DEVELOPMENT OF A THIN CLIENT BASED OPERATING ...

DEVELOPMENT OF A THIN CLIENT BASED OPERATING SYSTEM

WITH ARCH LINUX AND RASPBERRY PI FOR VIRTUAL DESKTOP

INFRASTRUCTURE (VDI) SOLUTION

By

SAMIUL HAQUE SUMAN

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

TECHNOLOGY

INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

2017

ii

The project titled “DEVELOPMENT OF A THIN CLIENT BASED OPERATING

SYSTEM WITH ARCH LINUX AND RASPBERRY PI FOR VIRTUAL

DESKTOP INFRASTRUCTURE (VDI) SOLUTION” submitted by Samiul Haque

Suman, Roll No.: 0412311009, Session: April 2012, has been accepted as satisfactory

in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Post Graduate Diploma in

Information and Communication Technology on 28 Mar 2017.

BOARD OF EXAMINERS

1. Mohammad Imam Hasan Bin Asad

Assistant Professor

IICT, BUET, Dhaka

Chairman

2. Dr. Md. Liakot Ali

Professor

IICT, BUET, Dhaka

Member

3. Dr. Hossen Asiful Mustafa

Assistant Professor

IICT, BUET, Dhaka

Member

iii

CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION

It is hereby declared that this project or any part of it has not been submitted elsewhere

for the award of any degree or diploma.

SAMIUL HAQUE SUMAN

0412311009

IICT, BUET

iv

DEDICATION

I dedicate my project work to my family especially to wife Arju Arfin who never left

my side and encouraged me.

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Table of Contents

Board of Examiners…………………………………………………………………. ii

Candidate’s declaration ……………………………………………………………. iii

Dedication …………………………………………………………………………. iv

List of Figures ........................................................................................................... viii

List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………ix

List of Abbreviations of Technical Symbols and Terms ............................................. x

Acknowledgement ...................................................................................................... xi

Abstract ...................................................................................................................... xii

CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................ 1

1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Project Objective ........................................................................................... 2

1.3 Organization of the Project Report ................................................................ 3

CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................ 4

2.1 Virtualization Concept .................................................................................. 4

2.1.1 Virtualization overview ................................................................................. 4

2.1.2 Working procedure of Virtualization ............................................................ 5

2.1.3 Benefits of Virtualization .............................................................................. 5

2.2 The Virtual Machine ..................................................................................... 6

2.2.1 The Key properties of Virtual Machine ......................................................... 7

2.3 Desktop Virtualization .................................................................................. 7

2.4 VDI Concept .................................................................................................. 8

2.4.1 VDI Architecture ........................................................................................... 8

2.4.2 VDI Configuration......................................................................................... 9

2.4.3 Benefits for Desktop Management ................................................................ 9

2.4.4 VDI Limitations........................................................................................... 10

VI

CHAPTER 3 .............................................................................................................. 11

3.1 Thin Client Overview .................................................................................. 11

3.2 Thin Client Types ........................................................................................ 11

3.2.1 Ultra-Thin Client ......................................................................................... 11

3.2.2 Windows Based Terminals (WBT) ............................................................. 12

3.2.3 Blade PC Architecture ................................................................................ 12

3.2.4 Tubby Clients ............................................................................................. 12

3.3 Available Thin Client Devices ................................................................... 13

3.3.1 Atrust t63 .................................................................................................... 13

3.3.2 Huawei CT3000 .......................................................................................... 13

3.3.3 Dell Wyse 3030 Thin Client ........................................................................ 14

3.4 Comparison of Power Consumption between Desktop based System and Thin

Client based System. .................................................................................................. 15

CHAPTER 4 .............................................................................................................. 16

4.1 Raspberry Pi ................................................................................................ 16

4.2 Raspberry Pi Architecture ........................................................................... 16

4.3 Available version of Raspberry Pi ............................................................... 18

4.4 Raspberry Pi as Thin Client Device ............................................................ 18

CHAPTER 5 .............................................................................................................. 20

5.1 Thin Client Operating System ..................................................................... 20

5.2 Different Types of Thin Client Operating System ...................................... 20

5.2.1 Atrust OS ..................................................................................................... 20

5.2.2 Windows Thin PC ........................................................................................ 21

5.3 Arch Linux ARM ........................................................................................ 22

5.3.1 Arch Linux as a Thin Client OS .................................................................. 22

5.4 VDI Operating System ................................................................................ 23

VII

5.4.1 Citrix Xen Server ........................................................................................ 23

5.4.2 Microsoft Hyper-V Server .......................................................................... 23

CHAPTER 6 .............................................................................................................. 24

6.1 Project Architecture ..................................................................................... 24

6.2 Arch Linux on Raspberry Pi ........................................................................ 25

6.2.1 Installing Arch Linux on Raspberry Pi ........................................................ 25

6.2.2 Configuring Arch Linux on Raspberry Pi ................................................... 27

6.3 Citrix Xen Server Installation and Configuration ....................................... 30

6.4 Development of User Interface ................................................................... 36

6.4.1 Development Procedure .............................................................................. 36

6.4.2 User Interface and VM Interface of Thin Client OS ................................... 39

6.4.3 Sign-out process from Virtual Machine ...................................................... 40

6.5 Comparison between Raspberry Pi and Other Thin Client Devices ........... 41

6.6 Comparison between Arch Linux Thin OS and Others Thin OS ................ 41

6.7 Role of User and System Administrator ...................................................... 42

CHAPTER 7 .............................................................................................................. 43

7.1 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 43

7.2 Suggestion for Future work ......................................................................... 43

Reference ....………………………………………………………………………...44

Appendix A……………………………………………………………………….... 45

Appendix B …………………………………………………………………………46

Appendix C …………………………………………………………………………47

Appendix D …………………………………………………………………………49

Appendix E …………………………………………………………………………50

VIII

List of Figures Figure No. Figure Caption Page No.

Fig. 2.1 Virtualization Concept 4

Fig. 2.2 Working Procedure of Virtualization 5

Fig. 2.3 The Virtual Machine 6

Fig. 2.4 Desktop Virtualization 7

Fig. 2.5 VDI Architecture 8

Fig 3.1 Ultra-Thin Client System 11

Fig 3.2 Wyse S10 Thin Client 12

Fig 3.3 Atrust t63 Thin Client 13

Fig 3.4 Huawei CT3000 Thin Client 14

Fig 3.5 Dell Wyse Thin Client 14

Fig 4.1 Raspberry Pi 2 Model B 16

Fig 4.2 Raspberry Pi Architecture 17

Fig 6.1 Project Architecture 24

Fig 6.2 SD Card on a card reader 25

Fig 6.3 Raspberry Pi Configuration 27

Fig 6.4 Citrix Xen Server Installation Process begin 30

Fig 6.5 Network Configuration of Citrix XenServer 31

Fig 6.6 Citrix XenServer Installation Completion process 31

Fig 6.7 Download Citrix XenCenter 32

Fig 6.8 Add XenServer on XenCenter 32

Fig 6.9 XenServer Interface 33

Fig 6.10 Template Selection for creating VM on XenServer 33

Fig 6.11 Operating System selection for creating VM on XenServer 34

Fig 6.12 Storage assigned on Virtual Machine 34

Fig 6.13 CPU assigned on Virtual Machine 35

Fig 6.14 XenServer is ready to create new VM 36

Fig 6.15 Development of User Interface by HTML 37

Fig 6.16 Development of User Interface by CSS 37

Fig 6.17 Authentication process to Connecting VM 38

Fig 6.18 Shutdown and Restart button 38

Fig 6.19 User Interface and Virtual Machine Interface 39

Fig 6.20 Sign-out process from Virtual Machine 40

IX

List of Tables

Table No. Table Caption Page No.

