Thin clients catch VDI for VMware access
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Remote PCs are challenging Citrix and WTS, claims IGEL Server-based computing schemes such as Citrix and Windows Terminal Server now have a serious rival in the shape of VDI, claimed German thin client developer IGEL Technology, as it added VDI support to its desktop devices.â¦
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(InfoWorld) - A set of newly discovered flaws in components of VMware's virtual machine software has called attention to some of the security risks associated with the practice of running virtual computers on a single system. VMware has updated its products to fix the security bugs, disclosed Wednesday, but users who have not updated their software could face serious security risks thanks to a trio of flaws in the DHCPÂ server that ships with VMware. The DHCP software is used to assign IP addresses to the different virtual machines running within VMware, but IBM researchers discovered that it can be exploited to gain control of the computer. That could be very bad news for someone running a lot of applications on the same VMware box, said Tom Cross, a researcher with IBM's Internet Security Systems group. "By exploiting this vulnerability, you get complete control of any of the machines that are running on that virtual environment," he said. IBM's researchers have developed exploit code for three separate flaws in the DHCP software, all of which are now patched, Cross said. In order to attack a system, however, an attacker would first need to gain access to software running within the virtual machine. Typically VMware's DHCP server is not configured to be accessible to systems on other machines. Virtualization software is one of the hottest areas in enterprise IT these days. Enterprises are increasingly looking at this type of product as a way to cut down on datacenter costs. VMware lets a single computer act as if it is a kind of mini datacenter, running a number of separate virtual machines on the same box. These virtual machines act as if they are truly separate from one another. They can run different operating systems, and if one virtual machine crashes, it does not affect the others on the server. VMware is also extremely popular with security researchers, who set up virtual machines on their PCs to test potentially malicious code without putting their computers at risk. Unfortunately, this architecture also gives attackers a single point of failure: the VMware software itself. "This is important because servers often run a vulnerable machine in one VM and have supersecret information in another VM, isolated by VMWare," said Dave Aitel, CTO with security vendor Immunity, in an e-mail interview. "VMWare ESX has been getting massively popular among hosting environments, so this sort of bug becomes a force multiplier if you can find a remote vulnerability in a [virtual machine]." The DCHP flaws affect VMware's ACE, Player, Server, and Workstation products running on Linux and the Windows operating system, IBM said. VMware, a division of EMC, has also patched a fourth serious flaw in its software, discovered by McAfee. This one could also be used to run unauthorized code on a VMware machine, but it would be difficult for an attacker to exploit, said David Marcus, security research and communications manager with McAfee's Avert Labs. "The attacker has to pass a whole bunch of parameters to the vulnerable service," he said. "You have to be engaging in some behavior inside that VMware machine to get the [exploit code] to work. So it's certainly not easy to exploit." Still, Marcus agreed with Cross that virtual machines will get more attention from security researchers in the near future. "If you have the ability to attack that virtual machine and get outside that virtual machine shell to the host OS, then you can gain control of every virtual machine that's on the box."
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InfoWorld - ClearCube Technology on Tuesday announced centralized computing software and hardware products to help thin clients behave more like PCs and to aid administrators in deploying and managing virtual environments.
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New utility from PivX keeps intruders out of Windows systems.
