N-series thin clients for Citrix HDXPartner solution handbook
Contents
Section 1: Background and market opportunity ________________________________ 2Enterprise perspective 2
SME and SMB perspective 2
Section 2: Specific targets _______________________________________________ 4Primary targets 4
Secondary targets 4
Section 3: Key messaging _______________________________________________ 6General message 6
Analyst perspective 6
Key benefits for customers & partners 6
NComputing and Citrix working together 7
Citrix perspective 8
The N-series is “Ready for the Enterprise” 8
vSpace Management Center: centralized management for the N-series 8
Multi-host and device management across multiple locations 9
Premium Support 10
Section 4: Competitive positioning _________________________________________ 11Compared to PCs 11
Compared to existing/traditional thin client devices (Dell/Wyse, HP, etc ) 11
Compared to other HDX SoC devices 11
Major Differentiator - The N-series “Supportability Advantage” 12
Section 5: Pricing and SKUs ______________________________________________ 13
Section 6: FAQ _______________________________________________________ 14N-series launch at Citrix Synergy 2012 (San Francisco) 14
Details of the N-series product line 14
Technical innovation 17
Section 7: Enablement and resources _______________________________________ 18
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Section 1: Background and market opportunity
Our mission at NComputing is to deliver high performance, low cost computing for all users through continuous innovation in software and hardware. The N-series has been developed in response to the growing need for innovation within the enterprise market to attack the two biggest barriers to adoption of desktop virtualization: cost and complexity. Our strategic partnership with Citrix enables us to address the largest segment of the enterprises where desktop virtualization projects are either currently active or just now in the planning stages.
Enterprise perspective
A key part of the Citrix Desktop Virtualization solution stack: • Citrix is the clear market share leader in enterprise VDI with XenDesktop (includes XenApp) and the
rich HDX “experience” is their advantage• There are over 100 million XenApp users worldwide with over 25 million applications in production
(Source: Citrix)• Cost of the end point device to run HDX is still prohibitive to massive expansion of Citrix virtual
desktop deployments with XenDesktop• Traditional thin client market is stagnant – not enough upside compared to PCs• Citrix and Citrix partners need a high performance, low cost end point device solution to enable
existing and new HDX deployments to deploy to full potential
SME and SMB perspective
Unique market opportunities include:• PC refresh • PC expansion (The ability to expand seats within an existing budget/deployment)• Citrix VDI-in-a-Box (Note: uses same protocols as Citrix Enterprise VDI)
Citrix and NComputing have a common vision to drive the mainstream adoption of virtual desktops and applications, with the rule of thumb being “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. Together, we share the same goals of dramatically reducing the costs of VDI and being able to provide an amazing HDX experience for all users. For partners looking to help their customers broaden their deployments of Citrix XenDesktop, XenApp, or VDI-in-a-box, the new NComputing N-series thin clients for Citrix HDX deliver 100% of the HDX experience at a fraction of the cost of PCs or other thin clients.
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Section 1: Background and market opportunity
With NComputing’s N-series, you now have the ability to:• Cut unnecessary cost and complexity out of the endpoint component of the virtual desktop stack• Incorporate more strategic, higher margin data center gear and complimentary solutions as a result
of the endpoint savings provided by the N-series• Incorporate more high-value, high margin services as a result of the endpoint savings provided by
the N-series
In addition, you will now be able to:• Provision more Citrix HDX seats within existing deployments• Accelerate projects that have been stalled due to the high cost/complexity of end points• Create happier users with new, additional high performance products and value added services• Create faster deployments with highly reliability endpoints and a better cost structure• Gain competitive advantage and differentiate from other partners by leveraging the innovative
alternative solution
NComputing as a company and the N-series provide a powerful business opportunity for Citrix partners globally. With powerful functionality at a disruptive price point, partners can offer their customers a more comprehensive solution or pass along the savings directly. • Ability to support partners and customers globally, with operations worldwide and enterprise
support• History of delivering high quality purpose-built devices demonstrated by 4M devices in service
worldwide• Easy substitution with legacy suppliers delivering simpler, more powerful and more affordable
solutions – switching over to NComputing Is not difficult.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Lack of in-house management skills
Waiting for all virtualizationtechnology prices to come down
Non-IT executives won't approve it
Doesn't make sense for the numberof desktops/users that we have
Lack of in-house installation skills
Existing servers can't accomodate all desktops as virtual machines, and we don't want to buy new servers
Applications not a good fit
Too complex
Budget approval won't come until 2012
Waiting for virtualizationproduct options to mature
Too expensive
Source: TechTarget’s Virtualization Decision Purchasing Intentions Survey, end of 2012
Limiting Desktop Virtualization AdoptionWhich factors have limited your adoption of desktop virtualization (select all responses that apply)?