Table 1 Power Comparison between Desktop and Thin Client 15

Table 2 Available Versions of Raspberry Pi 18

Table 3 Comparison between Raspberry Pi and Other Thin 41

Client Devices

Table 4 Comparison between Arch Linux and others thin client OS 41

X

List of Abbreviations of Technical Symbols

and Terms

AMD Advance Micro Device

ARM Advance RISC Machine

AUR Arch Linux User Repository

CPU Central Processing Unit

DWM Dynamic Window Manager

GPIO General-Purpose Input/Output

GUI Graphical User Interface

HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface

JSON JavaScript Object Notation

NPM Node Packager Manager

OS Operating System

RAM Random-Access Memory

RDP Remote Desktop Protocol

SD Secure Digital

SOC System On Chip

USB Universal Serial Bus

VDA Virtual Desktop Access

VM Virtual Machine

XI

Acknowledgement

At first, I would like to thank to the Almighty Allah, the most Merciful and Beneficent,

who has given me the capability to complete this project.

I would like to thank my supervisor Mohammad Imam Hasan Bin Asad, Assistant

Professor, IICT, BUET for his guidance and magnificent support. In addition, I would

like to thank Dr. Shah Alam and Mst. Shamima Ara Sawkat for giving valuable advice

during my project work.

Last but not the least, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents for their

support, love and prayers. I dedicate this project to my wife Arju Arafin for her daily

motivation without which I would not be able to complete this project.

XII

Abstract

Virtualization is a modern technology that enables industry or academic IT to manage

resources dynamically based on demand. It has application in different areas such as

network, server, storage, application and client. Now a day’s physical desktops are not

only expensive, insecure, and require heavy maintenance, they are not necessarily a

good fit for smart IT support and demanding workforce. In a distributed computing

environment, users have their own workstations, usually a personal computer

connected to the corporate network. They can run their own software, accessing

organization data whenever needed. Through virtualization the same user

requirements can be fulfilled while minimizing IT management and support.

Virtualization can be implemented in different levels or areas of a network each having

their own advantages and disadvantages. One of such virtualization techniques is

desktop virtualization where the logical desktop is separated from the physical

machine in a server-client base architecture. As in this system the logical desktop is

implemented in the server as virtual machine (VM), most of the complexities and

required maintenance work are transferred from client to server. This system also

allows the organization to choose from a wide range of physical machines having

different configurations depending on its needs. The cost of overall system includes

cost of the server, virtualization software licenses and client machines along with their

Operating Systems (OS). In a network where a large number of clients are required,

the price of machine and its OS may play a big role in the total cost. This project work

proposes a solution with low cost client machines with free OS that can be connected

to the VMs hosted in a server. To implement the project a light weight OS is developed

with Arch Linux and deployed in Raspberry Pi Model 2. The Raspberry Pi Model 2

acts like a client machine and can be connected to the VMs hosted in the server. For

this work Citrix XenSever, a free virtualization software is installed in the server for

installing and hosting VMs. As the Raspberry Pi costs much less compared to the

available proprietary machines available in the market, this solution can will be useful

for an organization where client machines need not to be powerful themselves to do

complex works locally.

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CHAPTER 1

Introduction

1.1 Introduction

Today’s IT organizations are struggling to reduce desktop cost while preserving access

to applications and network resources. An increasingly popular solution is replacing

the traditional desktop environment with a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) [1].

The VDI solution hosts virtual desktops in the datacenter, providing end users with a

virtual portable PC desktop experience through physical endpoint devices. These

endpoints have a minimal software footprint, are less expensive, easier to administer,

and more secure than traditional PCs. The key benefit of VDI, however, is that each

virtual desktop becomes an endpoint within the enterprise cloud. Moving desktops into

the cloud architecture allows IT administrators to deploy and provision new

applications more quickly and extend application services to external parties while

controlling access to sensitive resources.

As time passed, the mainframe computer was still too expensive while desktop PCs

get more and more powerful and cheaper which caused change from centralized to

distribute computing environment. Recently, the virtualization has changed

perspective on centric computing environment. Many companies are now looking at

the IT resources they operate and realize that there are significant sums of money tied

up in idle resources consuming human resources, power, cooling and management. Th

public and private clouds based on virtualization with all theirs benefits are more

affordable, reliable and powerful than ever [2-3].

In this project VDI solution with low cost client machines is proposed and developed.

In the VDI solution user will have only a simple client machine through which he can

connect to the Virtual Machine. After the connection is established the user will get a

complete Desktop Environment. The Virtual Machines will be situated on a remote

server system.

There are many virtualization management platforms optimized for different

applications, desktop and server virtualization infrastructures [5-6]. In this project

Citrix XenServer has been used because for its License Free Software for basic VDI

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application. In client-end there are different types of operating system provided by

different vendors. For example, Atrust OS, Windows ThinPC and some other Linux

distributions are most popular Thin Client OS in local and international market [7-9].

Most of the operating systems require license for their deployment. In the proposed

solution, Arch Linux is selected as the operating system of the client machine [10]. As

a client machine, the Raspberry Pi Model 2 is considered because of its relative low

cost and moderate hardware specification [11-13].

Finally, a Thin Client Operating System has been deployed based on Arch Linux and

deployed on Raspberry Pi. Then an authentication system has been developed where

every user is given a Username and Password. User can login to his VM in the server

through the developed client machine and experience fully desktop environment.

1.2 Project Objective

The main objectives of this project are:

1. To build Thin Client based Operating System (OS) on Raspberry Pi for

connecting Virtual Machine (VM).

2. To ensure that user can access the VM from Client Machine only.

3. To make a Light-weight and Cost effective VDI solution.

4. To compare the proposed solution with currently available solutions in the

market.

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1.3 Organization of the Project Report

Chapter 1: Introduction: Introduction of effective IT management system

Chapter 2: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI): In this chapter, VDI, how its work

and it benefits are described.

Chapter 3: Thin Client Devices: This chapter introduced different types of thin client

devices available in market with along their comparison

Chapter 4: Raspberry Pi: In this chapter, Raspberry Pi’s discussed briefly and the

reason behind choosing it is mention.

Chapter 5: Thin Client Operating Systems: In this chapter, different types of thin client

operating system are discussed.

Chapter 6: Project Design and Implementation: In this chapter, project development

process is discussed.

Chapter 7: Conclusion and Future Work: Finally, conclusion on the project is made

and some future works are recommended.

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CHAPTER 2

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

2.1 Virtualization Concept

2.1.1 Virtualization overview

Virtualization is the process of creating a software-based (or virtual) representation of

something rather than a physical one. Virtualization can apply to application, server,

storage, and network and is the single most effective way to reduce IT expenses while

boosting efficiency and agility for all size business [5]. Fig. 2.1 shows the

Virtualization Concept over Physical Machine.

Fig 2.1: Virtualization Concept

In computing, virtualization refers to the act of creating a virtual version of something,

including virtual computer hardware platforms, storage devices, and computer

network resources.

