Get started
Home ThinLinc release notes ThinLinc 3.0.0 Release Notes

ThinLinc 3.0.0 Release Notes

Introduction

The Swedish spring has arrived. ThinLinc 3.0.0 is finally ready. As before, this version includes many new features and corrections, in total more than 120 enhancements. As the version number indicates, this release contains extensive improvements:

  • We are shipping the third generation VNC server core. It is based on the latest X.Org and TigerVNC versions, and includes amazing performance enhancements. Given a reasonable fast server, client, and network, it is now possible to play back motion graphics, in full screen mode. This can be done without any client side video decoder software or specialized handling of video. These performance enhancements also means that ThinLinc works very well in conjunction with the VirtualGL software, which provides hardware accelerated OpenGL on the server side. This allows applications such as Google Earth to run with good performance.
  • Support for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) has been added. The VDI concept combines the power of thin client technology with personal single-user machines, typically virtualized. The ThinLinc VDI support requires no additional client software, and unique features such as microphone support is available for VDI users as well.
  • The size of the session can now be dynamically changed, since support for the Resize and Rotate Extension (RandR) has been added.

Changes in This Release

For each enhancement, the issue number is given in parentheses.

Server

  • ThinLinc works on most modern Linux distributions and Sun Solaris (R). This release has been extensively tested on the following platforms:
    • Red Hat (R) Enterprise Linux 5.3 (32-bit)
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 (R) (32-bit)
    • Ubuntu (R) 9.04 beta (64-bit)
    • Sun Solaris (R) 10
  • Solaris 10 is now required: Older versions are no longer supported. (2911)
  • Installation now works correctly on 64-bit systems based on Debian, such as Ubuntu. (2952, 1812)
  • The server software now requires a Pentium III (i686 with MMX and SSE support) or compatible CPU. (2982)
  • The X server is now based on the latest X.Org release, version 7.4. X.Org is the most popular implementation of the X Window System, now used in most Linux distributions and BSD variants, Sun Microsystems' Solaris, and Mac OS X. (2408)
  • The default color depth of the X server has been changed from 16 to 24 bits per pixel. This has been done to maximize performance, compatibility, and image quality. (275)
  • This version features a new session profile selection dialog. In addition to its more modern style, it also supports translations, screenshots, and dynamically fetched descriptions. (2267)
  • ThinLinc can now act as a VDI Broker (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Broker). The broker is implemented as an extension to the existing profile selection dialog and Application Server Groups concept. This means that the selection between different Linux and Windows desktops, and personal and multiuser machines, can be done within the same user interface. The normal mechanism for assigning profiles can be used to activate VDI for certain users. If the virtual machine is powered off, ThinLinc can start it up before connect. This feature is currently limited to VMware environments. (2908, 3004, 3035)
  • A default background image is now set. The background color and image can also be configured more easily. (2768)
  • Windows XP has been added to the list of officially supported RDP servers. (3022)
  • Shadowing of users with uppercase usernames is now functional. (2884)
  • Shadowing by a user with an uppercase username should now work correctly. (3053)
  • Submitting print jobs to the nearest and thinlocal queues should now work correctly even if the username contains uppercase characters. (2901)
  • The server software now allows up to ten concurrent sessions without a license file. (3050)
  • The scalability of the VSM agent has been improved. (2856)

General

  • ThinLinc 3.0.0 is based on a new VNC project called TigerVNC. This new project has been founded by developers from Cendio, Red Hat, and the VirtualGL project. TigerVNC features many enhancements, including performance optimizations from TurboVNC. For example, JPEG compression and decompression has been accelerated using the "SIMD" extensions present in modern CPUs. (2751, 2926, 2930, 3034)
  • ThinLinc now supports the RandR Extension. This means that the size of the session can be dynamically changed. The change can be initiated either from the server or client. The size will be automatically changed when reconnecting to disconnected sessions. This is useful when reconnecting from a terminal with a different screen resolution. (2043)
  • The Webmin interface now includes support for managing Application Server Groups. (2908)
  • The client and server software has been translated to German. The Swedish, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese translations have been updated. (2917)
  • Exported directories which contains special characters such as whitespace are now correctly handled. (2943)
  • The End User License Agreement has been updated. (2744)