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NComputing N-series devices are ideal for any and all Citrix customers:• Wherever HDX is currently, or planning to be deployed and cutting cost and complexity of the
endpoint is a key customer consideration • XenApp, XenDesktop and VDI-in-a-Box users • Appropriate for both task workers (N400) and knowledge workers (N500, N500w) • Customers with enterprise-class requirements will appreciate N-series features and functionality
including security, manageability and premium customer support offerings
Key verticals to focus on for N-series opportunities:• Healthcare • Finance • Manufacturing • Education (primarily Higher Ed) • Public Sector • Retail
Primary targets
Citrix customer accounts with a pending thin client endpoint purchase should be considered primary targets for the N-series. This is very much a case of “replace in place” of any other thin client being proposed for a Citrix HDX deployment. The net result for Citrix HDX customers will be a substantial reduction in cost for the endpoint component of a proposed solution stack, combined with an expanded set of functionality and performance capabilities. The included N-series enterprise-class centralized management and premium support offerings can be leveraged to create differentiation as well.
Partners will also then have the ability to either reduce the amount of their overall proposal to reflect the savings to the customer or propose providing additional valuable and more margin-rich solution stack elements to complement the endpoint devices that can now be paid for within the original budgeted purchase amount.
Citrix customers who have already been using thin clients in their environment and now looking to expand their use should also be considered primary targets for the N-series. These customers already know the advantages that thin client devices provide, but are most likely not 100% satisfied with the performance, complexity (especially centralized ongoing management) and overall cost of their current solution.
In many cases, the N-series will provide an immediate resolution to all three of the issues mentioned above. An onsite trial of any duration will give the customer the ability to compare the N-series against their current standard thin client and the decision to make the N-series their new standard going forward should be the expected outcome.
Secondary targets
Citrix has over 100 million enterprise users of XenApp worldwide. Many of these users are now running XenApp as part of a XenDesktop license that they acquired as part of a highly successful XenApp to XenDesktop trade up program that Citrix has made available for quite some time now.
Section 2: Specific targets
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Section 2: Specific targets
The reality however is that a lot of these users are not yet taking advantage of the XenDesktop/VDI licensing they upgraded to for two reasons: • The new media-rich applications requiring a XenDesktop/VDI model have not been deployed yet
within their enterprise and they are still running applications that XenApp can support• The added pressures placed upon the back end servers and infrastructure (including the endpoint
device) when shifting to VDI and the rich multi-media experience provided by HDX need to be addressed first
The N-series is ideal for any enterprise customer who wants to start taking advantage of the XenDesktop/VDI licenses they have already invested in. Attaching to the situation above in a highly targeted way will work well, even if the customer is just now beginning to test new media-rich applications that XenApp will not support. The N-series in this case might contribute to the customer reaching the tipping point where they make the shift to a new generation of applications in their environment, which makes your sales engagement with them more strategic.
Beyond the enterprise, Citrix recently acquired Kaviza’s VDI-in-a-Box in order to have a less complex and less costly alternative to the traditional enterprise-centric XenApp/XenDesktop solution set to take to the SMB/SME market segment.
The N-series will be equally appealing to Citrix VDI-in-a-Box customers in the SMB/SME segments looking to deploy next generation media-rich applications, as they will encounter the same issues with traditional thin clients running HDX as enterprise customers. Plus, they will have the added challenges of less IT staff and even tighter budgets, both of which also sets the table for the benefits that the N-series provides.
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Section 3: Key messaging
General message
NComputing HDX Ready N-series thin clients are the industry’s newest and most powerful solution for supporting and extending Citrix HDX deployments. Enabled by NComputing’s own Numo™ 3 System-on-Chip for high performance, N-series devices deliver a 100% HDX experience with complete manageability, enterprise-class support, and at a disruptive price point.
