We would like to have the convenience of having a terminal in every control room. But the cost of having that many software seats is prohibitive. Has anyone used any of the remote desktop software packages reduce the number of licenses purchased? Are there any drawbacks in terms of performance, etc.?

 

I would imagine that this highly depends on the software vendor. I do know that with our particular packages (calibration & tracking) the license is controlled by a centralized database. Most of the terminal apps are the same.. just 'screen scrapes' and we have seen Citrix, Remote Desktop, VMWare and a few others in use. What you need to focus on is what that terminal is going to 'do' and make sure the middleware supports it. If you go that route, look to ensure your peripherals will work through the middleware.. that's one of the banes of Citrix.. printing to local printers can be somewhat troublesome at times. Look for how many simultaneous sessions can be supported as well.

If you're looking to use a database-oriented system you need to shy away from desktop specific apps and find vendors who supply concurrent or 'floating' licensing models. That model would allow you to install on as many workstations as required but bind you by the number of simultaneous users. I say this because you mentioned 'convenience' and I would extrapolate that you are simply wanting to 'float' usage throughout your facility moreso than just trying to cheat a vendor on the costs.

 

Have a look at your application software license before you put any time into this problem. Many vendors do not allow operation of their software on a remote server even if it is technically possible. The license terms may specifically forbid the operation of the software on a remote server, or it may have vague terms forbidding the use by more than one person (even if only one person at a time is using it).

Most proprietary software companies aren't keen on customers finding ways to save money on software licenses. If you do use the software in ways which are contrary to the license, they consider this to be a case of "software piracy", just as if you were using it with no license at all (which may be considered another way of saving money on licenses).