IT organizations are challenged by the limitations of today’s x86 servers, which are

designed to run just one operating system and application at a time. As a result, even

small data centers have to deploy many servers, each operating at just 5 to 15 percent

of capacity which is highly inefficient by any standard.

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2.1.2 Working procedure of Virtualization

Virtualization uses software to simulate the existence of hardware and create a virtual

computer system. Doing this allows businesses to run more than one virtual system

and multiple Operating systems and applications on a single server. This can provide

economies of scale and greater efficiency [5]. Fig. 2.2 shows the working process of

Virtualization.

Fig 2.2: Working Process of Virtualization

2.1.3 Benefits of Virtualization

Virtualization can increase IT agility, flexibility, and scalability while creating

significant cost savings. In this process workloads get deployed faster, performance

and availability increases and operations become automated. As a result, IT becomes

simpler to manage and less costly to own and operate [5]. Additional benefits include:

▪ Reduce capital and operating cost.

▪ Minimize or eliminate downtime.

▪ Increase, IT productivity, efficiency, agility and responsiveness.

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▪ Provision application and resources faster.

▪ Enable business continuity and disaster recovery.

▪ Simplify Datacenter management.

▪ Build a true software-defined Datacenter

2.2 The Virtual Machine

A VM or Virtual Machine is an efficient, isolated duplicate of a real computer

machine. It allows to run other operating systems within current operating system.

Virtual machines provide their own virtual hardware, including a virtual CPU,

memory, hard drive, network interface, and other devices. The virtual hardware

devices provided by the virtual machine are mapped to real hardware on the physical

machine. Fig. 2.3 shows one physical machine called VDI server and several Virtual

Machines (VM) created in the server. There are some client machines that are

connected to the VMs hosted on the VDI server.

Fig 2.3: The Virtual Machine

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2.2.1 The Key properties of Virtual Machine

VMs have following characteristics, which offer several benefits.

▪ Run multiple operating system on one physical machine.

▪ Divide system resources between virtual machines.

▪ Provide fault and security isolation at the hardware level.

▪ Preserve performance with advanced resource controls.

▪ Save the entire state of a virtual machine to files.

2.3 Desktop Virtualization

Desktop virtualization is a virtualization technology that separates an individual's

personal computer’s applications from the physical machine. It will bring the ability

to host and centrally manage desktop virtual machines in the data center while giving

end users a full desktop experience. Desktop Virtualization uses the same techniques

as server virtualization platforms. Fig 2.4 shows the Desktop Virtualization for

different types of user.

Fig 2.4: Desktop Virtualization

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2.4 VDI Concept

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is the practice of hosting a desktop operating

system within a virtual machine (VM) running on a centralized server. It's a process

of running a user desktop inside a virtual machine that is hosted on a server in the

datacenter. It’s a powerful form of desktop virtualization because it enables fully

personalized desktops for each user with all the security and simplicity of centralized

management.

VDI enables customers to streamline management and costs by consolidating and

centralizing the desktops while delivering end-users mobility and the freedom to

access virtual desktops anytime, from anywhere, on any device. It’s important to

understand, however, that VDI is only one form of desktop virtualization [5].

2.4.1 VDI Architecture

Fig. 2.5 shows a Basic VDI architecture where a VDI server is connected to client

machine through a switch. The client machines are available to the end users and they

communicate with VMs hosted in VDI server.

Fig 2.5: VDI Architecture

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2.4.2 VDI Configuration

Desktop virtualization can be implemented by following steps:

Step-1: Installing VMware or any other Operating System on server.

Step-2: Creating Virtual Machine (VM) with desktop based OS on server

Step-3: Allowing Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) on VM

Stpe-4: Installing Thin Client Operating System on Thin Client

Step-5: Establishing network connectivity to server and client

2.4.3 Benefits for Desktop Management

As more organizations move to the cloud, the way of handling IT resources or services

also changes. There are key benefits of VDI, including increased access to our network

users' desktops, improved data security, and less expended effort for troubleshooting.

Benefits of this type of infrastructure are described below [14].

▪ Use a smaller amount of bandwidth

One of the benefits of VDI is that it puts all information that ordinarily would be

on a user's computer on a server in a data center. Both time and money can be

saved by making the same data available to all users on the network.

▪ Reduce IT costs up to 30 percent

Updates and patches can be installed once rather than many times. There is only

one system to troubleshoot rather than several individual machines. This helps an

organization to allow its IT staff to focus on important issues instead of engaging

then in redundant work for every computer in the network.

▪ Users can access workstations anywhere

One of the most significant benefits of VDI is users can access their workstations

from all types of devices, from smart phones and iPads, to laptops and desktops

out of the office.

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▪ Data is more secure

Data is better protected when stored on the server rather than on individual devices.

This helps the organization protect its data and reduce the chance of file corruption

by viruses.

▪ Assign information access according to an employee's security clearance

Users can be provided different levels of access depending on their security

clearance. This provides an organization the ability to establish more control

content and user activities.

▪ The graphics for VDI are better than before

The image quality for graphics and text is vastly superior to previous years. The

user experience for VDI has been greatly improved, and graphics acceleration can

also be added to further enhance the quality.

▪ Save power

If right procedures are put in place, data back can be done without the risk of losing

any files. This reduces costs and allows backups processes more robust, secure and

reliable.

2.4.4 VDI Limitations

▪ The initial cost of VDI hardware exceeds the cost of purchasing new desktops

for all the users of an entire company.

▪ Each approach has unique licensing costs.

▪ Client machine may perform slow because of hardware restriction

▪ VDI security problems are unique and require security management tailored to

its structure

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CHAPTER 3

Thin Client Device

3.1 Thin Client Overview

A thin client is defined as a desktop appliance that does not contain any moving

component such as a hard drive, floppy drive, or CD-ROM, and executes applications

from a central server instead of a traditional desktop PC.

The concept of thin client is to all user applications on a central server. This allows all

applications to be deployed, managed, supported, and executed from a central location.

3.2 Thin Client Types

3.2.1 Ultra-Thin Client

Fig. 3.1 shows the textbook example of a thin client. The user has a keyboard, mouse,

and monitor, and all processes are executed by the server. The device contains no hard

disk, expansion cards, disk drives, or memory cards.

Fig 3.1: Ultra-Thin Client System

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3.2.2 Windows Based Terminals (WBT)

Fig. 3.2 shows the Windows Based Terminal standard and utilizes Remote Desktop

Protocol (RDP) or Citrix Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) to display the

Windows environment on the user’s screen.

Fig 3.2: Wyse S10 Thin Client

3.2.3 Blade PC Architecture

Blade PC Architecture is an emerging technology that utilizes PCs as individual

servers. The PCs are maintained in a central location where a “manager server”

performs load balancing between them. This technology is sometimes referred to as a

high-density server and is typically used for the purpose of clustering.

3.2.4 Tubby Clients

Tubby Clients are typically seen in schools attempting to extend the useful life of old

computers for the benefit of the students. These clients are desktops that generally have

their own operating systems. They either run applications locally or by connecting to

a server via thin client software. This may be necessary to run applications that are too

rigorous for the desktops to handle locally or have licensing restrictions.