Analyst perspective
“With NComputing embedding HDX support directly into its SoC designs, thin client customers now have an attractive, high-performance alternative for their end point computing device. This technology helps remove one of the choke points holding back larger VDI deployments.”
Al Gillen, program vice president, System Software at IDC
Key benefits for customers & partners
$6M$4M $10M+ =
10,000 seat VDI project
Typicalthin clients
• Cut unnecessary cost and complexity out of the stack
• Incorporate more strategic data center gear
• Incorporate more services and solutions
NComputingN-series
$2M $2M left to:$8M+ =Servers, Storage,
Services, & Software
Using the N-series as the end point of choice for Citrix HDX deployments can eliminate as much as 2/3 of the investment needed when compared to using a PC or a typical thin client alternative.
If we conservatively use even a 50% savings as a result of the N-series pricing, this can have a dramatic impact on the overall budget for a Citrix VDI deployment and resulting solution stack to properly support it – especially for a large scale one.
A typical 10,000 seat deployment of Citrix VDI will require a budget in the $10M range to accommodate the acquisition of the Citrix software licenses needed, servers, storage, services and last but certainly not least, the endpoint devices for users to access it.
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Section 3: Key messaging
Considering that the endpoint component of the overall solution stack typically constitutes 30-40% of the overall budget required, reducing that spend by at least 50% returns a significant amount of money back to the customer that they thought they needed to spend and now have allocated to the project.
This situation creates a tremendous strategic opportunity for both our customers and partners alike.
From our customer’s perspective, they now have budget returned to them that they can spend on other solutions or services to complement the original solution stack they were building for their VDI project or simply keep the same stack and roll it out to more users.
Of course, they could simply keep the savings, but that is not likely as the spend has already been budgeted and allocated to the project.
From our partner’s perspective, you can now offer your customer other solutions and services that were not part of the original plan. It’s no secret that the margins on endpoints are not nearly as wide as those related to software solutions and value added services or support. You can now use the N-series to replace the costs associated with the endpoint devices on Citrix VDO projects and increase overall deal margin by replacing the dollars needed with more profitable offerings you may carry in your lineup of related solutions:• Storage/Storage Management• Network Infrastructure and Remote Connectivity• System Monitoring and Performance Tuning• Premium Support Offerings• Education and Training• Additional software functionality
NComputing and Citrix working together
NComputing and Citrix are working together to transform the economics of desktop virtualization and deliver on a common vision: enabling wider adoption of the HDX experience. With NComputing’s breakthrough N-series HDX Ready devices and the Citrix HDX Ready System-on-Chip program, customers can expand Citrix capabilities at dramatically lower costs and without compromising the HDX experience. Specific version support for Citrix desktop virtualization offerings include: • XenDesktop versions 5.0, 5.5, 5.6, 7.1, 7.5 (App publishing)• XenApp versions 6.0, 6.5, 6.5 Feature Pack 2, 7.1, 7.5 (desktop virtualization)• VDI-in-a-box versions 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 (desktop virtualization)
NComputing has a deep, bidirectional partnership with Citrix to support these joint goals:• Charter member and only one of two system-on-chip original vendors in the HDX SoC program• Deep relationship with Citrix engineering to optimize the Citrix Receiver and explore future
capabilities• Mark Templeton demonstration and discussion of NComputing devices at Synergy Barcelona 2011
and Synergy San Francisco 2012• The first SoC-based vendor to receive HDX ready certification across the portfolio and to ship into
the market.• An endpoint, purpose-built and optimized for Citrix environments only.
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Section 3: Key messaging
Citrix perspective
“By working with partners such as NComputing with its expertise building thin client solutions for virtualized environments, we are helping enterprises rapidly expand desktop virtualization deployments with new very low-cost devices that deliver a superior high-definition HDX experience for users.” “NComputing’s new thin client line will give our customers a low-cost, high-performance thin client for their virtual desktop environments.”
