[Cialug] Wyse thin clients

[Josh More]

It's also worth noting that if your USB device requires special software to be installed, you may need to boost either RAM or local storage on the thin client.  We run into that one a lot.


Josh More | Senior Security Consultant - CISSP, GIAC-GSLC, GIAC-GCIH
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________________________________________
From: cialug-bounces at cialug.org [cialug-bounces at cialug.org] on behalf of Zachary Kotlarek [zach at kotlarek.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 10:28
To: Central Iowa Linux Users Group
Subject: Re: [Cialug] Wyse thin clients

On Dec 28, 2010, at 9:39 AM, L. V. Lammert wrote:

> Has anyone ever tried adding a USB device (in this case a barcode
> scanner) to these thin client systems? The specs say 'not all USB
> devices are supported', but there seems to be no information on how
> it handles them.


On their new "Wyse Thin OS" models (i.e. linux-based but no local apps) the supported devices are basically:
        Pre-formatted block storage
        Mouse
        Keyboard
So if your barcode scanner looks like a keyboard (many do) it might work.

According to Wyse's marketing materials the Windows-based and "Wyse Linux" models also support smart cards and more complex local storage (CD, floppy, etc.) but I've never tried any of that personally.

Beyond that they support a USB-TCP tunneling protocol as part of their TCX suite. With that you can expose client-side USB ports as though if they are local at the session host. You can also get a stand-alone USB-TCP bridge that does the same thing for about $50.

        Zach