computer science

NComputing

NComputing is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NComputing rather than just read about it. In short: NComputing is a desktop virtualization company that manufactures hardware and software to create virtual desktops (sometimes called zero clients or thin clients) which enable multiple users to simultaneously share a single operating system instance. NComputing, based in San Mateo, California, is a privately held for-profit company with offices in the United States, Singapore, UK, Germany, India, Korea, and Poland; a…

Key takeaways

NComputing belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NComputing to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NComputing from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NComputing is a desktop virtualization company that manufactures hardware and software to create virtual desktops (sometimes called zero clients or thin clients) which enable multiple users to simultaneously share a single operating system instance. NComputing, based in San Mateo, California, is a privately held for-profit company with offices in the United States, Singapore, UK, Germany, India, Korea, and Poland; and resellers around the world.

History

Founding In 2003, Young Song, a former VP at eMachines, met German entrepreneur Klaus Maier (formerly CEO of hydrapark), who had spent more than ten years developing the core software on which NComputing is based. They formed a team to develop the complementary hardware in Korea, while the software was written in Poland and Russia. After they successfully launched the product and reached $10 million revenue in two years, the two founders decided to move its headquarters to Silicon Valley. Stephen Dukker, former chairman of eMachines, joined NComputing in August 2006, to lead the company together.

Financing Dukker introduced NComputing to venture capitalists and technology journalists in September 2006 at DEMOfall 06. By October 2006, NComputing had raised $8 million from Scale Venture Partners (formerly known as BA Venture Partners). In January 2008, the company raised a $28 million series B round of financing, led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Menlo Ventures with participation from Scale Venture Partners and South Korea's Daehong Technew Corp. In April 2012, the company raised a $21.8 million series C round of financing led by Questmark Partners with participation from existing investors. In 2017, original NComputing Co., Ltd, a Korean corporation, became the ultimate holding company for all other subsidiaries and had raised $6 million from MDI VC (Telkom Indonesia VC in Jakarta), Pinnacle Ventures (Menlo Park, United States), and Bokwang Ventrues (Seoul, Korea) for accelerating South Asia region's growth and boost enterprise VDI software products.

Current growth The company was founded in 2003. Current global usage is 20 million daily users in 140 countries. Typical customer profile includes 70,000 education and business organizations including 5,000 school districts in the United States. NComputing has shipped more than three million units overall, including 180,000 seats to provide one computing seat for every K–12 student in the country of North Macedonia. As of 2017, the company has 100 employees worldwide. According to several survey metrics, Ncomputing is positioned as one of the top five major players in the enterprise thin client market - next to Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, and IGEL.

Operating system and virtualization support

Linux support Linux is supported through a version of vSpace Server for Linux software. Currently, NComputing offers support for Ubuntu 14.04, 16.04 and 18.04. This software is proprietary and requires a server-based license. There is a 10-day free trial period. The vSpace Server for Linux provides features like client session monitoring, virtual IP, optimized video playback and messaging service between the clients.

Windows support Windows is supported through a version of vSpace Server for Windows software. The supported versions of Windows include: Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2, Windows XP SP3 (32-bit); Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Vista SP21(32-bit); Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows MultiPoint Server 2011, Windows 7 SP1 (both 32- and 64-bit), Windows 8 SP1 (64-bit), Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 10, Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019.،vSpace Server software utilizes Microsoft Remote Desktop Services features to host user sessions.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NComputing

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NComputing claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NComputing before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NComputing ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NComputing

In research: NComputing appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NComputing in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NComputing is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2003 establishments in California, Computer companies established in 2003, Computer companies of the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NComputing outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NComputing in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NComputing means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NComputing out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NComputing in simple terms?

Why does NComputing matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NComputing?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NComputing.