Sumit Dhawan, group vice president and general manager, Receiver and Gateways group at Citrix
The N-series is “Ready for the Enterprise”
Solutions need to feature a higher standard of quality and capabilities to ensure success when deployed on an extremely large scale throughout the enterprise
The N-series delivers with a highly specialized set of enterprise-class attributes:
Efficient, powerful and flexible security• SSL implemented in silicon (for high performance and throughput)• Supports Citrix Access Gateway, Citrix Secure Gateway, and Netscaler “out of the box”• Certificate management built directly into management tools
Designed to be highly manageable• Embedded management agent within device firmware• Centralized management scalable to 10,000 devices with multiple instances• Plug and play initial deployment with ability to easily update/upgrade ongoing
Built with quality and the highest degree of supportability• NComputing’s own Numo™ 3 third-generation SoC technology (not an OEM)• Self-sourced technology stack in partnership with Citrix (not multiple entities)• Enterprise-class premium support offerings to ensure maximum uptime/usage
Beyond the quality and capabilities of the devices themselves, NComputing provides the additional enterprise-class offerings necessary to ensure that our customers get maximum benefit and ROI out of their N-series investment – both initially and long-term.
vSpace Management Center: centralized management for the N-series
When deploying thousands of devices throughout the enterprise, it is critical to have a powerful and easy to use way of managing them – whether they are local to your IT staff or somewhere far away in a remote location.
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Section 3: Key messaging
Multi-host and device management across multiple locations
Centralized local or remote management
Citrix Infrastructure
N500
N500w
Citrix XenDesktopwith FlexCast(includes XenApp)
CitrixVDI-in-a-Box
HDX
HDX
ManagementThin Clients
LAN
10/100 Base-T Ethernet
802.11 b/g/n Wireless
N400
The vSpace Management Center offering gives you and your customer all the tools they need to centrally manage the N-series – no matter where the user might be, or how many devices and sites are involved:• Access an entire enterprise-wide N-series deployment from a single console • Manage 100, 1,000 or 10,000 devices across multiple networks and locations• Easy to install and use with a flexible web-based user interface• Update wizard and scheduling/automation features simplify device updates and scheduling (e.g.
updating firmware)• Assign common profiles for easy, quick and scalable management of device settings across the
enterprise• Dashboard with logging and group views enables rapid assessment of your environment – confirm
status and easily spot where action is needed
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Section 3: Key messaging
Premium Support
Rounding out the “enterprise ready” status of the N-series is a Premium Support offering designed to keep the N-series functioning at peak performance delivering maximum value for our enterprise-class customers.
SOFTWARE SUPPORT BASIC PREMIUM
24X7 COMMUNITY SUPPORT FORUMS ✔ ✔24X7 KNOWLEDGE BASE ACCESS ✔ ✔24X7 ONLINE DOCUMENTATION ✔ ✔24X7 SOFTWARE DOWNLOAD CENTER SOFTWARE UPDATES: FIXES
✔ ✔
24X7 SOFTWARE DOWNLOAD CENTER SOFTWARE UPGRADES: MINOR AND MAJOR
✔
PROACTIVE NOTIFICATIONS ✔TECHNICAL DESIGN CONSULTATION On Request
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER PHONE, WEB AND E-MAIL
10 Tickets/yr business hours
Unlimited 24x7
LIST PRICE (PER YEAR) Included for 1st year
Per seat pricing
Key attributes of Premium Support include:• Software updates and enhancements (not just fixes)• Proactive notification of updates and fixes• 24 x 7 unlimited access to our Technical Assistance Center• 30-minute response to S1 tickets (highest priority)• Additional options available for extended hardware warranty and extended premium support
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Section 4: Competitive positioning
Compared to PCs
Many organizations continue to use and deploy well-accepted PC’s to support Citrix. N-series devices can provide a valuable complement or replacement: • Architected to offer dramatically lower costs than PC’s both up front and over time. • More manageable, provide easier setup, have less room for error, and offer seamless client updates.
Embedded management coupled with the vSpace Management Center ensures a low-touch experience.
• Offer similar or higher levels of security, with no moving pieces, embedded operating systems, or accessible ports. With purpose-built security functionality, these devices can provide for enhanced security and compliance.
• Use dramatically less power, using less than 5W versus PC utilization of 70-150W• Much cooler and quieter, providing a better working environment
Compared to existing/traditional thin client devices (Dell/Wyse, HP, etc.)