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Safend, an international provider of endpoint i
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ClearCube Technology on Tuesday announced centralized computing software and hardware products to help thin clients behave more like PCs and to aid administrators in deploying and managing virtual environments.The company announced the R1350 PC Blade, which stores data and resources accessible to remote thin clients. The blade establishes a secure connection with a thin client and delivers data, graphics, and complete PC functionality, including support for USB&#160;drives attached to the thin client.Implementing Teradici&#39;s PC-over-IP&#160;technology, the new PC blade can deliver 32-bit graphics, which overcomes network latency to provide real-time graphics to thin clients, said Rick Hoffman, CEO of ClearCube. Teradici&#39;s technology compresses the graphics output on the PC blade and sends it over a network, and a Teradici chip on the thin client decompresses the graphics.The R1350 blade runs Intel&#39;s Core 2 Duo processors and supports PCI Express graphics cards. It includes support for Trusted Platform Management 1.2, a hardware-based authentication technology for system security.The company also announced two thin clients, the I9420 I/Port and C7420 C/Port, which take advantage of Teradici technology to deliver better graphics.The I9420, which supports two monitors, connects to the PC blades using a copper-based Ethernet connection. The C7420 C/Port, which also supports two monitors, accommodates fiber-optic Ethernet connections. The new hardware offers support to connect more USB devices like printers, USB drives, and webcams to the thin clients, Hoffman said.Designed for financial and public sector organizations, the new products combine security, connectivity, better graphics, and longer distances of connectivity, Hoffman said. In case of a disaster, a broker in a financial organization can shift work to a thin client at home that connects to a PC blade. The data sits on the blade, keeping it secure, Hoffman said.ClearCube also announced Sentral v5.6, an update to its virtual environment management software that allows the deployment and management of physical and virtualized desktops. The software supports the new thin clients, enables better graphics and allows a server to establish connections over longer distances, Hoffman said.Sentral 5.6 works with virtualization products from vendors including VMware and Xen.ClearCube, which started off as a hardware company, is shifting its focus to software, said Roger Kay, president of industry analysis firm Endpoint Technologies Associates. ClearCube&#39;s hardware doesn&#39;t have legs to stand on its own because it isn&#39;t particularly proprietary, and the company has regrouped itself around its proprietary software stack, Kay said.&quot;If you look at virtualization as a piece of computing to apply to IT infrastructure -- virtual storage, virtual networking, and virtual displays -- their [software] covers different pieces,&quot; Kay said. &quot;ClearCube is morphing from a solutions company to a software company. They are willing to unbundle their software and sell it.&quot;ClearCube competes with multiple vendors, including Hewlett-Packard, in the thin-client space.The company will continue to focus on selling both hardware and software, Hoffman said. ClearCube is selling unbundled software to allow users to take advantage of ClearCube&#39;s knowledge in the thin-client area, Hoffman said.
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Large vendors such as Microsoft and Citrix are expanding into the field of Microsoft virtualization that VMware has long dominated.
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SEPTEMBER 20, 2004  - VMware Inc. released today a virtualization tool for PCs it says will cut hardware and maintenance costs for users such as independent contractors that support third parties on their networks.
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When Tim Howes and a group of colleagues created the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol almost 15 years ago, he had no idea this quiet little front end to the more robust X.500 directory
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Dual-layer disc to smooth hi-def format adoption
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VMware has announced a beta release of a new product dubbed VMware ACE that enables desktop IT managers to apply enterprise IT policies to virtual machines that contain data, applications and operating systems. VMware claims that ACE creates an isolated PC environment.
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New virtual-machine technology can be used to test software patches and migrate aging Windows NT applications. By John Foley, Paula Rooney, CRN.
