Wyse is currently the premier vendor of low-cost ICA-based Windows
terminals. For less than $1000 (street price), you can purchase a desktop unit
with a 14" color monitor, keyboard, mouse, and ports for 10Mbit-per-second
(Mbps) Ethernet, serial, and parallel connections. For even less money, you can
purchase gray-scale units or units without an Ethernet connection (to use for
remote access). And if you supply your own monitor, keyboard, and mouse, you can
purchase a pizza box unit in the $500 neighborhood.
I tested the Wyse 2500T terminal, which includes an Ethernet connection,
14" color monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The configuration I worked with
supports only 16 colors, but a firmware download lets you upgrade to 256 colors.
Configuring the terminal was simpleyou configure it with an IP
address or set it to use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and then
enter the IP address of the ICA NT server system. When you start the terminal,
it connects to the NT server, and the next thing you see is a Windows NT logon
screen, so you can log on and interact with the NT server as if you were sitting
at a direct-attached monitor with a keyboard and mouse.
The Wyse terminal works with any ICA-based server product, or you can
purchase the Wyse implementation of WinFrame (see Screen A). The Wyse
implementation is packaged several different ways: For example, the base package
($1499) supports five terminals but does not include ICA client software, does
not support RAS, and cannot be a domain controller. You can buy extra terminal
licenses, client software, and RAS/domain controller support separately.
I tested the base software in the Lab and found that it installed and
operated as well as any other implementation of WinFrame I looked at. I also
tested the Wyse terminal against the Wyse, Tektronix, Insignia, and NCD
implementations of WinFrame, and the Wyse terminal worked consistently and
reliably.
In performance tests, I experienced no significant I/O delays running the
Wyse terminal in a LAN environment. Clearly, performance wasn't as good as that
of a full-blown Pentium Pro NT Workstation, but in my judgment, it ran as well
as a low-end Pentium or high-end 486 system running NT. I was pleasantly
surprised by the terminal's performance, especially considering its low price.