The market for thin clients, especially from major vendors like Dell/Wyse and HP, is filled with complex portfolios and diverse feature sets. They are generally complex to manage, relatively expensive ($300 - $450 USD), and provide barely adequate performance.
Compared to these existing devices, NComputing N-series devices deliver:• Dramatically lower cost with better HDX performance • More alignment with enterprise needs. The devices are built as an appliance with no moving parts
or accessible operating system for higher supportability, better security, and manageability• Modern design, delivering simpler engineering, a quieter experience, far fewer materials, and much
lower energy consumption.• Use a purpose-built System-on-chip for cost reduction and higher reliability, security,
manageability, and affordability.• Engineered for manageability with embedded agent and scalable management platform (vSpace
Management Center)• A simple portfolio designed to meet the vast majority of customer and partner requirements with a
dramatically stronger value proposition.
Compared to other HDX SoC devices
The thin client market is moving toward SoC-based devices, but NComputing is far ahead of the curve. N-series advantages include the following:• Optimized for the HDX protocol alone, ensuring the highest quality instead of building to the
lowest common denominators• Architected for lower cost, higher performance, and better reliability. NComputing built the
N-series to meet demands seen today and those coming later.• Third-generation technology proven in millions of devices deployed worldwide• Engineered as a whole solution, ensuring that the SoC, device, and management software are
architected to work together
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Section 4: Competitive positioning
Major Differentiator - The N-series “Supportability Advantage”
Unlike virtually all other HDX-capable thin client offerings in the marketplace, the N-series is 100% self-sourced with NComputing’s own technology and components, including the all-important System-on-Chip. Except for the Citrix Receiver, the N-series features no other 3rd party components in its solution stack – and even the Citrix Receiver is packaged and delivered pre-installed in the device firmware. Additionally, the N-series is purpose-built and specialized for the support of only the Citrix virtualization platform and optimized for HDX.
The end result is a fully integrated and highly specialized solution that offers the highest level of “supportability” for our customers and our partners alike. Typical finger-pointing situations are eliminated by virtue of the N-series being the result of two vendor’s technology – NComputing and Citrix, and nobody else. Customers and partners will experience quicker, smoother deployments knowing that only NComputing and Citrix need to be involved to support their efforts. Other vendor’s products that support multiple virtualization schemes and protocols and bring together technology for the SoC, the firmware, the device design and management software from multiple vendors introduce the very likely possibility for supportability issues.
Deploying products that feature technology assembled from multiple independent sources and branded as one creates the very real situation of delays being introduced and complexity arising from having to coordinate responses and fixes from each of the vendors involved.
This is an extremely important point to illustrate with every customer and will surely resonate with them if they have tried to implement any of the typical offerings available today.
Management software
Client device
Client software
SoC (firmware)
Integrated solution fromNComputing and Citrix• Ease of supportability• Quicker, smoother deployments
Components from too many seperate vendors• Potential supportability issues• Slower, complex deployments
Citrix Receiver
VMWarePCOIP
MSFTRFX
Vendor’smanagement software
ODMOriginal device manufacturer
SIfirmware
Silicon chip providerSoC (chip)
N-series
firmware
Citrix Receiver
NComputing N-series Other SoC thin clients
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Section 5: Pricing and SKUs
OFFERING GENERAL DESCRIPTION OFFERING GENERAL DESCRIPTION OFFERING GENERAL DESCRIPTION
N400 Citrix Ready HDX-capable SoC thin client device optimized for task workers with 720p HD video.
Enterprise bundle includes 1 device license for vSpace Management Center, & Premium Support (which provides software upgrades, 24x7 technical support, & 30-minute response to S1 tickets)
N500 Citrix Ready HDX-capable SoC thin client device optimized for knowledge workers with full 1080p HD video.
Enterprise bundle includes 1 device license for vSpace Management Center, & Premium Support (which provides software upgrades, 24x7 technical support, & 30-minute response to S1 tickets)
N500w Citrix Ready HDX-capable SoC thin client device optimized for knowledge workers with full 1080p HD video.