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In an effort to push mobility into thin clients, Hewlett-Packard is adding a laptop with minimal storage and wireless networking features to its lineup.The HP Compaq 6720T Mobile Thin Client has 1GB of internal flash storage and will be more of a terminal than a full-blown PC, with data storage and system management handled from a remote server, the company said Thursday. The laptop boots off Windows XP Embedded OS in the flash module.Because data isn&#39;t stored on the laptop, there is less risk of a company losing data, said Thai Nguyen, HP worldwide product marketing manager for thin clients. The thin-client laptop is also managed from a server, diminishing management challenges such as issuing software updates, Nguyen said.Along with better security and easier system management, thin-client architecture uses less power than traditional PCs, said Klaus Besier, vice president for thin clients at HP. The thin-client laptop does not have a fan or moving parts such as a hard drive.The product is targeted at vertical industries such as health care and insurance, Nguyen said.Weighing 5.4 pounds (2.45 kilograms), the laptop is powered by an Intel Celeron M processor. It includes 802.11a/b/g wireless networking, wired networking, integrated graphics, three USB ports and two PC Card slots. It includes a DVD-ROM drive and stereo speakers.The laptop comes with terminal software, including HP Session Allocation Manager, which establishes a secure network connection to remote servers.Priced starting at $725, the 6720t thin client will be available in North America and Japan later this month.Users may not be inclined toward the HP thin-client laptop, said analyst Roger Kay, founder and president of Endpoint Technologies Associates. Terminal users such as financial brokers prefer powerful thin clients that support multiple monitors, and mobile workers want something like Research in Motion&#39;s BlackBerry, he said.The biggest problem with the HP thin client could be its lack of mobility. &quot;You don&#39;t want a situation where you can&#39;t use it unless you are connected,&quot; Kay said. With minimal storage and no network connection, it would be useless on an airplane, for example.HP could be experimenting or demonstrating the laptop as a new concept to the thin-client market and as a predecessor to future HP products, Kay suggested. &quot;It&#39;s an odd product. It won&#39;t be all that successful,&quot; Kay said.However, the thin-client laptop isn&#39;t aimed at &quot;mobile warriors&quot; who spend a lot of time on the road, said Tad Bodeman, director blade PC and thin client solutions at HP. &quot;We&#39;re not trying to replace every laptop PC,&quot; he said.The laptop works better in environments like hospitals, where nurses walk around with laptops on carts wirelessly pulling patient data from a central server, he said, adding that it may also be useful within an office environment. The laptop minimizes the risk of data loss related to theft and gives corporations a device that is low in cost to support and maintain.Bodeman declined to comment about HP&#39;s plans for future thin-client products.HP competes with IBM and ClearCube Technology in the thin-client hardware and software space.
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New tools make it easier for IT managers to set encryption policies on notebooks or evaluate Vista compatibility by running a virtual version of the OS.
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VMware has launched a beta of product that allows IT administrators to centrally manage and control virtual machines installed on PCs on their network. Called VMware ACE, the application also includes the ability to place a virtual machine on just about any storage device.
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The trials and tribulations of application dependency in a virtualized, hosted world.
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(InfoWorld) - Wyse Technology is selling a line of thin-client computers with built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, making them easier to deploy in public places like airports and hotel lobbies. The V-Class systems announced Wednesday include embedded hardware and software for connecting to 802.11b and 802.11g wireless networks. Previously, adding wireless capabilities to the clients meant plugging in a Wi-Fi PC Card or USB (Universal Serial Bus) adapter. Thin clients are networked computers that typically have no hard drive and rely on a central server for their applications and storage. They've gained traction with some businesses because they're considered easier to manage than full-fledged PCs, and they consume less power, although they are also less flexible. Embedding the Wi-Fi components in the client is better for use in public places, where they would otherwise be easier to steal. The wireless technology also makes it simpler to use the terminals in places that lack Ethernet or other wireline technologies. "We see these being used in environments like airports, schools, and other public areas where you don't always have Ethernet," David Angwin, a Wyse senior marketing manager based in the U.K. The clients don't support the 802.11i protocol because a standard has not yet been finalized. When it is approved, customers who have already bought the wireless V-Class systems may be able to have them updated by Wyse to support the newer protocol, Angwin said. Existing V-Class systems could also be upgraded to include embedded wireless capabilities, Angwin said. V-Class is Wyse's highest-performing family of thin clients. They're offered with three operating systems: Windows CE, Windows XP Embedded and Linux. For security, the new wireless clients support the WPA (Wi-Fi protected access) and WPA2 protocols for network authentication, as well as WEP (wired equivalent privacy), EAP (extensible authentication protocol), RC4 and TKIP (temporal key integrity protocol) standards. The clients are on sale now in North America and are in the process of being shipped to other parts of the world, Angwin said. In Europe, they are priced at Â£325 ($612) or â¬479 ($608) for the Windows CE version, Â£349 or â¬513 for the Wyse Linux version, and Â£397 or â¬583 for the Windows XP embedded version.