A few weeks ago Teradici  announced the details for the APEX 2800 PCoIP Server Offload Card. With that add-on card you can increase VDI consolidation ratios by reducing the hosts CPU utilization by up 50%. Brian Madden just posted a new article on his blog explaining why he and Gabe chose Teradici as a winner in the desktop category. Check it out, I think he’s completely right.

Via: http://www.brianmadden.com/blogs/brianmadden/archive/2011/09/07/why-we-chose-nutanix-teradici-and-virtual-computer-for-the-quot-best-of-vmworld-2011-quot-winners-in-the-desktop-category.aspx

Teradici has updated the firmware for their PCoIP zero clients to version 3.4 and the Management Console to 1.5.30. The following list gives you an overview of the new functionality.

PCoIP Firmware Release 3.4 enhancements include:

• Support for “T=1″ PIV CAC Smartcards
• Enhanced Event Log and configuration options, including Syslog support
• Added support for Czech, Slovenian and Romanian keyboard layouts

PCoIP Management Console 1.5.30 enhancements include:

• Device auto-configuration to automatically group and configure newly discovered PCoIP zero clients
• Profiles now include firmware file and On-Screen-Display (OSD) logo options
• Profile application to groups or individual devices can be scheduled for a future time

Kudos today go to @PCoIP_Guru on Twitter, who spotted that Teradici just released a new firmware version and also a new version of the PCoIP Management Console.

Firmware 3.4.0 Release Generally Available

Feature highlights include:

· Support for “T=1″ PIV CAC Smartcards

· Support for smartcard bridging override (for post-session smartcard authentication)

· Enhanced Event Log and configuration options

o Ability to turn on/off the additional logging from the event logging web page

o Increased the number of messages stored in the event log

o Changed the default event log from terse to verbose (added rate limiting on the message writes to allow this change)

o Support for Syslog to allow PCoIP Zero Clients or PCoIP Host Cards to transmit event log messages to a remote location

· Enhanced message information for user visible On-Screen-Display (OSD) messages

· Additional component support (i.e. ACL886 Realtek audio codec) for 1:1 remote workstation sessions using PCoIP Host Cards and PCoIP Zero Clients.

· RDP module components including UI tabs have been removed.

Resolved Issues:

Fix for DOT4-based printers

Fix for file copy error for camera based peripherals

Fixed audio codec issue (Realtek ALC886) when resuming from sleep mode in a workstation environment (Windows7 and Vista)

Fixed issue that prevented connection to VMware View Connection Server through certain network load balancers.

Audio quality and audio recording improvements

Fixed Ethernet PHY POST test problems

Fixed PCoIP Host Card reset under network loss scenario

Fixed OSD crash on 270 degree rotation

Support for multiple monitors with identical EDID information

PCoIP Management Console 1.5.20 Generally Available

· Updates to support Firmware 3.4.0

· Support for USB bridging override

· DHCP Static IP fall-back configuration

· Syslog configuration

· Support for auto-configuration capability for newly discovered PCoIP Zero Clients

· Automatic update of firmware and configuration settings for newly discovered Zero Clients

· Support for updating the on-screen display (OSD) connection screen logo for PCoIP Zero Clients and PCoIP Host Cards

· Profile application updates

· Support for applying a firmware file to a profile

· Option to specify operation when profile firmware is different from the device firmware etc

· Support for scheduling Profile application

· Option for Management Console to reboot PCoIP devices after profile application is complete

· Support for multiple Management Consoles in a single network

Visit the Teradici Tech Support website for the download.

There is a VMUG webcast coming up which sounds very interesting.

An Inside Look into the PCoIP® Protocol and Zero Clients
Presented by Ziad Lammam, Teradici
Date: Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Times: 12:00 p.m. CST (-05:00 GMT) and 6:00 p.m. CST (-05:00 GMT)

This session will provide an inside look into the Teradici PC-over-IP® protocol architecture within VMware View™, a detailed breakdown of zero clients, PCoIP technology evolution, and a customer case study. Understand how the PCoIP protocol is optimized to deliver a rich desktop experience over LAN and high-latency WAN networks across the entire enterprise user base from mainstream office workers to 3D/power users.

Registration: 12:00pm | 6.00pm

Teradici released a new firmware for PCoIP zero clients. This release is only a maintenance release, which fixes some issues from version 3.3.0.

Here is an excerpt from the official release notes:

Compatibility Notes:

• VMware View 4.6 or newer is required to use USB enhancements in Firmware 3.3.x.

Resolved Issues:

• Fixed USB audio issue with VMware View guests running Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit host OS
• Fixed an issue where PCoIP Zero Clients could not connect to the VMware View Connection Server through certain load balancers
• Fixed an issue with a Logitech ClearChat wireless headset
• Fixed degraded performance with PCoIP Host cards on networks with packet loss, high latency, and/or low bandwidth
• Fixed password protection default setting
• Fixed CAC PIV endpoint smart card issue
• Fix for invalid OEM VPD (vendor product information) content
• Fixed issue with OSD appearing on the wrong set of monitors in certain quad display PCoIP Zero Clients
• Fixed issue with Power-over-Ethernet failing to power devices if VLAN enabled
• Language translation updates

Known Issues:

• Low Initial Quality for PCoIP Zero Clients connected to PCoIP Host Cards (15134-636)
• CD/DVD drive interoperability
  • Refer to the list of CD/DVD drives that have been tested.  See What CD/DVD drives have been tested with Firmware 3.3.x? (15134-566).
  • Note that a session disconnect may occur occasionally on disc eject/insert

We can expect all vendors to release their proven version of this firmware version soon.

Teradici just released a new firmware version for their zero clients which are compatible with VMware View. There are loads of improvements for security, performance and also View related enhancements.

Read the rest of this entry »

Teradici, the leader in delivering true PC experience over IP networks announced the availability of the Teradici PCoIP Management Console, a software that enables administrators to manage an entire enterprise deployment of PCoIP devices from a central point. The new console allows configuration and monitoring of PCoIP based zero client devices and host devices.

Read the rest of this entry »

The German language blog www.vireference.de published an article which compares the three different kinds of Teradici hardware zero clients for VMware View. The main devices are: Class 1 (eVGA, Leadtek, Wyse P20), Class 2 (DevonIT, Verari) and Class 3 (Samsung thin client monitors). Beside the technical information, the article describes the compatibility for View 4. It should be possible to use Google translation for this article.

Read the rest of this entry »

Teradici today announced the first multi-protocol hardware zero client solution for virtual desktops. This flexible client solution enables IT to deploy PCoIP clients across the enterprise and connect to a wide range of hosted compute resources including VMware View virtual desktops, rack, tower or blade graphics workstations via PCoIP protocol mode or Microsoft Windows Terminal Server sessions via RDP.

Read the rest of this entry »