Integration of Windows Applications
and Linux Clients
Server-based computing with Windows Terminal Services is now a
well-established fact in many companies. Windows, Unix and Macintosh
clients access the applications centrally installed on the server. Linux
clients, however, are still under-represented. Universities and research
centers are often the first to implement this solution under Linux. The
University of Augsburg’s Department of Software Engineering has Linux
operating systems on its client computers, and requires access to Windows
applications. The solution they installed: HOBLink JWT, the Java RDP
client from HOB.
The University of Augsburg has over 12,000 students at six faculties.
They are taught by 150 professors, supported by a 500-person strong
scientific/academic team. The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
is sub-divided into seven institutes and study groups. Among these, the
Institute of Computer Science currently has four chairs.
Computer Science,
as an independent field of study culminating in either a Bachelor’s or
Master’s Degree, or Diploma, was first offered at the University of
Augsburg in the winter semester of 2000. The Institute for Computer
Science - Managing Director Professor Dr. Wolfgang Reif - consists of the
chairs of "Software
Engineering and Programming Languages,"
Databases and Information Systems," Systems and Networking" and
"Multimedia Design and Applications." Others are in the works.
The Institute focuses its research on practical applications in the areas
databases and information systems, software engineering and programming
methodology, and multimedia applications and computer networks. Theoretic
investigations of parallel and distributed systems complement the range of
research.
The Situation
The Department of Software Engineering and Programming Languages (Chair
held by Prof. Reif) offers lectures in the areas "General Software
Engineering," "Software Engineering for Electronic
Commerce" and "Formal Methods of Developing Secure
Systems." The Department currently has two professors and seven
scientific assistants, and uses Red Hat 7.2 and some Red Hat 7.1 Linux
operating systems for its clients. For the computer scientists, the
reasons for using the Linux solution are obvious: the outstanding
stability and free availability of Linux. However, they had problems when
communicating with persons outside the Institute who use Microsoft Office
files or applications that are not yet available for Linux. Therefore, the
Augsburg computer scientists looked for a solution that would enable
economical and easy access to Windows applications.
The Solution
To reboot the Linux clients whenever Windows was needed, or fall back
on the only remaining Windows computer was, for reasons of time, out of
the question. To solve this problem, VMware or a server-based computing
solution with Windows Terminal Server were being considered. Arguments
against VMware were the longer start time and the more complicated,
time-consuming administration. For the Windows Terminal Server solution it
was now a matter of deciding between Citrix MetaFrame and HOBLink JWT.
Both can be used on non-Windows clients. After testing the products, the
computer scientists decided for HOBLink JWT. This software fulfilled all
the Institute’s requirements and was considerably less expensive than
the Citrix solution.
HOBLink JWT is a Java client that provides platform-independent access to the
Microsoft Windows Terminal Servers and Services via the standard RDP protocol.
Administrators install HOBLink JWT on any Web server. For the clients, a JVM is
sufficient (for Linux, HOB recommends the Java 1.3 from IBM); other
than this, nothing needs to be installed on the clients. As the applet is less
than 160 KB, its loading time is minimal. Thanks to Smart Update, the client is
present locally after the first download and is only reloaded from the Web
server when newer versions become available.
For larger installations and server
farms, the clients can be integrated into the Enterprise Access solution from
HOB. With this solution, the administrators can configure and manage the clients
from a single point-of-administration, or use an already existing, central
directory service via the implemented LDAP interface. Load Balancing,
Application Publishing and Local Drive Mapping provide even more convenience for
working with server farms.
Christoph Duelli, with a degree in computer science, is employed by the Department
of Software Engineering and has the following to say regarding the decision for the
Windows Terminal Server solution with HOBLink JWT: "The most important
argument for this solution was the time-savings as compared to a rebooting or
the solution with VMware. The ease of administration and one-time-only
installation of HOBLink JWT on the Linux file server, as well as of the Windows
applications on the Terminal Server, were also very important for us. Initially,
there were some problems with keyboard support and stability; it was mostly with
animated content that the solution had problems. The migration to HOBLink JWT V.
2.2, however, has considerably improved the stability, so that we now have no
problems working with the system."
Summary
With the solution described here, the Institute for Computer Science
has obtained a performant, stabile and, above all, economical solution.
The Windows 2000 Professional Server’s Terminal Services run on an
800-MHz computer with a 512-MB RAM. Faculty members mainly use Microsoft
Office and tools such as Adobe Distiller or various browsers. This
solution combines the advantages of Linux on the clients with the full
availability of Windows applications: in addition to the lower licensing
costs, the easier administration also adds to its total value.
About the Institute for Computer Science
In the year 2000, within the scope of the State of Bavaria’s
"High-Tech-Offensive Bayern," the University of Augsburg set up
Bavaria’s sixth and newest "full computer science department."
Since October 2000, the University of Augsburg has been offering two courses in
computer science: A Bachelor’s course, "Computer Science and
Electronic Commerce" (culminating in the internationally recognized
Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science and Electronic Commerce) as
well as a course in which the students can earn a state-recognized Diploma for Applied
Computer Science.
The diploma course conveys a wide, crisis-proof core-competency in
computer science. The Bachelor’s Degree in Electronic Commerce is a
specialized, accelerated course intersecting with economics, and is carried
out in cooperation with the Economics Faculty. Thus the University of
Augsburg is the first university in Germany with a course combining
computer science with e-commerce. Another advantage of the Bachelor
courses is that the graduates are available for the job market after a
relatively short time. The popularity of this type of course is reflected
in the very positive response to the opening of the Bachelor course in
October, 2000.
In the 2001/2002 winter semester, a Bachelor/Master course,
"Computer Science and Multimedia" was launched. Within this
course, the University of Augsburg is offering three different courses
with varying orientations. This way, students can specialize in their
particular interests in computer science.
