Wyse Technology has added support for thin clients based on Microsoft Windows XP Embedded to its recently introduced Wyse TCX USB Virtualizer. USB 1.1 and 2.0 devices can now be used in a virtual desktop environment in the same way as on a conventional PC.
Users connect USB peripherals locally to a thin client and work with them directly in a desktop environment based on Citrix XenDesktop or VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. A local driver on the thin client is not required. Plug and Play installs the associated driver in the virtual desktop, where it manages the peripheral’s functions.
Wyse TCX USB Virtualizer supports a wide range of USB peripherals including printers, scanners, CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives, floppy drives and mass storage, as well as handheld devices from Palm, BlackBerry and Apple and Microsoft Pocket PCs. Operation is intended to match a desktop PC in a conventional client-server environment. IT departments can also define which devices are permitted.
“Support for Microsoft Windows XP Embedded substantially expands the application range of our Wyse TCX Virtualizer software,” says Curt Schwebke, chief technology officer at Wyse Technology. “Peripherals can now be implemented and managed much more easily in virtual desktop environments. Our customers are increasingly using this type of flexible, dynamic solution to access information. With this software, we are extending our role beyond thin computing into desktop virtualisation.”
