method to append your existing ThinManager Installation.

-TM

_________________

When using the VMware VCenter function within ThinManager a display client can connect to a Virtual Machine, is it possible to use a thin client connected to a virtual machine running Windows NT?

Windows NT (Windows 3.1 – 4.0) is not supported. Please see the Compatibility Matrix for a list of supported versions and operating systems:

http://www.thinmanager.com/kb/index.php/Compatibility_Matrix

-TM

__________________________________________

To view our “Tips & Gems” video tutorials, visit our video links page here.

To review cost savings of using the ThinManager Platform, visit our ROI Calculator here.

To read about successful ThinManager Platform deployments, visit here.

To see when the next ThinManager 2-Day Training Session is being offered, visit here.

MailBag Friday (#41)

Education, General, Real World ThinManager No Responses »

Apr 192013

What would be the maximum number of thin clients a pair of ThinManager servers can support? Can you provide a number for how many simultaneous thin client bricks and sessions have been tested and confirmed by ACP?

Thin Client (hardware count) isn’t going to be your limiting factor, ThinManager can manage an unlimited amount of thin clients. We have numerous customers who use hundreds of thin clients from one pair of servers. Our internal testing has shown that once you have ~10,000 (sic) thin clients in ThinManager, ThinManager will become slow to load and exhibit less than desirable performance. The scalability bottleneck is going to be on your application side, meaning the better question to ask your software provider is “What type of/how much hardware will I need given X amount of sessions”.

-TM

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I’m trying to start two hardware clients. Both are the same model but only one of them works well. The other one freezes in the blue screen where shows downloading firmware. I checked all hardware components and found only one difference, the network controller. One is 0x10d3 and the other is 0x10EA. Do you think this could be the cause for failing to start? Is there something we could do to fix this?

According to our compatibility list, 10d3 is a supported network adapter whereas 10EA is not. Update the unit’s BIOS to the latest available and make sure PXE boot is setup properly and you should be good to go.

-TM

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We are using WinTMC 6.0 and we can’t to connect to ThinManager (6.0). Currently set up on Server 2008 R2 using a machine with the 64 bit version of Windows 7. Is this a known issue?

You need to install the latest version of WinTMC, 2.2.0.3. It can be found at downloads.thinmanager.com. This is the version that shipped with ThinManager 6.0 with Service Pack 3.

-TM

_________________

I’m trying to run sound files through my thin client and I do not have a sound card in any of my servers, so I am using the sound device available in our Advantech UNO-2173 thin clients. When I add the generic sound driver we get a tada wav file sound, but then the client will not play any additional sound bites. The I get the following windows message:

“Windows media player cannot play the file because there is a problem with your sound device. There might not be a sound device installed on your computer, it might be in use by another program, or it might not be functioning properly“

Any ideas how to correct this?

It sounds when you rebooted the thin client, the existing RDP connection remained intact. You will need to reset the session and sound should work correctly.

Start > Run > tsadmin.msc > Server Name > Sessions Tab > Right click on the RDP session and go to ‘Reset’

-TM

__________________________________________

To view our “Tips & Gems” video tutorials, visit our video links page here.

To review cost savings of using the ThinManager Platform, visit our ROI Calculator here.

To read about successful ThinManager Platform deployments, visit here.

To see when the next ThinManager 2-Day Training Session is being offered, visit here.

MailBag Friday (#40)

Education, General, Real World ThinManager No Responses »

Apr 122013

We are planning system upgrades at one of our facilities and are currently running ThinManager 3.1 with two ThinServers. To reduce the amount of work to be done when we take the facility offline, we want to upgrade ThinManager to the current version (6.3) while we are still in production. Are there any tech notes or “best practices” documents available for doing this?

Yes, you can take the servers off line one at a time and the terminals will continue to run if failover and redundancy are configured properly. Please note the following:

1) You need to use Server 2003 R2 SP2 or later for the ThinManager Servers. We use .net framework 4.0 with ThinManager 4.0 and later and the .net framework doesn’t install on Server 2000.

2) You need to break the auto-synchronization before the upgrade. If you don’t, the mis-matched ThinManagers will interfere and cause database errors.

We have a knowledge base article at http://www.thinmanager.com/kb/index.php/Upgrade_Procedure:_Mirrored/Redundant_Systems.

-TM

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I had a question regarding ThinManager compatibility. The Compatibility Matrix on your website says that Windows 2008R2 is supported as a ThinServer with the current version of ThinManager 6.0. Are there any known issues using a Synced Redundant Pair of ThinServers in which one Server is the 2003R2 SP2 32bit, and the other is a 2008R2 64 bit machine?

You shouldn’t run into any issues synching between different operating systems. Keep in mind that a path that might be valid on the 64 bit machine might not be valid on the 32 bit machine. 64 bit machines have a Program Files (x86) directory where 32 bit applications get stashed as opposed to a 32 bit operating system where there is just the traditional Program Files directory.

-TM

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I am looking for a hardware recommendation. I need a fairly rugged ThinManager compatible thin client. However it needs to have one HDMI or DVI and one VGA connection on it. Do you have any recommendations?