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3.3 Available Thin Client Devices

3.3.1 Atrust t63

Atrust t63 is a Linux-based thin client device, featuring the innovative and eco-friendly

Power Over Ethernet (PoE) technology. Despite drawing of power over ethernet

networks, Atrust t63 provides an outstanding performance. Atrust t63 supports Citrix

ICA/HDX, Microsoft RDP and VMware virtualization environments. Offering both

power and ethernet via a single cable for increased flexibility and connectivity, Atrust

t63 requires low power consumption, benefiting both the environment and company’s

bottom lines [7]. Fig. 3.3 shows Atrust t63 thin client device.

Fig 3.3: Atrust t63 Thin Client

3.3.2 Huawei CT3000

CT3000 is an ARM-based cloud terminal designed for Huawei, with overall power

consumption less than 6W. Adopting Linux operating system, it is fully compatible

with HDP and ICA virtualization, and the embedded SoC cloud computing chip allows

local hardware decoding to meet the demand for multimedia applications, bringing

better, faster and new experience [11]. Fig. 3.4 shows Huawei CT3000 Thin Client

device.

14

Fig 3.4: Huawei CT3000 Thin Client

3.3.3 Dell Wyse 3030 Thin Client

A dual-core Intel 1.6 GHz processor and an integrated graphics engine combine to

offer an excellent virtual desktop solution. With Wyse ThinOS or Wyse Thin Linux

(Wyse 3030 LT), customers directly connect to peripherals including a USB 3.0

interface with access to legacy or customized apps locally or via a VPN connection for

a secure, easily managed virtual desktop experience [13]. Fig 3.5 shows Dell Wyse

Thin Client

Fig 3.5: Dell Wyse Thin Client

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3.4 Comparison of Power Consumption between

Desktop based System and Thin Client based

System.

As thin client based system requires less powerful machines at the end user level, this

system tends to reduce the power with respect to the traditional desktop based system.

Table 1 shows a comparison between power consumption of desktop and thin client

based system.

Table 1 Comparison of Power Consumption between Desktop and Thin Client.

[Source: Theil, J. “Desktop Virtualization Case Study” Netherlands, October 2009]

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CHAPTER 4

Raspberry Pi as Thin Client Device

4.1 Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi is a small, credit-card sized microcomputer developed by Raspberry Pi

Foundation, UK. This single boarded computer was developed with the aim of

teaching the basics of computer science and programming to school students all around

the world. Although a micro-controller, like Arduino, is trendy for prototyping

projects, a Raspberry Pi is quite different from the popular microcontroller. Raspberry

Pi has all necessary connection ports where user can plug peripheral device [10]. Fig.

4.1 shows Raspberry Pi 2 Model B.

Fig 4.1: Raspberry Pi 2 Model B

4.2 Raspberry Pi Architecture

Raspberry Pi is found in two versions. Model A and Model B. Although Model A is

cheaper than Model B, there are some other differences in these two versions of

Raspberry Pi. Model A has a 256MB memory, comes with a single USB port and does

not have any ethernet port whereas model B has a 512MB memory, 2 USB ports, and

an ethernet port as well.

17

A Raspberry Pi consists of many important hardware parts with some useful functions.

The main part of a Raspberry Pi is its Processor. Every Raspberry Pi has a Broadcom

BCM2835 chip which embodies an ARM based ARM1176JZF-S CPU core. Fig. 4.2

shows Raspberry Pi Architecture.

Fig 4.2: Raspberry Pi Architecture

The chip has a clock speed of 700 MHz and it is a 32-bit System. A Raspberry Pi has

a SD card slot for a SD card which acts as the storage media for it. Everything

including the operating system and other files are stored in the SD card. The HDMI

port is used as audio and video output. A HDMI to DVI (Digital Visual Interface)

converter can be used to convert the HDMI signals to DVI which is normally used by

monitors. The Raspberry Pi has the status LED which provides the visual information.

For instance, the first green light (marked as ACT on Raspberry Pi board) indicates

that the SD card is accessed, the second green LED (marked as FDX) indicates the full

duplex network and the third green LED (marked as LNK) indicates the link activity.

Similarly, the red light (marked as PWR) announces the power of 3.3v and the yellow

LED (marked as 100) hints the 100 Mbps network connection. The 5v DC through a

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micro USB powers up the Raspberry Pi. This device also has a RCA composite video

connector for video output as well as a 3.5mm stereo jack for audio output. The

Raspberry Pi has 26 GPIO pins which helps a user to connect to any low-level

peripherals and expansion boards.

4.3 Available version of Raspberry Pi

There are different versions of Raspberry Pi are available in the market. The newest

version is the Raspberry Pi 3. It is the third-generation Raspberry Pi and it was

published in 29 February 2016. Table 2 shows the available version of Raspberry Pi

[10].

Table 2: Available versions of Raspberry Pi

Feature Raspberry Pi Raspberry Pi 2 Raspberry Pi 3

Released Feb - 2012 Feb-2015 Feb-2016

CPU ARM1176JZF-S ARM Cortex-A7 ARM Cortex-A53

CPU

speed

700MHz 900MHz 1,200MHz

single core quad core quad core

RAM 512MB

1GB 1GB 256MB Rev 1

GPU Broadcom Videocore

IV

Broadcom Videocore

IV

Broadcom Videocore

IV

Storage

SDHC slot

MicroSDHC slot MicroSDHC slot MicroSDHC Model

A+ and B+

USB

Ports 2 on Model B 4 4

WiFi No built-in wifi No built-in wifi 802.11n and Bluetooth

4.1

4.4 Raspberry Pi as Thin Client Device

The customers and business owners have to consider some important things if they

want to use Raspberry Pi in their organization. They have to consider whether it fits

with their business strategy and are willing to go through the process of putting it

19

together and tailoring the product to their own needs. There are several features of

using Raspberry Pi as a thing client device [15]:

• The price of a Raspberry Pie is comparatively low compared to the other

produces available in the market.

• This microcomputer is useful for small or home-based businesses that run on a

smaller budget than bigger companies which does not required to purchase any

special license from the Raspberry Pi Foundation to use their product or if any

new technology that embeds the product. Small business owners can use it to

automate any small task, such as using the Pi to run a website (as long as it

does not have a lot of traffic), or use it as a small database and media server.

Businesses can also save money on buying cooling systems that are required

to cool servers.

• Raspberry Pi does not require the user to have extensive programming

experience since it is aimed for the winger generation to learn about

programming.

• Raspberry Pi also gives a lot of room to experiment. The SD cards on the board

can be easily switched, which allows used to change the functions of the device

without spending a lot of time reinstalling the software.

• Raspberry Pi is perfect for adaptive technology: it is able to display images or

play videos at 1080p high definition resolution for building systems such as

digital jukeboxes or prototyping embedded systems. It is possible to build

complex and effective products at a cheaper price.

• Raspberry Pi is energy efficient and provides a greener ethical alternative to

small businesses. This small credit card sized product makes it easy to recycle

and does not release as much carbon dioxide emissions into the environment,

unlike big servers that require lots of energy and extensive cooling systems.

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CHAPTER 5

Client-Server Operating Systems

5.1 Thin Client Operating System

The computer desktop is a standalone computer processing unit. It is designed to

perform automation tasks for people. A desktop computer is unique because it does

not require any networks or external components to operate. The client operating

system is the operating system for computer desktops or portable devices. Thin clients

run an operating system locally and carry flash memory rather than a hard disk. This

operating system is typically different from centralized servers because it only

supports one user [16].