Enterprise bundle includes 1 device license for vSpace Management Center, & Premium Support (which provides software upgrades, 24x7 technical support, & 30-minute response to S1 tickets)
UNIT WEIGHT 270g (9.5 oz)
UNIT WEIGHT 394g (13.9 oz)
UNIT WEIGHT 412g (14.5 oz)
PACKAGE WEIGHT
690g (1 lb, 8.3 oz)
PACKAGE WEIGHT
820g (1 lb, 13 oz)
PACKAGE WEIGHT
844g (1 lb, 13.8 oz)
PACKAGE DIMENSIONS
8.85” x 7.50” x 2.36”
225mm x 193mm x 60mm
PACKAGE DIMENSIONS
8.85” x 7.50” x 2.36”
225mm x 193mm x 60mm
PACKAGE DIMENSIONS
8.85” x 7.50” x 2.36”
225mm x 193mm x 60mm
MSRP $159 (USD) MSRP $229 (USD) MSRP $279 (USD)
UPC 882508000276 UPC 882508000283 UPC 882508000290
EAN 8809208720190 EAN 8809208720206 EAN 8809208720213
SKU POWER OPTIONS SKU POWER OPTIONS SKU POWER OPTIONS
500-0125 • US/Canada • Argentina • Brazil
500-0126 • US/Canada • Argentina • Brazil
500-0131 • US/Canada • Argentina • Brazil
500-0127 • India • Korea • South East Asia • China • New Zealand • Australia • South Pacific Islands
500-0129 • India • Korea • South East Asia • China • New Zealand • Australia • South Pacific Islands
500-0132 • India • Korea • South East Asia • China • New Zealand • Australia • South Pacific Islands
500-0128 • Europe • UK
500-0130 • Europe • UK
500-0133 • Europe • UK
OFFERING GENERAL DESCRIPTION MSRP SKU SKU DESCRIPTION
2-YEAR PREMIUM SUPPORT EXTENSION
Additional 2 years of Premium Support for vSpace Management Center (which provides software upgrades, 24x7 technical support & more). Can be added to any N-series bundle that already includes the 1st year – to yield a total of 3 years of Premium Support.
$10 PS-VMC-2YR-ADDL
Additional 2 years of Premium Support for vSpace Management Center
1-YEAR EXTENDED HARDWARE WARRANTY
Additional 1-year Hardware Warranty for purchased NComputing device (includes standard 3-year warranty) to yield a total of 4 years Hardware Warranty.
$10 PS-HWW-1YR-ADDL Additional 1 year of Hardware Warranty
2-YEAR EXTENDED HARDWARE WARRANTY
Additional 2-years Hardware Warranty for purchased NComputing device (includes standard 3-year warranty) to yield a total of 5 years Hardware Warranty.
$15 PS-HWW-2YR-ADDLAdditional 2 years of Hardware Warranty
Important Notes:
1) Discounts from pricing outlined above require approval of the appropriate members of the NComputing Management Team. 2) There is no need for distributors to stock or ship activation keys for vSpace Management Center or Premium Support; these are fulfilled by the end-customer at www.ncomputing.com/enroll.
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N-series launch at Citrix Synergy 2012 (San Francisco)1. What did NComputing announce?
• NComputing demonstrated new thin clients resulting from our strategic collaboration with Citrix on the advancements from the Citrix HDX Ready System-on-Chip (SoC) program. This complements the announcement of the program at Synergy Barcelona in October 2011.
• Developed in close collaboration with Citrix, the new N-series thin clients for Citrix HDX, powered by NComputing’s Numo™ 3 SoC technology, will have an immediate impact on the desktop virtualization market through the creation of new high performance, highly efficient thin clients at radically lower price points than current alternatives.
2. What does the N-series mean to the desktop virtualization market?
• The Citrix HDX Ready System-on-Chip (SoC) initiative and the new NComputing N-series thin clients represent a sea-change for desktop virtualization. NComputing will be able to accelerate the Citrix vision of “HDX everywhere” through purpose-built, high performance, ultra-low energy and low-cost-per-user end points powered by our Numo SoC technology. For the NComputing OEM ecosystem, our reference designs will provide the foundation for entirely new product categories of HDX Ready devices and market opportunities.
