Why does Dell Thin OS Support the Skype for Business Solution virtualized by Citrix … instead of Others?
ThinOS for Dell Wyse thin and zero clients now supports the only Microsoft-endorsed solution in the market for delivering Skype for Business in virtualized environments, the new “v2” HDX RealTime Optimization Pack of Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop.
With Microsoft Skype for Business now seen as a strategic application by many enterprise customers, the new ThinOS 8.3 release brings to market a valuable new option for your users who demand high quality real-time voice and video.
The Receiver for ThinOS is developed and maintained by Dell under a technology license from Citrix. This arrangement enables Dell to port features that we introduce in our Citrix Receiver to this proprietary OS. And it empowers the team at Dell to develop differentiating capabilities, as they have done many times over the years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIhkJekUW60&t=33m23s
One of the marquee features of the 8.3 release is support for the v2 HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Skype for Business, co-developed by Citrix and Microsoft during 2015 and launched in January. As highlighted by Microsoft Corporate VP Brad Anderson, the HDX RealTime Optimization Pack is “the only VDI solution that Skype for Business has been optimized for.” (For more information, see Microsoft TechNet article mt740144 and more.citrix.com/skype.) Dell’s engineers enhanced ThinOS, so that the HDX RealTime Media Engine for Linux can run under this lean, malware-resistant OS.
ThinOS 8.3 includes the 2.0 release of the HDX RealTime Media Engine. This is fully compatible with the 2.1 HDX RealTime Connector, which works with both the currently available Skype for Business 2015 client (15.0.4833 or above) and the update to Skype for Business 2016 that Microsoft announced will be released very shortly (September) as part of an Office 2016 update for Click-to-Run customers, with MSI to follow.
ThinOS 8.3 supports Skype for Business on the following thin client and zero client models:
- Wyse 3030 LT 1.6 GHz dual core thin client
- Wyse 5010 1.4 GHz dual core thin client (5012-D10D)
- Wyse 5010 1.4 GHz dual core zero client (5000-D00DX)
- Wyse 5040 All-in-One 1.4 GHz dual core thin client (5212 AIO)
- Wyse 7010 high performance 1.65 GHz dual core thin client (7012-Z10D)
Dell also just released Wyse ThinLinux, a hardened SUSE Linux based OS that’s optimized for thin client environments. This new OS release likewise showcases the Citrix HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Skype for Business and supports a long list of peripheral devices including printers, 4k monitors, smart cards, and fingerprint readers.
And beyond thin clients, Dell offer software solutions that complement Skype for Business, such as monitoring and reporting tools. You can also benefit from the expertise of Dell’s consulting team, who are ready to plan, deploy and manage your Skype for Business and Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop deployment using validated reference architectures (see dell.com/ucc and http://www.dell.com/en-us/work/learn/skype-for-business).
To learn more about our Skype for Business solution, be sure to watch this on-demand webinar: https://www.citrix.com/events/2016/skype-for-business-webinar.html
And be sure to fill out our roadmap planning survey as soon as possible so that your voice can be heard.
Derek Thorslund
Director of Product Management, HDX