Smart phones and small computer devices contain a client operating system. This

operating system manages the components of the device, including printers, monitors,

and cameras. Each computer typically has a specific operating system.

5.2 Different Types of Thin Client Operating System

5.2.1 Atrust OS

Atrust OS is a thin client operating system made for remote or virtual desktop

infrastructure and designed to be secure, easy to use and centrally manageable. This

flexible, Linux-based OS offers abundant remote and virtual desktop solutions that can

meet most IT environment demands. Atrust OS embedded devices are made to work

with Microsoft Remote Desktop, VMware Horizon View, Citrix XenApp or

XenDesktop. Atrust OS is enterprise-ready operating system to support enterprise

needs including smartcard and wireless WPA Enterprise. Atrust OS embedded thin

clients can be managed with Atrust Device Manager (ADM). ADM enables the remote

visibility, control and management of Atrust OS thin clients wherever they are placed.

Customers can enjoy the benefit of auto-setup, configuration and central management

which also lower the total cost of ownership and help organization to optimize the IT

investment [7].

21

5.2.1.1 Atrust features

▪ Linux-bases Operating System

▪ Microsoft RDP, Citrix HDX

▪ VMware Horizon View

▪ Security

▪ Fast boot

▪ Easy Management

5.2.2 Windows Thin PC

Windows Thin PC (WinTPC) is a produce of Microsoft. It provides a low footprint,

locked down version of Windows 7 that enables organizations to repurpose existing

PCs as thin clients, thereby reducing the need for new thin client hardware. And since

these PCs retain their existing SA coverage, they do not need any additional Windows

Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) licensing for VDI. WinTPC offers an excellent thin

client experience by locking down the PC through write filters, while still providing

users with a superior remote desktop experience through Remote FXTM support. IT

can deploy and manage WinTP image to multiple PCs using System Center

Configuration Manager (SCCM), and push updates to these PCs using Windows

Update or Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). Additionally, Win- TPC

leverages Windows Enterprise features such as BitLocker and App Locker TM to

further secure the endpoint [8].

5.2.2.1 Hardware Requirement of WinTPC

WinTPC is a locked down version of Windows 7, and hence, will be able to run on

any device capable of running Windows 7. There commended specifications for

running Windows Thin PC are:

▪ 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) processor

▪ 1 GB RAM, 16 GB available hard disk space

▪ DirectX 9 graphics device with Windows Display Driver Manager

▪ Bootable DVD-ROM drive

22

5.3 Arch Linux ARM

Arch Linux ARM is an ARM based Linux distribution ported from the x86 based

Linux distribution Arch Linux. The Arch Linux philosophy is that users should be in

total control over the operating system, which allows the users to implement it in any

way they like. Therefore, Arch Linux can be used for simple tasks and as well as more

advanced cases. Arch Linux ARM is based directly on Arch Linux and they share

almost all the code which makes Arch Linux ARM a very fast, Unix-like and flexible

Linux distribution.

Arch Linux ARM has adapted the rolling-release update function from the x86-

version. This means that small iteration is made available to the users as soon as they

are ready, instead of the re-leasing larger updates every few months [9].

5.3.1 Arch Linux as a Thin Client OS

Arch Linux is a completely independent distribution where its main principle is to

“Keep IT Short, Simple”. There is no extra package pre-installed, users can install

packages according to their needs.

Arch Linux has the largest software library called “Arch User Repository (AUR)”.

AUR has “Voting System” where users can vote for packages. Most popular packages,

elected by users, are then available in “Arch Official Repository (AOR)”.

Because of being a “Rolling Release Distribution”, once a package is installed, it will

be automatically updated whenever the new version becomes available. Users also get

the latest Kernel update as soon as it is released where users of other Linux

Distributions have to wait for few months.

Another Advantage of Arch Linux is Arch Wiki. It has the biggest and the richest

collection of tutorials and/or documentations. One can also get help from the Arch

Community whenever one faces any problem.

23

The most important thing is that Arch Linux’s users have the full administrative power

over their machines. As there is no “Give and Take” of information, there is no chance

of information leaking.

5.4 VDI Operating System

5.4.1 Citrix Xen Server

Citrix XenServer is a leading virtualization management platform optimized for

application, desktop and server virtualization infrastructures. Consolidation and

containment of workloads on XenServer enables organizations of any vertical or size

to transform their business IT compute infrastructures [6].

The key usages of the Citrix Xen Server are as follows:

▪ Optimization of experience for XenApp and XenDesktop

▪ Consolidation and containing data center service

▪ Delivering high-performance

5.4.2 Microsoft Hyper-V Server

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016 is a stand-alone product that contains only the

Windows hypervisor, a Windows Server driver model, and virtualization components.

It provides a simple and reliable virtualization solution to help an organization to

improve server utilization and reduce costs.

The Windows hypervisor technology in Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016 is the same

as what's in the Hyper-V role on Windows Server 2016. So, much of the content

available for the Hyper-V role on Windows Server 2016 also applies to Microsoft

Hyper-V Server 2016 [8].

24

CHAPTER 6

Project Design and Implementation

6.1 Project Architecture

This project is specially design for university lab, call center, banking sector and others

corporate environment. A thin client device is connected to a LCD monitor where user

will see the login interface of Thin Client Operating System. Then the user will login

his desktop operating system after a successful authentication process. The desktop

operating system will run on the VDI server. Fig. 6.1 shows the project architecture

for the proposed VDI system.

Fig 6.1: Project Architecture

a) Raspberry Pi: Raspberry Pi was used as a Thin Client Device in which the

Thin Client Operating System has been installed. Arch Linux was used as a

Thin Client Operating System. This device was connected to VDI Server

25

through a Switch. And it was also connected to a LCD monitor through a

HDMI Cable.

b) VDI Server: This server was used for making VDI system where a VDI

Operating System was installed in physical server. Citrix XenServer was

selected as the VDI operating System.

c) Switch: This device was used for network connectivity between VDI server

and Raspberry Pi.

d) Internet: Thin Client devices were connected to the Internet through a switch

whereas the VDI Server was also connected to the Internet.

e) LCD Monitor: A LCD monitor was used for showing Graphical User

Interface (GUI) and interacting with user.

6.2 Arch Linux on Raspberry Pi

6.2.1 Installing Arch Linux on Raspberry Pi

To install Arch Linux on Raspberry Pi following procedure was followed:

Sept-1: Connect SD Card to A Linux Machine

A SD card was inserted into a card reader then the reader was connected to a laptop.

Fig. 6.2 shows a SD card connected with a Linux machine through a USB hub.

Fig 6.2: SD Card on a card reader

26

Step-2: Partition Disk the SD Card

[root@archie~] # fdisk /dev/sdA

Step-3: Create and mount the FAT filesystem

[root@archie~] #mkfs.vfat /dev/sdA1

[root@archie~] #mkdir boot

Step-4: Create and mount the ext4 filesystem

[root@archie~] # mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdA2

[root@archie~] # mkdir root

[root@archie~] # mount /dev/sdA2 root

Step-5: Install Arch Linux on SD Card

[root@archie~] # wget http://os.archlinuxarm.org/os/ArchLinuxARM-rpi-2-

latest.tar.gz

[root@archie~] # bsdtar -xpf ArchLinuxARM-rpi-2-latest.tar.gz -C root

[root@archie~] # sync

Step-6: Move boot files to the first partition

[root@archie~] # mv root/boot/* boot

Step-7: Unmount the two partitions

[root@archie~] # umount boot root

27

6.2.2 Configuring Arch Linux on Raspberry Pi

6.2.2.1 Configure Network Configuration

After preparing SD Card the card was inserted to the Raspberry Pi. Then the required

network configuration was done on Arch Linux. Fig. 6.3 shows Raspberry Pi

connected with peripheral devices for configuration.