The Contec BX955D:

You would have to get a DVI-I to DVI+VGA Splitter (sold separately) but this client would work with Packages 5 & 6.

We would also recommend you check our Hardware Partner page to view a list of all available ACP compatible clients.

-TM

_________________

We are replacing some old hardware and wanted to know if the Arista 7824 thin client is compatible with ThinManager 3.1?

Yes. It will work with ThinManager 3.1 SP2.

-TM

__________________________________________

To view our “Tips & Gems” video tutorials, visit our video links page here.

To review cost savings of using the ThinManager Platform, visit our ROI Calculator here.

To read about successful ThinManager Platform deployments, visit here.

To see when the next ThinManager 2-Day Training Session is being offered, visit here.

MailBag Friday (#39)

General, Real World ThinManager No Responses »

Apr 052013

I currently have ThinManager 6.0 Service Pack 1 installed. I want to install Service Pack 3 but I’m not sure if it also includes Service Pack 2 features. Do I need to install SP2 before installing SP3?

Service Pack 3 includes all previous changes. You can install it without the others.

-TM

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We were wondering what kind of functionality we would get with the Wyse thin client tied in to ThinManager via PXE Boot. Does it manage the firmware, have shadowing support, smart session support? Will it function the same as a “ThinManager Ready” thin client?

Supported PXE clients will behave exactly like ThinManager Ready thin clients.

-TM

________________

I recently went to your site and used the “Demo Download” to try your product in our lab and was wondering what the difference is between a Demo Code and a Demo License?

The Demo Code is a 30-day license for new user evaluation or as an emergency license.

The Demo License is an official product license that works for a limited time period. These are given to system integrators and often used on pilots or proof of concept trials.

-TM

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I’d like to give our ThinManager users the ability to use a calibration program via a keyboard when their touchscreens need adjustment. Is there a documented process ACP has for setting this up, and if so would you please let me know where I can find it?

Section 16.15 of the manual covers it. http://thinmanager.com/technotes/01_Intro/Manual60_SP3/TM6_SP3_Chapter16_Modules.pdf

All you need to do is click the configure button on the touch screen module and then set the Calibration Hotkey and Calibration Hotkey Modifier to what you want.

-TM

__________________________________________

To view our “Tips & Gems” video tutorials, visit our video links page here.

To review cost savings of using the ThinManager Platform, visit our ROI Calculator here.

To read about successful ThinManager Platform deployments, visit here.

To see when the next ThinManager 2-Day Training Session is being offered, visit here.

MailBag Friday (#37)

Education, General, News, Real World ThinManager No Responses »

Mar 222013

I have multiple servers running Rockwell RSView, ThinManager, and Domain Controller all under ESXi VMware. I would like to connect a printer and print out tickets at one of my thin client stations. I have heard that I can connect the printer to the USB port and I have heard that I have to use a networked printer. The thin clients are supplied by Arista and they suggested that I contact you for the answer. I would prefer local USB printing as it is easier to troubleshoot. Is it possible to do in my current network environment?

The only way to print directly from the thin client is via a parallel port on the device using the Local Print Module. If you use the local print module, you will have to specify the printer driver name as defined in Windows in the properties page for the printer.

You may install a USB printer onto your terminal server as a “Network Printer” which will allow access to everyone.

Additionally, if these options don’t work you could use a USB to Ethernet converter to share the printer across the network and physically move your printer closer to the thin client.

Please see the enclosed 2 articles for details on printing from thin clients:

http://www.thinmanager.com/kb/index.php/Printer_Installation

http://www.thinmanager.com/kb/index.php/Printing_from_Thin_Clients

-TM

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I am currently running ThinManager 6.0 and have been having issues with a thin client mouse that is very sensitive and moves very fast with the slightest touch. It is a USB mouse on a virtually indestructible keyboard. Can you tell me how to correct this and how to slow down the mouse travel?

It could be that it is a very accurate mouse by design.

There are some registry settings that can be changed to affect the mouse rate acceleration; a setting of 0 would totally disable mouse acceleration:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc978664.aspx

-TM

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We are looking to purchase ACP ThinManger and deploy it in our facility but are currently using a PXE server for our PCs. Is there a way to use 2 PXE servers on the same LAN, or would we have to build a new LAN for ThinManager ?

PXE Boot Requests broadcast across a single subnet. To use the ThinManager PXE Server and an existing PXE Server at the same time, you would need to setup multiple subnets.

-TM

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I want to use the ThinManager MultiMonitor feature via a single video output thin client using USB to VGA adaptors and saw that this was possible via an article in your KnowledgeBase. What wasn’t 100% clear through the KB article was whether we could attach the USB-VGA adapters through a USB hub – has this been tested at all?

This has been tested and will work. However, we recommend you use a POWERED USB Hub to use multiple adapters.

-TM

__________________________________________

To review cost savings of using the ThinManager Platform, visit our ROI Calculator here.

To read about successful ThinManager Platform deployments, visit here.

To see when the next ThinManager 2-Day Training Session is being offered, visit here.

