VMware VDI shops get thin-client option with Pano Logic

IT shops looking to implement VMware virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) -- server-hosted desktops running in virtual machines (VMs) -- now have another
For more on virtual desktop infrastructure:
VDI benefits without VDI: Desktop management

What technology makes VDI possible?

VDI versus server-based computing desktops



thin-client option for end users' desks.
For more on virtual desktop infrastructure:
VDI benefits without VDI: Desktop management

What technology makes VDI possible?

VDI versus server-based computing desktops


Pano Logic Inc., a startup in Menlo Park, Calif., announced its Pano desktop computer, a thin-client device designed specifically for desktop virtualization and in particular for VMware Inc.'s VDI.
[Pano Logic is] definitely targeted at the average business user, but I'm able to watch Windows video on it.
Ryan Ritchie,
IT manager, R Systems

Compared with traditional thin clients from vendors like Wyse Technology Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and NEC Corp., the Pano device is notable for what it doesn't have: no CPU, no memory, no software, no operating system and no drivers. What the device does have are connectors to a keyboard, monitor and mouse, audio ins and outs, an Ethernet connection, and a USB.

Since the device has no processing resources of its own, Pano runs what it calls a Pano service within the Windows OS, which does things like translate the display Remote Desktop Protocol and present remote USB devices back to Windows. Taking this approach, Windows believes that the device is local, and users can use normal, native drivers for all their USB devices, Pano reported.

The benefits of a stripped-down device are easier management, the ability to share devices between users, low power consumption and low cost (about $300), said Mike Fodor, Pano Logic vice president of product management. But for now, end users will have to content themselves with "YouTube quality" audio and video, he said. Pano Logic hopes to resolve quality issues down the road, however. "We recognize the trend of more audio and video and have plans for a silicon solution in the future," Fodor said.