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Posted at 10:15 AM PT, Jun 16, 1998
NEW YORK -- As expected, Microsoft launched its thin-client initiative at PC Expo in New York on Tuesday with the release to manufacturing of Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, which will carry a price tag equal to that of NT Workstation.

Expected to be available in July, Terminal Server -- formerly code-name Hydra -- will allow users to run 32-bit Windows applications on PCs by accessing them from the server via Microsoft's proprietary Remote Desktop Protocol. (RDP)

"Now that the Terminal Server Edition is here, organizations will be able to extend the benefits of Windows to their terminal users and their desktops running on other operating systems," said Paul Maritz, group vice president of the platforms and applications group at Microsoft, in a statement.

Microsoft expects line-of -business applications, such as those from SAP and Baan or corporate applications written in-house, to be the chief use of Terminal Server, said John Frederiksen, lead project manager at Microsoft.

Terminal Server "promises customers a more affordable, more manageable, more flexible client/server infrastructure choice," stated a report from Redwood City, Calif.-based Zona Research. "And, most importantly, it allows them to easily access the world's largest application base."

Citrix Systems joined Microsoft in the thin push, releasing MetaFrame, which will extend Terminal Server's functionality to Macintosh, Unix, Java-based, and NC networks through Citrix's own Independent Computing Architecture protocol.

Citrix set a suggested price for the MetaFrame software, available now, at $4,995 for a 15-concurrent user license, with a scale set at $995, $1,995, $3,990, and $9,975 respectively for additional users in five, 10, 25, and 50 increments.

"Customers now have a compelling solution for delivering the Windows experience to all the desktops within their organizations, enabling them to enjoy significant reductions in TCO [total cost of ownership] while also benefiting from the power and flexibility of Windows," said Citrix Chairman and CTO Edward Iacobucci.

Terminal Server will cost as much as the standard edition of Windows NT Server 4.0, and clients will be required to have an NT Workstation 4.0 license and a File and Print Client Access License (CAL) for each desktop.

Terminal Server is priced at $1,129, with 10 Windows NT Server 4.0 File and Print CALs. Additional File and Print CALs cost $39.95 each, and extra NT Workstation licenses cost $269.

With NT 5.0, Microsoft hopes to turn Windows Terminal Server into Terminal Services, by making the terminal functionality a basic service in the NT operating system, Frederiksen said. However, he would not commit to Terminal Services being included in NT 5.0's initial release, expected next year.

Microsoft is still figuring out how Terminal Server could work with some of the enterprise features of NT 5.0, particularly support for very large memory and clustering beyond two nodes, Frederiksen said.

The company also sketched out plans for future releases of its RDP, which will include the ability for clients to play audio, as well as load balancing, Frederiksen said.

Microsoft Corp., in Redmond, Wash., is at http://www.microsoft.com. Citrix Systems Inc., in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is at http://www.citrix.com.

Bob Trott is a senior editor and Cara Cunningham is Client/Server editor for InfoWorld.