Fig 6.3: Raspberry Pi Configuration

Network Configuration:

[root@alarmpi~] # vi /etc/systemd/network/eth0.netowrk

[Match]

Name=eth0

[Network]

#static=ipv4

Gateway=172.16.103.254

[Address]

Address=172.16.103.249/24

[root@alarmpi~]#vi /etc/resolve.conf

nameserver 8.8.8.8

28

6.2.2.2 Synchronize and Update Arch Linux

After connecting to the Internet, the first task was to synchronize and update Operating

System. In this case, pacman (package manager) which is one of the major

distinguishing features of Arch Linux was used. The following command has used to

synchronize and update Arch Linux:

[root@alarmpi~]#pacman –Syu

6.2.2.3 Install Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)

Remote Desktop is a free, open source client for Microsoft's proprietary RDP protocol

released under the General Public License (GNU). freerdp package was used to

connect to Windows 200 0/XP/Vista/Win7/Win10/WinServer2008/2012 RDP server

to remotely administrate the Windows box. The following command was used to

install RDP:

[root@alarmpi~]#pacman -S freerdp

6.2.2.4 Install Window Manager in Arch Linux

A window manager (WM) is system software that controls the placement and

appearance of windows within a windowing system in a Graphical User Interface

(GUI). It can be part of a Desktop Environment (DE) or be used standalone. Prior to

installing a window manager, a functional X server installation is required. For

creating a light-weight Desktop Environment some packages were required that are

discussed below [17]. The following command was used to install Window Manager

in Arch Linux.

[root@alarmpi~]# pacman -S dwm Xorg Xorg-xinit nodejs npm

DWM: DWM is a Dynamic Window Manager for X. It manages windows in tiled,

monocle and floating layouts. All of the layouts can be applied dynamically,

optimizing the environment for the application in use and the task performed.

29

X-Org: The X-Org project provides an open source implementation of the X Window

System. The development work is being done in conjunction with the freedesktop.org

community. X-Org is the most popular display server among Linux users.

Xinit: Xinit is mainly used to execute desktop environments, window managers and

other programs when starting the X server. The xinitrc file is a shell script read by

xinit and by its front-end startx. The xinit program starts the X Window System server

and works as first client program on systems that are not using a display manager.

Node.js: It’s a javascript runtime environment combined with useful libraries. It uses

Google's V8 engine to execute code outside of the browser.

NPM: NPM is the package manager for JavaScript and the world’s largest software

registry. Discover packages of reusable code and assemble them in powerful new

ways.

6.2.2.5 Configure and Initialize Startup Service

After creating desktop environment startup service was configured and initialized. The

service will run after booting up the system.

Configuration of Startup Service:

cd /home/archi

vi .xinitrc

dwm&

./startnode

Initialization of Startup Service:

cd /home/archi

vi startnode

cd vidrb

npm start

30

6.2.2.6 Set Virtual Machine IP Address on Arch Linux

An IP address was required set on the system to connect to the Virtual Machine. This

IP address is the IP Address of Virtual Machine hosted on the server. This address is

placed on Arch Linux home directory.

Setting up of IP Address:

cd /home/archi

vi ip.json

{

"ip": "172.16.103.1"

}

6.3 Citrix Xen Server Installation and Configuration

For the XenServer installation The XenServer ISO image was burned onto a DVD.

The ISO was downloaded from http://www.citrix.com/xenserver/download. The

following step was followed for Xen Server Installation and Configuration.

Step-1: To start XenServer installation process, A XenServer DVD was inserted into

DVD drive of the Server Machine. Fig. 6.4 shows the beginning the Installation

process of Citrix XenServer.

Fig 6.4: Beginning of Citrix XenServer Installation Process

31

Step-2: For Network Configuration, Static Configuration was selected for assigning

IP address. Fig. 6.5 shows “Manually specify” is selected for hostname and DNS

configuration.

Fig 6.5: Network Configuration of Citrix XenServer

Step-3: Next Install XenServer was selected to complete the installation process. Fig.

6.6 shows the process. This process takes a few minutes to complete and then the server

was rebooted by selecting OK at the final stage.

Fig 6.6: Citrix XenServer Installation Completion process

32

Step-4: For Accessing XenServer, XenCenter installation was required. XenCenter is

the management console for XenServer. Using XenCenter, virtual machines can be

started, stopped, migrated, created, copied and backed up. XenCenter can be installed

on any PC running Windows XP or later. To install XenCenter, IP address of Xen

Server was placed and entered in the address bar of a browser. Fig. 6.7 shows the

downloading process of XenCenter.

Fig 6.7: Download Citrix XenCenter

Step-5: After XenServer and XenCenter are installed, the next step was to establish a

connection between them. For that Once XenCenter is open, Add New Server Button

was clicked to connect XenServer host. Then IP Address and the root password of

XenServer were entered. Fig. 6.8 shows the Authentication process to the XenServer.

Fig 6.8: Add XenServer on XenCenter

33

Step-6: Then a new VM was created by clicking on New VM. Fig 6.9 shows the

window which came-up after connecting with XenServer.

Fig 6.9: XenServer Interface

Step-7: Windows 10 (64-bit) was selected from the list of available supported OSs.

Fig. 6.10 shows the selection of Windows 10 (64-bit) from the Template on XenServer.

Fig 6.10: Template Selection for creating VM on XenServer

34

Step-8: Next the Windows 10 ISO was selected which is to be used as VM Operating

System. Fig 6.11 shows the Windows 10 Education version of ISO is selected.

Fig 6.11 Operating System selection for creating VM on XenServer

Step-9: Next the storage of the VM was set. Fig. 6.12 shows 100GB Storage is

assigned on Virtual Machine.

Fig 6.12: Storage assigned on Virtual Machine

35

Step-10: Then the CPU and memory of the VM were set. Fig 6.13 shows 2 sockets

with 1 core per socket and 4GM RAM is assigned on Virtual Machine.

Fig 6.13: CPU assigned on Virtual Machine

Step-11: After selection of all the properties of the VM was done, the VM was

created by Create Now button. Fig. 6.14 shows the moment of creating VM on

Citrix XenServer.

Fig 6.14: XenServer is ready to create new VM

36

6.4 Development of User Interface

6.4.1 Development Procedure

The User Interface was developed by using HTML, CSS and ClojureScript. HTML

and CSS were used for developing basic design of Interface. ClojureScript was used

for main deployment with an authentication process and functionality of Shutdown

and Restart button of user interface.

HTML

HTML is at the core of every design of User Interface (UI). HTML stands for

HyperText Markup Language. The "markup language" part means that, rather than

being a programming language that uses a programming language to perform

functions, it uses tags to identify content. Fig 6.15 shows the development of UI by

HTML where logo, banner message, Authentication form and login buttons are placed.