MailBag Friday (#36)

Education, General, Real World ThinManager No Responses »

Mar 082013

We recently purchased some industrial grade thin clients that aren’t on your XLi Compatibility List and we were able to successfully boot them via PXE and have them managed by ThinManager. Is it possible to get XLi certification for them? Is it something we can do here? What kind of test you apply to thin client box in order to make it XLi certified?

The XLi certification is a list of units that we know will boot PXE and contain the chips that ThinManager supports. Not everything that works is on the XLi Compatibility List. It is just the list of ones we know work.

I would fill out the Request form for that unit to get it in the system. The address to request that a unit gets added is at http://www.thinmanager.com/complist/request.php

I would also send an email to support@thinmanager.com with the Computer Company. Make, Model, etc., and what you observed about it. This may get it on the list without having a unit in our hands.

-TM

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I had an error 800006df on a terminal server, which I never saw before and cannot find any information on that error code. Can you guys point me in the right direction?

These error codes are generated from DCOM. We are documenting the suspected cause, as well as solution on the Error Codes page of our new Knowledge Base.

http://www.thinmanager.com/kb/index.php/Error_Codes#800006df

-TM

________________

I recently purchased a ThinManager license and two TK-3500 thin clients. I haven’t installed ThinManager yet, but I plugged in the 3550’s to poke around. I’ve configured these before and I distinctly recall being able to press a key during the “system initialization” screen to bring up a configuration screen to enter IP information. Regardless of what I press during that screen the device always goes to the PXE boot sequence and then fails as it does not find a boot disk. I poked around your site to see if I could find a document or manual to see if I was missing something, but was unable to locate anything other than a product sheet which isn’t helpful in this situation. What should I do?

The TK-3550 requires the PXE Server to be enabled in ThinManager. The below link steps through setting it up and what the different options in the wizard do.

http://www.thinmanager.com/technotes/01_Intro/Manual60/TM6_Chapter11_PXE%20Server%20Configuration.pdf

Once that is configured the TK-3550 should get it’s its boot file and connect without issue.

-TM

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Our plant is currently using Uno-2053-GDA0 modules to interface the VGA and serial signals, over Ethernet, to/from the Advantech touch screens. Will these modules still work with the new version of Thin Manager? Will there be any compatibility issues with running the new version of ThinManager on a Windows Server 2008 operating system?

The graphic interface is VGA and the touch interface from the Advantech is connected via serial. Both signals are transmitted over Ethernet to the server. The Uno-2053 is still supported in ThinManager Platform 6. There shouldn’t be any compatibility issues via our compatibility matrix found on the ThinManager Knowledge Base:
http://www.thinmanager.com/kb/index.php/Compatibility_Matrix

-TM

__________________________________________

To review cost savings of using the ThinManager Platform, visit our ROI Calculator here.

To read about successful ThinManager Platform deployments, visit here.

To see when the next ThinManager 2-Day Training Session is being offered, visit here.

MailBag Friday (#34)

Education, General, Real World ThinManager No Responses »

Feb 152013

Is it possible to have different automatic logins for applications running on different servers. It looks to me that the auto login is thin client based. Is that the case?

By default the login is specified at the terminal level. If you need different display clients to use different credentials, you may specify an override:

Right click Terminal > Modify > Next x4 (Display Client Selection) > Select a Display client from the right pane > Override

-TM

Which Windows Operating systems does the latest version of WinTMC run under?

Will WinTMC run in a Windows Server 2000 or 2003 environment? We thought about deploying our old SCADA server computers as WinTMC clients, but they’re running Server 2000 and Server 2003. We tried to install WinTMC on both those computers, but the installation failed and I received the following error message: “not a valid Win32 application.”

That error usually comes about when trying to run a 64 bit application on a 32 bit processor/OS.

WinTMC is a 32 bit application and should work on both Windows Server 2000 and Windows Server 2003 (x32). You can download the most recent version of WinTMC here:

http://downloads.thinmanager.com/Files/WinTMCInstall.zip

-TM

I need to know if it is necessary to connect my thin clients to a backup power source? Could I loose my session or data if the thin client I am working from loses power?

Power Backups are not normally used with thin clients, just the servers. The session that an operator is looking at is on the server and not the thin client. If the thin client loses power it will disconnect from the server session. The session will remain in an idle state on the server. When the thin client powers up again it will reconnect to that server session.

-TM

We are currently using ThinManager Platform 6.0 on a server running Windows Server 2012 at our facility and wanted to know if/when ThinManager support for Windows 8 be available? If so, will installing WinTMC on a Windows 8 workstation work?

ThinManager is compatible with both Windows 8 and Server 2012.

We have successfully tested the most current release (2.2.0.1) of WinTMC on Windows 8. You may download it here:

http://downloads.thinmanager.com/Files/WinTMCInstall.zip

-TM

__________________________________________

To review cost savings of using the ThinManager Platform, visit our ROI Calculator here.

To read about successful ThinManager Platform deployments, visit here.

To see when the next ThinManager 2-Day Training Session is being offered, visit here.

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