3. Why is NComputing partnering with Citrix?
• Citrix and NComputing have a common vision to drive mainstream adoption of virtual desktops–for everyone--and share a goal to eliminate the barriers of cost and complexity that have delayed adoption of desktop virtualization to date.
• NComputing is a member of the Citrix Ready and HDX Ready SoC partner programs. The Citrix Ready program enables full compatibility with Citrix virtualization infrastructure products. The Citrix HDX Ready SoC program enables an amazingly rich user experience for virtual computing solutions. NComputing’s Numo 3 SoC for HDX technology completely redefines the market by setting a new level of performance at an industry-leading price point. By bringing these two market-leading technologies together, enterprise customers will be able to significantly lower the initial acquisition and ongoing costs of virtual computing solutions.
4. What is the best place to get more info?
• http://www.ncomputing.com/HDX
Details of the N-series product line5. What are the N-series products?
• The N-series thin clients for Citrix HDX is a new product family of thin clients based on the next-generation NComputing Numo 3 SoC, which is purpose built to support Citrix XenApp, XenDesktop and VDI-in-a-Box, and optimized for HDX. There are two models in the N-series product line and three products: the N400, the N500, and the N500w.
Section 6: FAQ
15
Section 6: FAQ
6. What is the N400?
• NComputing’s entry-level HDX Ready device, the N400 is the thin client of choice for task workers and those workers with light to average multimedia needs. The N400 combines the proven horsepower of the 3rd-generation Numo™ 3 SoC with the deep understanding of desktop virtualization to deliver an HD 720p video-capable device with hardware acceleration and the features needed for most task-oriented enterprise applications.
7. What is the N500?
• The workhorse of the NComputing portfolio, the N500 provides the full multimedia capabilities demanded by knowledge workers and users in other demanding media rich application environments. The N500 incorporates full client-side rendering for the most efficient delivery of multimedia content up to full HD at 1080p, as well as options for dual display and wireless connectivity with the N500w (not available with the N400). Also powered by the Numo™ 3 SoC, the N500 sets the new standard for price/performance in the thin client market with its rich set of features and capabilities.
8. What is the value of these new N-series products?
• For organizations looking to broaden their commitment to Citrix XenDesktop, XenApp, or VDI-in-a-Box, the new NComputing N-series thin clients for Citrix HDX deliver 100% of the HDX experience at a fraction of the cost of PCs or other thin clients. NComputing’s next-generation HDX-ready thin clients are powered by its Numo™ 3 System-on-Chip, which delivers a high performance client supporting HD video sessions using less than 5 watts of power. With full manageability, support, and at a low cost, enterprise organizations can now cost-effectively extend their Citrix deployments to more users, allowing them to gain fuller access to the many benefits of desktop virtualization.
9. Are the N-series HDX Ready thin clients “cloud ready”?
• Yes, the N-series supports the HDX protocol and takes advantage of its unique ability to work with the low bandwidth and high latency of a typical cloud environment.
10. Is the N-series Citrix HDX Ready?
• Yes, please visit the Citrix website for details: N400 - http://www.citrix.com/ready/partners/ncomputing/products/n400 N500 - http://www.citrix.com/ready/partners/ncomputing/products/n500 N500w - http://www.citrix.com/ready/partners/ncomputing/products/n500w
11. What Citrix platforms and versions are supported?
• XenDesktop versions 5.0, 5.5, 5.6, 7.1, 7.5
• XenApp versions 6.0, 6.5, 6.5 Feature Pack 2, 7.1, 7.5
• VDI-in-a-box versions 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
12. What OS support does the N-series offer?
• The N-series is designed to support Citrix XenDesktop, XenApp, and VDI-in-a-Box and supports the current offering for these products’ desktop virtualization features.
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Section 6: FAQ
13. What about management?
• Introduced in conjunction with the N-series thin clients, NComputing’s vSpace Management Center provides a highly scalable, flexible and easy to use single tool for thin client management with AD integration for role-based access control. With its web-based console, IT administrators can manage their N-series devices from anywhere and at anytime. vSpace Management Center helps you organize your N-series deployment, whether it’s a single site or multiple sites – and makes it easy to perform critical management tasks remotely including firmware updates, configuration changes, device resets and more.
