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Product Overview

Migrate 10 Users to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop at a Time

So, How Does the Desktop Multiplier for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop Work?

Migrate 10 Users to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop at a Time

The Desktop Multiplier is a software add-on for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop that allows up to 10 independent user sessions to run at the same time on a SINGLE computer. Each user has his or her own monitor, keyboard and mouse. The monitors plug into inexpensive dual-head video cards (two monitors per card); the USB devices plug into a USB hub.

With the Desktop Multiplier, school districts, universities and colleges, governments and businesses can migrate 10 users to each SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop computer. This results in significant savings on hardware, software, maintenance, backups, electricity and environmental waste.

Desktop Multiplier for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop was a huge hit at BrainShare South Africa

Desktop Multiplier for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop was a huge hit at BrainShare South Africa

The Desktop Multiplier has captured the interest of leaders in business, education, government and academia as a way to minimize desktop deployment costs, bridge the digital divide and reduce environmental waste.

Following is a list of customer success stories:

The Desktop Multiplier has been featured at major Linux and Novell trade shows around the world from San Francisco to Oman.

Leverage the Benefits of Linux

There are numerous benefits of adopting Linux on the desktop for many users in your organisation. Linux is a very stable, multi-user, multi-tasking operating system that runs effectively on inexpensive PC hardware. Linux desktop licensing costs are much lower than those of Windows XP.

The SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop operating system comes bundled with a powerful set of applications that include: OpenOffice 2.0 (compatible with Microsoft Office), Mozilla Firefox (feature-rich web browser), Evolution (email and collaboration), Citrix ICA client, Windows Terminal Server client, PDF Creator, powerful image editing program, and project management software.

Here is a list of other SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop benefits:

Less vulnerable to viruses and security threats than Windows
Unsurpassed in computing power, portability and flexibility
User-friendly graphical user interface
Runs a wide variety of applications and corporate applications
Can be easily networked to NetWare, OES, Windows and SUSE Linux Enterprise servers
Constantly being improved by thousands of developers around the world
Readily adopted by more and more organizations
Enterprise support available worldwide

So, How Does the Desktop Multiplier for Novell Linux Desktop Work?

The Desktop Multiplier is a thin layer of software that sits on top of the SUSE Linux kernel. In fact, it wraps around the Linux kernel and listens for: (1) keyboard input; (2) mouse input; and (3), monitor output.

The Desktop Multiplier assigns these three elements to a unique user session, and the software can then manage up to 10 completely different local user sessions, at the same time, on one regular computer running the Novell Linux Desktop operating system.

In technical terms, the Multiplier virtualizes X, so that a single X instance can deal with multiple interfaces.

The Desktop Multiplier for Novell Linux Desktop is ideal for the tasks that most users perform in computer labs, classrooms, libraries, and government departments (e.g., word processing, creating spreadsheets, preparing presentations, browsing the web, sending email).

Need to run Windows applications on Linux? Use Win4Lin, WINE, Crossover Office, Windows Terminal Server or Citrix.

Is the Desktop Multiplier a Thin-Client Solution?

No, each local user session is a "full client" with dedicated video, keyboard and mouse access. This means that users will not experience the keyboard lag and choppy video commonly associated with thin-client environments. In addition, the Desktop Multiplier for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop involves much lower deployment and licensing costs, and is easier to set up and deploy.

This is one of our most frequently asked questions, so we have created a Desktop Multiplier vs Thin Client section with more detailed information.

Desktop Multiplier Licensing

The Desktop Multiplier for Novell Linux Desktop is licensed at $99 per seat (approximately 80 €), plus an optional software upgrade protection plan of 30% of the purchase price. Volume discounts are available. Contact us for a custom quote.

Quick Setup Guide

Let's say you were going to test a four-user setup of the Desktop Multiplier for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. You would plug in either two dual-head PCI video cards or four single-head cards, depending on the number of PCI slots on your motherboard.

Then you would install SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 – this process will take approximately 45 minutes. Then reboot. If you are using Matrox or nVidia dual-head cards, you will need to upgrade your driver, since the default mga/nv driver from Xorg does not fully support the dual-head feature. You can download the latest driver from their web site. At the bottom of our Systems Requirements page, you will find a list of inexpensive PCI and AGP dual-head video cards on it.

Now, you need to create four unique user profiles using YaST (similar to Control Panel in Windows). You can set unique usernames, passwords and security rights for each user.

Next, you would download the free trial version of the Desktop Multiplier. The installation takes 2-3 minutes. Upon reboot, you will be prompted with a wizard screen on each monitor (view Screenshots) that asks you to click a Function key (i.e., F1-F4 for a 4-user setup) and click each mouse. This assigns a specific mouse and keyboard to a monitor. To reassign a keyboard or mouse, unplug the device and plug it back in and you will receive this screen prompt again – very straightforward.

You're done! Now, four users can work off the same machine at the same time. We like to load the System Monitor in the top menu bar to look at the processor usage. The Desktop Multiplier for Novell Linux Desktop makes use of all the unused processor cycles of traditional, single-user PCs.

View the Desktop Multiplier Setup Guide for more detailed instructions and screenshots.