MultiSeat Desktop Virtualization is a method by which a common desktop PC, with extra

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s, mice, and video screens directly attached to it, can be used to install, load, and concurrently run multiple operating systems. These operating systems can be the same across all "seats" or they can be different. It is similar to server based computing only in the fact that one

mainframe A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise ...

is supporting multiple users. On the other hand, it is different because the "terminals" (or seats, as they are known in multiseat jargon) are composed of nothing more than the regular keyboard, monitor and mouse, and these devices are plugged directly into the PC. USB hubs can be used for cable management of the keyboards and mice, and extra video cards (typically dual or quad output) may need to be installed.

Introduction

It is commonly known that modern day PCs are extremely powerful and have substantial excess CPU processing power. In fact, most desktop applications do not use the multi-core capabilities of today's CPUs. When an application is launched it runs on the first core, and when a second application is launched, it continues to run on the first core. That process continues (with the second and subsequent cores basically idling) until the original core gets very busy. At that point, the operating system tells the new applications to run on the second and subsequent cores.

Server based computing

Server based computing has been around for a long time specifically to take advantage of this excess CPU power and allow multiple users to share it. It started in the 1950s and 1960s with batch processing and has taken its current day form with

Citrix Citrix Systems, Inc. is an American multinational cloud computing and virtualization technology company that provides server, application and desktop virtualization, networking, software as a service (SaaS), and cloud computing technologies. C ...

and

Terminal Services Remote Desktop Services (RDS), known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and earlier, is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allow a user to initiate and control an interactive session on a remote computer or virtual machine ...

nComputing NComputing is a desktop virtualization company that manufactures hardware and software to create virtual desktops (sometimes called zero clients or thin clients) which enable multiple users to simultaneously share a single operating system insta ...

and Microsoft Multipoint are current iterations of the same thin client technology. The typical problem with this type of system is that it is dependent upon one operating system and one set of applications and there are many software titles that are not allowed to be shared among multiple users. That means that the first user of a program will get access but subsequent users will not. Another problem is that the video is not delivered via native means. It is usually delivered via network traffic and must rely upon the "packetizing" methods employed using TCP-IP. This means that video does not run very well, especially if the network traffic is busy.

Server virtualization

Virtualization In computing, virtualization or virtualisation (sometimes abbreviated v12n, a numeronym) is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something at the same abstraction level, including virtual computer hardware platforms, stor ...

can solve some of these problems. Virtualization is a method by which the "guest" operating system runs on top of, while being separated from the "bare metal" hardware. This means that multiple "guest" operating systems can be run, solving the problem of single user applications not being able to be launched for multiple, concurrent users.

Xen Xen (pronounced ) is a type-1 hypervisor, providing services that allow multiple computer operating systems to execute on the same computer hardware concurrently. It was originally developed by the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory an ...

used in conjunction with Citrix, or

VMware VMware, Inc. is an American cloud computing and virtualization technology company with headquarters in Palo Alto, California. VMware was the first commercially successful company to virtualize the x86 architecture. VMware's desktop software ru ...

used in conjunction with Microsoft Terminal Services are examples of this technology. Although it is still server based computing and relies upon a "thin" or a "fat" client to display the video output of the session, it allows multiple users to launch the same application because they are launching totally different instances of the same application, in different "guest" operating systems. But the issue still remains that video does not run very well because it still relies upon the network to deliver video. It is also extremely complicated to install and maintain, requiring extra training and knowledge.

Multiseat desktop virtualization differences

Multiseat desktop virtualization is an entirely new methodology which combines the cost saving benefits and ease of maintenance of server based computing, the time savings of hardware agnostic cloning, and the capabilities of

desktop virtualization Desktop virtualization is a software technology that separates the desktop environment and associated application software from the physical client device that is used to access it. Desktop virtualization can be used in conjunction with applicatio ...

, with the performance capabilities of real PC functionality. It takes advantage of this fact to enable ordinary users to install a multiseat PC giving 2 "seats" with a dual-core CPU or 4 "seats" with a quad-core CPU. The operating system of this PC is initially installed just like a regular PC. Regular PC users can install and use this type of product without having to install servers, or know how to manage complicated, server based computing or server based virtualization products. It has the combined benefits of a Type 1 hypervisor and a Type 2 hypervisor

virtual machine In computing, a virtual machine (VM) is the virtualization/emulation of a computer system. Virtual machines are based on computer architectures and provide functionality of a physical computer. Their implementations may involve specialized hardw ...

. It does this with the efficiency of a Type 1 hypervisor while maintaining the portability of a Type 2 hypervisor. {, class="wikitable" , - ! Type ! Standard server/TCP-IP based computing ! Virtualized server/TCP-IP based computing ! MultiSeat Desktop Virtualization , - , - , Examples ,

Thin clients In computer networking, a thin client is a simple (low-performance) computer that has been optimized for establishing a remote connection with a server-based computing environment. They are sometimes known as ''network computers'', or in th ...

( HP,

Neoware Neoware Systems, Inc., was a company that manufactured and marketed thin clients. It also developed and marketed enterprise software, thin client appliances, and related services aimed at reducing the TCO of IT infrastructure. Neoware owned one ...

Wyse WYSE (970 AM) is a radio station located in Canton, North Carolina, that simulcasts WISE's sports format from Asheville, North Carolina. Owned by the Asheville Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications, the station is licensed by the Fede ...

, Microsoft Multipoint) ,

VMware View VMware Horizon (formerly called Horizon View) is a commercial desktop and app virtualization product developed by VMware, Inc for Microsoft Windows, Linux and macOS operating systems. It was first sold under the name VMware VDM, but with the re ...

Citrix XenDesktop Citrix Virtual Desktops (formerly XenDesktop) is a desktop virtualization product. History The virtualization technology that led to XenDesktop was first developed in 2000 through an open-source hypervisor research project led by Ian Pratt at the ...

Multiseat configuration A multiseat, multi-station or multiterminal system is a single computer which supports multiple independent local users at the same time. A "seat" consists of all hardware devices assigned to a specific workplace at which one user sits at and i ...

, Userful,

Black Box VirtuaCore Black Box is a global company selling networking and computer interconnect products and services. Black Box has its global headquarters in Texas, and India headquarters in Navi Mumbai. Black Box operates in 75 locations across 35 countries, and ...

Fiddlehead Fiddleheads or fiddlehead greens are the furled fronds of a young fern, harvested for use as a vegetable. Left on the plant, each fiddlehead would unroll into a new frond (circinate vernation). As fiddleheads are harvested early in the sea ...

, - , Can run all single user applications , No , Yes , Yes , - , Can run multimedia without buffering , No , No , Yes , - , Easy to install , No , No , Yes , - , Each "seat" has their own IP and MAC address , No , Yes , Yes , - , Each "seat" cloned image is hardware agnostic across different sets of hardware , No , Yes , Yes

External links

Multi-Seat on Linux — freedesktop.org
Human–computer interaction