14. Is dual display supported by the N-series?
• Yes, dual display is available as an optional extra for the N500 in the form of a secondary display adapter that connects to any USB port of the device. Dual display provides a maximum screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 – the same as provided for the primary display.
15. Is Wi-Fi supported by the N-series?
• Yes. Wi-Fi is available as a factory fitted optional extra for the N500w which provides support for 802.11b/g/n networks.
16. Is smart card authentication supported by the N-series?
• Yes, smart card authentication using Imprivata is supported in the initial release of both the N400 and N500. NComputing intends to target expanding this support to other authentication providers.
17. Does the N-series support non-Citrix platforms?
• No, the N-series is optimized for Citrix and HDX by design and does not support any other platforms.
18. When will the product be available?
• The N400 and N500 are available today.
19. How much do the N-series devices cost?
All N-series models come with an Enterprise bundle of 1 device license for vSpace Management Center and the first year of Premium Support (software upgrades, 24x7 technical support and knowledgebase access) included in the one bundled price:
• The N400 list price is $159 USD
• The N500 list price is $229 USD
• The N500w adds factory installed WiFi to the N500 and the list price is $249 USD
Note: the list price for the N500/N500w secondary display adapter is $60 USD
20. What channels will the N-series be sold through?
• N-series thin clients for Citrix HDX can be obtained globally through select NComputing resellers and distributors who are Citrix authorized.
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Section 6: FAQ
21. Will all current NComputing resellers be carrying the N-series products?
• No. However, a subset of NComputing resellers that are Citrix authorized will carry the N-series. NComputing will evaluate prospective partners on an individual basis, regionally.
Technical innovation22. Other SoC-enabled devices exist already, why are these different?
• Our Numo 3 is part of a next-generation, specialized breed of SoC technology initiated at the request of Citrix to drive HDX adoption
23. What is a System on Chip (SoC)?
• A System on Chip (SoC) is an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) that is specifically designed to run a specific environment; in this case to provide a full desktop virtualization experience.
• An SoC typically includes CPU’s, multiple buses (including memory and I/O buses), connectivity interfaces (like Ethernet and USB)), audio and video logic (including CODECs), security, and cryptographic support, and power saving features. With nearly a complete system on a single ASIC, an application can be created that is very low in cost.
24. What are the Numo 3 design specs that support the HDX SoC Ready program?
• Numo3 includes a number of CODECs (coder-decoders) that are utilized in the N500 to provide direct hardware support for accelerated video support. This support not only improves the video quality but also helps off-load tasks from the host server that enables greater user density per server and less network bandwidth consumption. The SoC technology implemented in the N-series is a win-win-win implementation as it represents a win for lower cost thin clients, a win for lower server costs and a win for lower infrastructure costs.
• The latest generation of the Numo chip is based on a high performance multi-core, ARM Cortex A9 CPU with a custom multimedia engine that supports a broad array of compression & decompression technologies. With power consumption at less than 2 watts, it provides computation capabilities that are similar and in some scenarios better than modern PCs but a fraction of the cost and power envelope. Further information on Numo 3 can be found at: http://www.ncomputing.com/products/technologies.
25. How does support for the Citrix SoC program work?
• The N-series features a newly developed Citrix Receiver that has been optimized to run on SoC based thin clients. Since the Barcelona SoC program announcement the NComputing and Citrix engineering teams have been working in close collaboration to bring this technology to market.
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© Copyright 2015 ZeroDesktop, Inc. All rights reserved. NComputing® is a division of ZeroDesktop. Other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Preliminary beta specifications subject to change without notice. Performance may vary, depending on the configuration of the shared computer.
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Section 7: Enablement and resources
NComputing offers the following training courses for partners selling the N-series:• N-series Partner Sales Training • N-series Partner Technical Training
Both of the above sessions can be delivered either in person or remotely via web-based meeting.
A full set of sales tools designed to help you convey the full value of the N-series to your prospects and customers is also available and accessible through our secure partner portal:• N-series battlecard• N-series datasheet• N-series System on Chip whitepaper• N-series customer facing PPT• Competitive positioning pieces for select vendor side-by-side comparisons• The NComputing website also contains valuable info and materials for working with your customers
and projects. http://www.ncomputing.com