Client

  • The client now requires a Pentium (i586) or compatible CPU, with MMX support. (2983)
  • A package for eLux RL terminals is now available. This means that the ThinLinc client can be easily installed on terminals such as Fujitsu Futro S450, S500, and S550. (2859)
  • A client package for Linux based EEE PC:s is now included. (2610)
  • The Linux client is now available in the Debian package format (.deb). This makes installation easier on 64-bit systems. (2951)
  • The UNIX client no longer uses ~/.ssh for SSH related configuration files. Instead, the directory ~/.thinlinc is used. Please note that this change means that server host keys must be reconfirmed. (2542)
  • The OS X client now reports the client's hardware address. (2643)
  • The OS X client now supports local printers. (2179)
  • The installation of the OS X client is now easier. (2175)
  • The "Current screen size" and "Near current screen size" settings in the OS X client should now work as expected. (2183)
  • The Windows client includes support for exporting the "My Documents" folder in a way that is independent of the underlying directory path. (2898)
  • The client includes a mechanism for notifying the user when an updated client is available. (100)
  • Version 2.1.0 of the client could only retrieve hardware addresses beginning with "00". This problem has now been corrected. (2977)
  • The client now retrieves the hardware address when logging in, instead of during startup. This means that the hardware address will be correctly reported even if the network is started after the ThinLinc client. This is often the case when using NetworkManager. (2893)
  • A new client parameter, HOST_ALIASES, can be used to specify client side host and port translations. This feature can be used with special network and connection scenarios, such as when running ThinLinc over existing SSH or TLS tunnels, or to work around incorrect DNS configurations. (1580)
  • With version 2.1.0 of the UNIX client, the screen size setting "Current screen size" was not working. Instead, it behaved just like "Near current screen size". This problem has now been corrected. (3056)

Smart Card Support

  • Previous versions of the Windows client restricted the username to 99 characters. This caused problems when the client was configured to automatically connect when the card was inserted, since the username derived from the certificate can be longer. This problem has been corrected. (3049)
  • Enabling smart card authentication for eDirectory/LDAP users can now be done automatically, since the tl-ldap-certalias tool can create the authorized_keys file. (2790)

Novell Integration

  • When connecting to a Windows XP machine with the Novell Client, using Single Sign-On, it is necessary to send the fully qualified Novell username. However, if later reconnecting to a disconnected session, the Novell client requires that that short username is used. ThinLinc 3.0.0 includes a mechanism for solving this problem. (3041)

Windows (R) Integration

  • Smart Card Single Sign-On with Active Directory environments is now supported: A custom GINA is provided, which can retrieve the PIN code via RDP. This function is currently limited to Windows Server 2003 and 2003R2. (2743)
  • When initiating RDP connections, a graphical progress dialog is displayed. In case any errors occurs, these are also displayed to the user. (1346)
  • The bandwidth used during sound playback has been reduced. (2924)

TLCOS

  • When using NetworkManager, keys for wireless networks can be saved in a "keyring". This means that it is no longer necessary to type in the key after each reboot. (2780)

Documentation

  • Instructions on how to install a 32-bit runtime environment is included. (2894)

Corrected Issues

ThinLinc has also been enhanced in many other ways. The complete list of corrected issues is:

 100,  275,  365,  718,  719,  720,  721,  722,  737,  767,  787,
 788,  792,  794,  795,  796,  797,  913, 1180, 1232, 1346, 1386,
1580, 1664, 1812, 2043, 2052, 2074, 2174, 2175, 2179, 2183, 2184,
2186, 2267, 2347, 2386, 2408, 2414, 2525, 2536, 2542, 2597, 2610,
2643, 2658, 2659, 2743, 2744, 2751, 2752, 2756, 2765, 2767, 2768,
2780, 2790, 2834, 2836, 2843, 2844, 2845, 2846, 2856, 2859, 2865,
2866, 2869, 2875, 2878, 2879, 2880, 2883, 2884, 2889, 2893, 2894,
2898, 2899, 2900, 2901, 2907, 2908, 2911, 2916, 2917, 2920, 2923,
2924, 2926, 2930, 2938, 2943, 2944, 2951, 2952, 2955, 2970, 2971,
2972, 2977, 2982, 2983, 2987, 2990, 2993, 2994, 2995, 2996, 2997,
2998, 2999, 3007, 3008, 3018, 3019, 3022, 3023, 3025, 3034, 3035,
3038, 3041, 3042, 3049, 3050, 3053, 3056, 3068, 3071, 3081, 3083,
3088, 3090, 3091, 3093, 3095, 3097, 3101, 3102, 3110, 3129, 3130,
eLux (R) is a registered trademark of UniCon Software GmbH.
Fedora (R) is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc.
Google Earth (R) is a trademark of Google Inc.
Linux (R) is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
Mac OS X is a trademark of Apple Inc.
Red Hat (R) is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc.
Solaris (R) is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
SUSE (R) is a registered trademarks of Novell, Inc.
ThinLinc (R) is a registered trademark of Cendio AB.
Ubuntu (R) is a registered trademark of Canonical Ltd.
VMware (R) is a trademark of VMware, Inc.
Windows (R) is a registered trademark of Microsoft, Inc.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • ThinLinc is packaged in subscriptions with a tiered pricing system. A higher number of subscriptions will give a lower price. The subscriptions can be purchased for different periods, 12, 36 and 60 month. A longer duration will give a greater price. The payment of the subscriptions is done in advance.

    The default rule is that the prices are set in accordance with the number of subscriptions that are purchased at the actual call off. Deviation from this can be eventually agreed if a roll-out plan can be committed in advance.

  • Every valid ThinLinc Subscription Agreement has a specific ID. Contact Cendio at support@cendio.com and refer to your ID, and we will issue new user licenses for you.

  • Contact Cendio support team at support@cendio.com. And refer to your ThinLinc Subscription ID in your support request.

