New! White paper: Is Visual WebGui just another Citrix look alike?
The second question of every second newbie to Visual WebGui is, so how do you differ from Citrix? There is, of course, a reason behind the question. This paper sets out to disperse the ambiguity and make it quite clear what VWG really is. Interested? Read on, here is the comparing table and the summary. see below a link for the full white paper.
SummaryWhile Citrix deployments and VWG applications have some common characteristics and benefits, they each offer very different solutions to very different needs. They both offer a superb ROI to application owners who want to port their desktop applications to browser-based solutions and they both involve a centralized application server speaking to browser-based clients. Beyond this they are different in every way.
The four main determining factors influencing the system owner when considering a solution are the speed of deployment, the performance of the ported system, the ability to extend the system in the future and the overall cost.
If fastest deployment at any price or a lack of developer resources are your driving considerations, Citrix, despite its limitations, will probably fit the bill. However, if integration, extensibility, interoperability with other systems and technologies, state of the art web technology or fast application performance are important to you, VWG cannot be matched to transform your desktop application to the Web, and beyond.
|
Feature |
VWG |
Citrix |
Value |
|
Zero footprint client |
ü |
û Browser plugin/add-on |
Does not require installation |
|
Server side logic |
ü |
ü |
Maintains control and state on the server |
|
Server side rendering (consumes resources on the server) |
û |
ü |
Consumes resources for graphics manipulation and rendering |
|
Client side rendering (consumes resources on the client) |
ü (can render User Experience in DHTML or Silverlight) |
ü |
Consumes resources on the client for graphics manipulation and rendering |
|
Web access to legacy desktop application |
Requires source code + re-engineering |
Out of the box |
Ubiquitous access via browser |
|
Transforms desktop application into true web application |
ü (requires re-engineering) |
û |
Is the application converted into a truly open web application capable of interoperation with other web technologies? |
|
Extensibility. State of the art development tools and practices |
ü (Visual Studio, WinForms, Expression Blend, VB like designers) |
û |
Is the platform suited for additional development/integration with web and other technologies? |
|
Interoperability with all web applications, browser components and server resources. |
ü (fully interoperable with browser DOM, ASP.net, .Net server objects and Silverlight controls) |
û (only interoperable with local devices – printers, faxes etc., local client applications) |
Can the application be extended to interoperate/integrate with additional web assets? |
|
Bandwidth consumption1 |
Average 0.2 Kbps2 |
~3-7 Kbps (with compression, depending on applications used) |
How much bandwidth is consumed by each session. |
|
Protocol |
XML based over HTTP (port 80) |
ICA or RDP (Terminal Services) over other ports |
Does the protocol pass through firewalls (port 80)? |
|
Session type |
IIS (ASP.net) session management and process isolation |
Full windows session on Citrix machine (virtual session) |
Is the session well isolated. Can hackers access other resources if compromised? |
|
No logic or data on client |
ü |
ü |
No logic or non-visible data is transferred to client |
|
Number of concurrent sessions per CPU |
~400 (generally similar to ASP.net limitations) |
~20 |
How much server resources are required for deployment |
|
Pricing model |
Per developer3 |
Per concurrent user |
What is the ROI? Is it economic for public internet sites? |
1 VWG does not require a constant stream of data. It uses the request/response model to transfer data only when required.
2 Based on a conservative assumption of one event being fired every 5 seconds.
3 VWG offers a scalable server for scaling web farms of multiple servers. VWG scalable server is offered on a per-server license.