How to setup a home workstation server PC with multiple thin clients?

[qwertzy]

Hi, just wondering if anyone here has a home PC which serves as a workstation allowing multiple thin clients to log on to it simultaneously? Is this just a matter of installing Windows Server?

For example, user A would be watching movies with monitor directly hooked to the PC, while user B would be running photoshop on it off a thin client?

Also, what would be a good thin client -- preferably with a touch screen? Is Microsoft Surface an overkill?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[qwertzy]

Updates? Thanks

 

[localITguy]

@davidktw

 

[86technie]

For home use is overkill not to mention the cost you will definitely say no.
Buying a notebook/desktop will be way cheaper than setting a Thin client environment.
If you purpose is to monitor usage of these PC, there are monitoring tools but
need to pay.

 

[davidktw]

Hi, just wondering if anyone here has a home PC which serves as a workstation allowing multiple thin clients to log on to it simultaneously? Is this just a matter of installing Windows Server?

For example, user A would be watching movies with monitor directly hooked to the PC, while user B would be running photoshop on it off a thin client?

Also, what would be a good thin client -- preferably with a touch screen? Is Microsoft Surface an overkill?

Thanks for any advice.

Personally I don’t recommend consumer do that, because you will need a rather good server to consolidate your resources into one single powerful machine. Also you will need good networking between the clients and the machine to be better than software and display rendering running on the clients themselves.

There are a few reasons why enterprises does consolidation. One is management of client machines to do that they do not need to keep upgrading the same software across multiple terminals, another is licensing of costly software because those are normally very expensive to install across multiple machines, also those software can be so power hungry and requires extensive integration with other systems or hardware such as a remote GPU cluster which makes it ideal to run off a central server. All remote access will suffer from certain level of network latency and it will noticeable on consumer level machines. Windows non-server software offers by default 2 concurrent login for remote desktop, except Home edition which doesn’t allow RDP.

So my recommendation is stick with separate machines for best performance.

 

[SkyShroud]

Any reason why thin client? Are you running remotely or you simply want one machine with multiple home users?

If it is latter, look at unRaid or Aster. If is former, I advise not to.

 

[qwertzy]

I had wanted one machine with multiple remote users, for the reason I only need to consolidate resources/settings in one machine. But I realise thin clients will need their own display rendering capabilities.

Thanks for replies! I'll probably drop the idea.