Hi, James here. Another new feature that has been generating
a lot of excitement is using the MultiPoint Connector to orchestrate
traditional client computers in the same way that we treat MultiPoint stations.
So a teacher has the same visibility and control over both low cost WMS
stations and / or full PCs running Windows 7 or Windows 8. We make discovery of
these PCs simple in the same way it is simple to discover and orchestrate
multiple WMS setups via MultiPoint Manager. By including the MultiPoint
Connector in your master client image or installing it on each PC you will be
able see each of those PCs on the same network and add them for viewing in the
MultiPoint DashBoard. You’ll just need to know an administrator username and
password for the client PC. Here’s a view of MultiPoint Dashboard orchestrating
a mix of traditional WMS sessions, two Windows 8 virtual desktops running on
the same box, and a Windows 8 laptop.
Step by step
Go to C:\Program Files\Windows MultiPoint Server and grab a copy of the Connector folder.
Put the Connector folder anywhere in your master client image, or add it to each machine.
Open the folder and double click on the WmsConnector application. You will need
administrator privileges.
The WMS Connector Wizard will launch and guide you through the simple installation
Now back on the MultiPoint Server open MultiPoint Manager and click on Add or remove personal computers
MultiPoint Manager will discover all the WMS Connector enabled computers on the same subnet and present them for addition.
You will again be prompted for administrator credentials. Once added, these computers will appear in the MultiPoint Dashboard
and can be orchestrated just like MultiPoint stations.
Licensing
People have been asking if these Windows 7 or 8 computers
need a WMS CAL, even though they are not consuming a WMS desktop session. The
answer is no they don’t. They do still need a Windows Server CAL, but the
customers I’ve spoken with so far already have these through their existing
agreements with Microsoft.
Other options?
I can think of two examples of other approaches that users should
be aware of:
1)
We have no Connector for non-x86 devices e.g.
iPads, Android tablets, Surface RT devices. For these devices one solution is
to get a Remote Desktop client such as is available for free in the Microsoft
Store for the Surface RT, and use it to connect to a WMS session on the host.
This gives everyone the same, orchestrated Windows 8 experience regardless of
their device. I strongly recommend this for
2)
WMS 2012 assumes a static classroom or lab in
which devices don’t move from lab to lab on an hourly basis. For this we
recommend a richer third party classroom management solution that has the
notion of changing classes and grades with roaming devices. They also add
additional education-specific value such as assessment. Solutions (which also
run on WMS) come from, for example, ABTutor, LanSchool and NetSupport.
You can see a 2 minute demo of what's new in Multipoint Manager here.
Thanks,
JD
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