The purpose of a thin client is to display the graphics primitives sent from
the server in a way the user finds comfortable to use.
To make a meaningful comparison between different products it is important to
remove the "human" element ie the use of the keyboard and mouse. There are many
script based benchmarks that serve this purpose. (WinBench, Sysmarks, WinTach,
Winstone...).
Considerations when using these Benchmarks
1 - To guarantee the reliability and repeatability of the tests we recommend
using a dedicated machine (i.e. to be the only user) and to connect terminal
under test directly to the server using a cross-over cable. This will avoid the
effect of varying network load from the corporate network).
2. Most benchmarks are designed to test PCs or servers – the only relevant tests
for thin-clients are the tests that measure graphical performance. (Disk, CPU,
memory tests are irrelevant).
3 - The tests should lasts several minutes. This reduces measurement errors and
reduces the effect of unavoidable non graphical functions such as opening files
etc.
4 - Carry out the tests immediately after the logon, and reboot between each
test. This will eliminate the effect of caching.
Interpretation of the Results
These benchmarks give a final score which is generally meaningless in a
client/server environment. This score is based on 'system' performance and does
not take into account network performance, which is an inherent factor in
thin-client computing.
It is essential to consider impact of data-compression, data encryption and
local caching when testing thin-clients, as these factors are not relevant when
testing PCs and servers, so are not reflected in the benchmarks.
The only way to obtain a meaningful measurement from these benchmarks is to
physically measure the time taken to complete with a stopwatch.
Note: The clock must be independent to the system being tested.
Please find below details of where the
benchmarks mentioned in this article can be
downloaded.
WinBench :
http://www.etestinglabs.com/benchmarks/winbench/default.asp
(Download WinBench 99 version 2.0 with graphics)
Sysmarks :
http://www.bapco.com/
WinTach :
http://active-hardware.com/english/benchmarks/Wintach12.zip
WinStone :
http://www.veritest.com/benchmarks/bwinstone/default.asp
