Cheapest reliable hardware platform for ~50 Linux RDP thin clients

[bunyaminerk99]

Hi,

I'm planning a small thin-client deployment for a factory environment and I'm trying to find the cheapest reliable hardware platform. Current setup is already working as a proof of concept: - Debian Linux endpoint - FreeRDP - Fullscreen RDP session - Windows VM / future Windows Server RDS backend - Gigabit LAN The thin client itself does almost no local computing. It only needs to boot Linux and run FreeRDP.

Target requirements per endpoint: -
ARM64 or x86_64
2 GB RAM minimum, preferably 4 GB
16-32 GB eMMC/SSD minimum
Gigabit Ethernet
HDMI or DisplayPort
2+ USB ports
reliable Linux support
preferably PXE and Wake-on-LAN
low power consumption

I have looked at Raspberry Pi, Orange Pi, Rock Pi, LattePanda, Intel N100 boards and used enterprise thin clients. The strange part is that new enterprise thin clients in my country are extremely expensive, sometimes more expensive than complete modern desktop PCs. So I'm considering:
1. Cheap ARM SBC
2. x86 SBC
3. Compute module + custom carrier board
4. Used Dell Wyse / HP / Lenovo thin clients
5. Cheap Chinese embedded boards

My target BOM is ideally under $100 per endpoint, excluding monitor, keyboard and mouse. The system will eventually connect to one or two Windows Server RDS hosts, so local CPU performance is not very important.

What hardware platform would you choose for this? I'm especially interested in specific board/model recommendations that have good long-term Linux support and Gigabit Ethernet.

Thanks.


I'm also open to designing a simple custom carrier board if there is a cheap compute module/SOM that makes economic sense.

 

[BoredSysadmin]

Why not buy a lot of used thin clients from eBay? Like this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/287253382897
These meet all of your requirements. Since it's basically a regular PC, any X64 distro should work, including Debian.

 

[kapone]

Why not buy a lot of used thin clients from eBay? Like this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/287253382897
These meet all of your requirements. Since it's basically a regular PC, any X64 distro should work, including Debian.

The strange part is that new enterprise thin clients in my country are extremely expensive

See...people come in here (generally a US centric site), and ask for recommendations...which may not apply wherever they are.

 

[BoredSysadmin]

See...people come in here (generally a US centric site), and ask for recommendations...which may not apply wherever they are.

View attachment 50786

I didn't miss that OP is not from US; however, US eBay sellers could ship internationally- not everyone, but some would- and then OP would have to deal with their local import duties. Plus, there are forward shippers as an option, like these guys:

USA Parcel Forwarding Service | forward2me

Shop in the USA and reship your items around the world with US parcel forwarding at forward2me. Forwarding parcels to the UK, Australia and worldwide.

www.forward2me.com

 

[bunyaminerk99]

See...people come in here (generally a US centric site), and ask for recommendations...which may not apply wherever they are.

View attachment 50786

I didn't miss that OP is not from US; however, US eBay sellers could ship internationally- not everyone, but some would- and then OP would have to deal with their local import duties. Plus, there are forward shippers as an option, like these guys:

USA Parcel Forwarding Service | forward2me

Shop in the USA and reship your items around the world with US parcel forwarding at forward2me. Forwarding parcels to the UK, Australia and worldwide.

www.forward2me.com

Used Wyse/HP thin clients are definitely my fallback option, and technically they are probably the easiest solution.


The difficulty is sourcing them in Turkey. Finding one or two units is possible, but finding 50 identical units in bulk locally is surprisingly difficult.


Importing a lot from the US is also less straightforward than the eBay price suggests. A $50 device becomes a different proposition once international freight, import VAT, customs clearance and brokerage are added. More importantly, commercial importation of used/refurbished goods into Turkey is subject to additional import rules/permissions.


Warranty and maintenance are another concern. With a used US eBay lot there is effectively no practical local warranty, returns are expensive, and for a 50-unit deployment I would probably need to purchase additional spare units just to cover DOA and future failures.


So yes, Dell Wyse / HP thin clients are still my last-resort option if I cannot find a sensible SBC or embedded platform. I am just trying to see whether I can build one reliable endpoint from locally available components first. If that works, scaling the same design to 50 units becomes much easier.

Thank you so much...

 

[TrevorH]

I don't think these will be of any help but I'll post the link to https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/rock-sbc-boards/2493159 them anyway. It says there that for bulk orders of 25+ the price is £98. I suspect it's too expensive and too small for your requirements.