Ronnie
Just a few comments..
There are no 'true' virtual sessions for OS X Server. (Well there is,
but it's developed by a separate company and they charge per seat ==
expensive). What I define as a 'virtual session' is that you get a
login window and your own desktop all running over VNC. (and you can
do this for multiple users). The Apple Remote Desktop software only
shares one screen/one user.
Just as the other commenter said, multiple users on a crystallographic
workstation is moot if you need 3d or even graphics intensive
visualization (as each computer would benefit from having coot/pymol
run locally).
The number of programs taking advantage of multiple processors is
growing, but far from mainstream (support, software usability,
benefits etc). Much of crystallography remains to be a 'serial' rather
than a 'parallel' experience.
That being said, each your money may be better spent giving each user
a Mac Mini (the price for 3-4 Minis == 1 Lowest end Mac Pro) .. and if
you truly want multiple user management get a Mini Server that does
manages user accounts/policies with local home directories. You could
even keep the software on the main server and map it to the clients so
you have version control over the xtal packages.
F
On Dec 15, 2010, at 9:26 AM, Ronnie Berntsson wrote:
Dear all,
We are currently considering buying a computer which can be used by
multiple people, via our existing network, as a workstation for
crystallography purposes. My thoughts are currently going towards a
8-core Apple Pro (or 12-core) with a lot of RAM, with OS X Server,
which in theory should be able to handle multiple (up to 4) users
simultaneously running crystallography software. The idea would be
to have the users access this computer using their own laptops
(starting their own virtual sessions?) connected to the same network.
Does this sound like a viable strategy, or should it be setup in a
different way? In that case how? Would it need advanced setup and
maintenance, or would it be possible to jsut set up a number of user
accounts in OS X Server, and let it run? I'm reasonably computer
savvy, but haven't really done something like this before, so I
would very much appreciate your advice or personal experiences
regarding this matter.
I know that I could probably get a cheaper computer if I went for a
pc with linux, but I have more experience with OS X, and would
therefore want to stay with it.
Thank you in advance,
Ronnie Berntsson
----------
Ronnie Berntsson, PhD
PostDoctoral Fellow
Department of Biochemistry
Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute
& Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials
University of Groningen
Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG
Groningen, The Netherlands
---------------------------------------------
Francis E. Reyes M.Sc.
215 UCB
University of Colorado at Boulder
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