  • We will set up an evaluation account that gives the permission to receive support directly from our technical team. Cendio can also provide trial licenses for more than 10 users. Please contact sales@cendio.com directly.

  • Cendio wants to sponsor organizations where the business aims to make the world better. This means to help people, regions etc. that really need help. Please contact us a sales@cendio.com.

  • Cendio offers a non-profit discount for organizations that fall under the definitions that can be found at the https://www.cendio.com/thinlinc/shop/non-profit-organization/. Please contact us at sales@cendio.com for pricing. 

  • Cendio will, in good time before expiration of the ThinLinc Subscriptions Agreement, send a reminder by email. The renewal process will follow the same routines that are used in a new or additional purchase.

  • Other set-ups are possible for bigger deals. Contact sales@cendio.com.

  • Purchases can be done directly via invoice, web shop or by a reseller. Cendio is a Swedish and EU company with long experience from doing business with foreign organizations. If you have any questions or need support, please contact us at sales@cendio.com

     

  • Best functionality and performance will always be achieved by upgrading to the latest version, both on the server and client-side. A newer version on the client-side will always give a better user experience than a former version. Cendio’s ambition is to keep good compatibility and functionality between the different versions. Historically, good compatibility between versions has been 3-5 years.

  • A ThinLinc set-up consists of a server software, client software and user licenses.

    Server software

    The server software is the heart of ThinLinc installation and handles all sessions, desktop environments and generates the virtual desktop, workspace etc.

    User licenses

    To allow more than 10 sessions to connect access to the server software, user licenses need to be added into the server software. User licenses are bought from Cendio. Please note, when placing user licenses into the ThinLinc server, the counting starts from 0, not 10. In concrete, this means that you need to buy and install the number of user licenses that you need.

    Client software

    The client software is installed on the device that is used to connect to the server and provision the virtual desktop / workspace. If using the web access client, no local installation of client software is needed, the provisioning is generated via the web browser that is installed at the server.

  • It’s up to the licensee to decide who can connect into the server installation. The ThinLinc client software is free of charge and can be downloaded by everyone.

  • The licensing is per organization. There is no limitation on how the ThinLinc user licenses are distributed in the legal organization, as long as the number of consumed licenses don’t exceed the number of paid licenses. It’s allowed to move the user licenses, but not copy.

  • The license use can be seen in the status module, how to manage can be found at https://www.cendio.com/resources/docs/tag/tlwebadm_status.html#tlwebadm-status . ThinLinc will notify you when the limit of licenses has been reached, for detailed information see, https://www.cendio.com/resources/docs/tag/licensehandling.html?highlight=soft

  • Both the ThinLinc server and client software are free to distribute. The user licenses are connected to a purchase and are not allowed to distribute. For more detailed information, see https://www.cendio.com/thinlinc/docs/legal/eula

  • A specific version of ThinLinc is supported 3 years from release date. After 3 years, Cendio can’t guarantee support.

  • The number of user licenses that will be delivered will be in accordance with the number of subscriptions that have been acquired by the customer. The user licenses are perpetual.

  • When adding user licenses into the ThinLinc server, the counting will start from zero. So if you require 200 users, you need to have 200 user licenses

  • You need to buy user licenses and install them in the ThinLinc server. The user licenses are received through buying ThinLinc subscriptions.

  • It’s easy to add new users into a current ThinLinc set-up. By purchasing additional subscriptions into your agreement, so will we issue additional user licenses.

  • Cendio will, after receiving a valid order, distribute user licenses via email for the latest version after a purchase. If the purchase is a renewal and the customers have already received the latest version, no user licenses will be delivered by default, updated licenses will be delivered on request in this case.

  • It’s possible to merge existing agreements. When doing a merge, the period shall be at least 12 months.

  • The default rule is that the prices are set in accordance with the number of subscriptions that are purchased at the actual call off. Deviation from this can be eventually agreed if a roll-out plan can be committed in advance.

  • The client software packages are free of charge.

  • The ThinLinc license is perpetual and will still work after the expiry date of the ThinLinc subscriptions.

     

  • Both as an individual and as an organization, it is not allowed to use the free version of ThinLinc if you have valid user licenses.

  • ThinLinc is free to use for up to 10 concurrent users for both individuals and organizations (on a group basis).

  • ThinLinc Subscriptions give the possibility to run more than 10 concurrent users per ThinLinc installation. It also gives technical support directly from Cendio and the right to get upgrades (new versions) for ThinLinc.

  • ThinLinc Premium Subscription gives prioritized answers, faster response time, and direct access to our qualified technical support via telephone service.

  • The free version of ThinLinc is limited to 10 concurrent users and is supported via the ThinLinc Community. The commercial version of ThinLinc is packaged in a so-called subscription and can be scaled for more than 10 users. The subscriptions also give the right to get professional support in ThinLinc directly from the Cendio technical team.

  • ThinLinc is free to use up to 10 users at the same time per individual or organization worldwide, without any obligations. The usage can be 10 installations with one user per each or one installation with 10 users. What matters is that the 10 users aren’t exceeded.

How can we help you?

Please tell us what you are looking for.