The UI of Login, Shutdown and Restart button was downloaded from bootstrap

theme. Bootstrap is an open source project where millions of people have developed

website themes across the web. The following address was used to download button:

https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css

Reference of Bootstrap:

<!-- Latest compiled and minified CSS -->

<link rel="stylesheet" href="bootstrap/css/bootstrap.min.css">

<!-- Optional theme -->

<link rel="stylesheet" href="bootstrap/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css">

Fig 6.15 Development of User Interface by HTML

37

CSS

CSS is the language for describing the presentation of User Interface, including colors,

layout, and fonts. It allows one to adapt the presentation to different types of devices,

such as large screens, small screens etc. Fig 6.16 shows the development of User

Interface using CSS.

Fig 6.16: Development of User Interface by CSS

ClojureScript

ClojureScript is a compiler for Clojure that targets JavaScript. It emits JavaScript code

which is compatible with the advanced compilation mode of the Google Closure

optimizing compiler. ClojureScript is a robust, practical, and fast programming

language with a set of useful features that together form a simple, coherent, and

powerful tool. The UI, authentication process and functionalities of Shutdown and

Reboot button were developed by ClojureScript.

38

Authentication Process

After booting up the Thin Client Device, a pop-up window will come up. There will

be two text boxes to input the Username and Password. Users need to provide their

Username and Password that are given to them by the Administrator. After clicking

the Login button users can enter the Virtual Machine. This Username and Password is

pre-configured on Virtual Machine and the login button will call the RDP protocol to

connect to the Virtual Machine. Fig 6.17 Shows the Authentication process.

Fig 6.17 Authentication process for Connecting VM

Shutdown and Restart

The Shutdown and Restart buttons are placed in the bottom area of User Interface. The

Shutdown button will power off the Thin Client device. The Restart button will restart

the Thin Client device. Fig. 6.18 shows the Shutdown and Restart button.

Fig 6.18: Shutdown and Restart button

39

6.4.2 User Interface and VM Interface of Thin Client OS

This User Interface will come up after booting the Thin Client device. This window is

used to connect to Virtual Machine through a proper authentication process. Username

and Password will be given to every user and by entering those users can connect to

the VMs. Fig. 6.19 shows User Interface of Thin Client OS and login window of

Virtual Machine.

Fig 6.19: User Interface and Virtual Machine Interface

40

6.4.3 Sign-out process from Virtual Machine

Fig 6.20 shows after connected to the Virtual Machine then user can return to the User

Interface by selecting Disconnect option.

Fig 6.20: Sign-out process from Virtual Machine

41

6.5 Comparison between Raspberry Pi and Other

Thin Client Devices

Table 3 shows a short comparison between Raspberry Pie and other available client

devices.

Table 3: Comparison between Raspberry Pi and Other Thin Client Devices.

Manufacturer Device

Model

Processor Memory Operating

System

Atrust T63 TI ARM

DM18148 1 GHz

512 MB Atrust OS

HUAWEI CT3000 ARM Cortex A9 1

GHz

1 GB Adopting Linux

Dell Wyse

3020w

Dual Core P2128

1.2GHz

2 GB Wyse ThinOS

HP Hp t420 AMD Embedded

1GHz

2 GB HP ThinPro 32

Raspberry Pi Raspberry

Pi Model 2

ARM Cortex-A7

700MHz

1 GB Raspbian

6.6 Comparison between Arch Linux Thin OS and

Others Thin OS

Table 4 shows a comparison between Arch Linux and others thin client OSs.

Table 4: Comparison between Arch Linux and others thin client OSs

OS Features Arch Linux Thin OS Others Thin Client OS

User

Administration

Not Available User has Privileged to access

Graphical User

Interface

Only Authentication

process is available for

connecting VM

User can Edit Local Machine and VM

Network information graphically.

Multiple VM

Access

Only Single VM

information inside here. Assign Multiple VM information

can update in User Interface Other Settings No Setting Option User has access to change basic

setting from UI

42

6.7 Role of User and System Administrator

Following is the procedure of avail a desktop environment from the administrator:

Step-1: User will send a request with Hardware and Software requirement to the

System Administrator.

Step-2: System Administrator will create a VM on Citrix XenServer and assign

hardware properties and install all required software on Virtual Machine.

Step-3: System Administrator will also create a username and password on VM and

set IP Address on client machine to connect with Virtual Machine.

Step-4: System Administrator will send the username and password to the user.

Step-5: User will login to client machine with username and password for desired VM.

43

CHAPTER 7

Conclusion and Future Work

7.1 Conclusion

In this project, a Light-Weight Operating System (OS) has been developed based on

Arch Linux and deployed in a Thin Client device for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

(VDI) solution. Raspberry Pi Model 2 was chosen as the thin client device. For this

the existing Arch Linux packages and libraries were studied. From those packages,

only the ones required for running Raspberry Pi as a client machine for the VDI

solution were installed. This leaded the solution to have minimal features at this point.

A test bed was developed using a Personal Computer (PC) and a Raspberry Pi 2 and

both were connected through a cable. The PC was used as a server where Citrix

XenServer was installed for virtualization structure and to host the virtual machines.

The Raspberry Pi was used as the client machine. A user can use the Raspberry Pi to

connect the virtual machines installed in the server and use all applications installed in

that virtual machine. In the test, several VMs were installed in the Citrix Server. The

Raspberry Pi was configured with the server address. After turning on the Raspberry

Pi, login to the VMs through Raspberry Pi was successful. The desktop environment

was clearly visible and was ready for personal use. A word document was prepared in

the word processor and saved in the virtual machine.

7.2 Future work

There are scopes of improve to make the system more flexible for users. We suggest

improving the Graphical User Interface (UI) where a user can choose his preferable

VM from multiple VMs graphically. A setting option can be included in User Interface

where a user can manage multiple VM information. The client machine and virtual

machine network information may also be configured graphically. A universal clock

can be set on User Interface and where it will get update from the Network Time

Protocol (NTP) server or international time zone.

44

References

[1] Tulloch, M., “Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solution from The Desktop

to The Datacenter” in 2nd eds., Chap 4, pp. 223-259, Microsoft Press Redmond,

Washington 98052-6399, 2010.

[2] Durairaj, M., and Kannan, P., “A Study on Virtualization Technique and Challenge

in Cloud Computing” in International Journal of Science & Technology Research

volume 3, Issue 11, November 2014.

[3] Shabaitah, A. R., Server-Based Desktop Virtualization, Master of Science in

Network, System and Security Administration (NSSA), Thesis Department of

Networking and System Administration, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT),

2014.

[4] Theil, J., “Desktop Virtualization Case Study” Netherlands, October 2009

[5] http://www.vmware.com (Last Visited: February 20, 2017)

[6] https://www.citrix.com (Last Visited: February 20, 2017)

[7] http://www.atrustcorp.com/index.php (last visited February 21, 2017)

[8]https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ (last visited Feb21, 2017)

[9] https://www.archlinuxarm.org/ (last visited February 21, 2017)

[10] https://www.raspberrypi.org/ (last visited February 21, 2017)

[11] http://e.huawei.com/en/( last visited February 21, 2017)

[12] http://www8.hp.com/us/en/thin-clients/desktop/t420.html (last visited February

21, 2017)

[13] http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/wyse-3000-series/pd (last visited February

21, 2017)

[14] http://www.mavenspire.com/blog/top-10-benefits-of-vdi (Last Visited: February

21, 2017)

[15]https://sites.google.com/site/mis237groupprojectraspberrypi/home/what-is-

raspberry-pi/pros-and-cons-of-the-raspberry-pi (last visited February 21, 2017)

[16] http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-client-operating-system.htm (last visited

February 21, 2017)

[17] https://wiki.archlinux.org/ (Last visited March 10, 2017)

[18] http://dwm.suckless.org (Last visited March 10, 2017)

45

Appendix A

File Location: cd /home/archi/vdi/vdi

index.html: This code was developed for build the User Interface for Thin Client

Operating System.

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html>

<head>

<title>IICT.BUET</title>

<!-- Latest compiled and minified CSS -->

<link rel="stylesheet" href="bootstrap/css/bootstrap.min.css">

<!-- Optional theme -->

<link rel="stylesheet" href="bootstrap/css/bootstrap-theme.min.css">

<!-- Latest compiled and minified JavaScript -->

<script src="bootstrap/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>

/*<script src="js/compiled/devops3.js" type="text/javascript"></script>*/

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="custom.css">

</head>

<body>

<div class="container">

<div class="row">

<div class="logo_title">

<img class="profile-img" src="logo.png" alt="">

<label class="text-center login-title">Institute of Information and

Communication Technology</label>

<label class="text-center login-title">Bangladesh University of Engineering and

Technology</label>

</div>

<div class="col-sm-6 col-md-4 col-md-offset-4">

<div class="account-wall">

<form class="">

<input style="margin-bottom: 5px;" type="text" class="form-control"

placeholder="Username" required autofocus>

<input style="margin-bottom: 5px;" type="password" class="form-control"

placeholder="Password" required>

<button style="margin-bottom: 20px;" class="btnbtn-info btn-block" type="submit">

Login</button>

<span class="clearfix"></span>

</form>

</div>

<a href="#" class="btnbtn-danger pull-right new-account">Restart</a>

<a href="#" class="btnbtn-default pull-left new-account">Shutdown</a>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</body>

46

</html>

Appendix B

File Location: cd /home/archi/vdi/vdi

custom.css: The following code was developed for background color and font style of

User Interface.

body{

background-color: #8B0000;

}

.logo_title {

margin-top: 10%;

}

.account-wall

{

margin-top: -10px;

padding: 40px 0px 20px 0px;

margin-bottom: 120px;

/*background-color: #f7f7f7;

-moz-box-shadow: 0px 2px 2pxrgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);

-webkit-box-shadow: 0px 2px 2pxrgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);

box-shadow: 0px 2px 2pxrgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3);*/

}

.login-title

{

color: #e8e6e6;

font-size: 25px;

font-weight: 700;

display: block;

}

.profile-img

{

width: 96px;

height: 96px;

margin: 0 auto 10px;

display: block;

-moz-border-radius: 50%;

-webkit-border-radius: 50%;

border-radius: 50%;

}

47

Appendix C

File Location: /home/archie/vidrb/resources/public/js/compiled/devops3.js

devops3.js: This code was developed for the Authentication process to connecting

VM, role of Shutdown, Reboot button and finally update the User Interface.

ns devops3.core

(:require

[rum.core :as rum]))

(enable-console-print!)

(defonce username (atom ""))

(defonce password (atom ""))

(defonce proc (js/require "child_process"))

(defnrdp []

(.readFile (js/require "fs")

"/home/archie/ip.json" "utf8"

(fn [error data]

(let [addr(.-ip (js/JSON.parse data))

param ["/f" (str "/u:" @username)

(str "/p:" @password)

"/cert-ignore"

(str "/v:" addr)]

p (.spawn proc "xfreerdp" (clj->jsparam))

]

(.on p "error" #(.log js/console %))

(.on (.-stderr p) "data" #(.log js/console %))

(.on (.-stdout p) "data" #(.log js/console %))

))))

(defnshutdownp []

(.spawn proc "poweroff" ))

(defnrebootp []

(.spawn proc "reboot" ))

(declare logo)

(declare user-auth)

(declare reset)

(rum/defc body []

[:div {:style {:background-color "DarkRed"

:height (str

(str (- (.-height (.-screen js/window)) 20)) "px"

)

:width (str

(str (- (.-width (.-screen js/window)) 20)) "px"

)

:display "flex"

:flex-direction "column"

48

:justify-content "space-around"}}

(logo)

(user-auth)

(reset)

])

(rum/defc reset []

[:div {:style {:display "flex"

:justify-content "space-around"}}

[:button {:type "button"

:on-click shutdownp

} "Shutdown"]

[:button {:type "button"

:on-click rebootp

} "Restart"]])

(rum/defc user-auth []

[:div {

:style {:display "flex"

:flex-direction "column"

:align-items "center"}

}

[:input {:type "text"

:placeholder "Username"

:style {:margin-bottom "10px"

}

:on-change #(reset! username (.. % -target -value))}]

[:input {:type "password"

:placeholder "Password"

:style {:margin-bottom "10px"}

:on-change #(reset! password (.. % -target -value))}]

[:button {:type "button"

:on-click (fn []

(rdp)

)} "Login"]

])

(rum/defc logo []

[:div {

:style

{

:display "flex"

:flex-direction "column"

:align-items "center"

}

}

[:img {

:style {

49

:height "100px"

:width "100px"

:margin "10px 10px10px10px"

:border-radius "50%"

}

:src "logo.png"

}]

[:div {:style {:color "white"

:display "flex"

:flex-direction "column"}}

[:span {:style {:font-family "Constantia, \"Lucida Bright\" , Lucidabright, \"Lucida

Serif\", Lucida, \"DejaVu Serif\", \"Bitstream Vera Serif\", \"Liberation Serif\",

Georgia, serif"

:font-size "20px"}} "Institute of Information and Communication

Technology"]

[:span {:style {:font-family

"Cambria, \"Hoefler Text\", Utopia, \"Liberation Serif\", \"Nimbus

Roman No9 L Regular\", Times, \"Times New Roman\", serif"

:font-size "20px"}} "Bangladesh University of Engineering and

Technology"]]])

(rum/mount (body) (.getElementByIdjs/document "main-app-area"))

Appendix D

This Section has been used to create desktop application that is called Electron.

Generally, an Electron app is structured like this:

your-app/

├── package.json

├── main.js

└── index.html

The format of package.json is exactly the same as that of Node’s modules, and the

script specified by the main field is the startup script of your app, which will run the

main process.

The main.js should create windows and handle system events

Finally, the index.html is the web page you want to show

This app has been downloaded from following link.

https://github.com/electron/electron-quick-start

50

Appendix E

Network Configuration:

[root@alarmpi~]# vi /etc/systemd/network/eth0.netowrk

[Match]

Name=eth0

[Network]

#static=ipv4

Gateway=172.16.103.254

[Address]

Address=172.16.103.249/24

DNS Configuration

vi /etc/resolve.conf

nameserver 8.8.8.8

Configure Startup Service:

cd /home/archi

vi .xinitrc

dwm&

./startnode

Initialized Startup Service:

cd /home/archi

vi startnode

cd vidrb

npm start

Arch Linux Synchronous and Update

[root@alarmpi~]#pacman -Syu

51

Install Remote Desktop Protocol

[root@alarmpi~]#pacman -S freerdp

Install Window Manager

[root@alarmpi~]#pacman -S dwm Xorg Xorg-xinit nodejs npm

VM IP Address on Thin Client OS

cd /home/archi

vi ip.json

{

"ip": "172.16.103.1"

}