A new technology that enables up to 30 users to share one computer processor is promising to make computing more affordable and accessible in Kenya.
The technology known as user extension protocol enables a central processing unit (CPU) — the equivalent of a car engine and the most expensive component in a computer — to operate up to 30 computers.
That reduces the cost of a branded CPU by the number of computers it is shared among, making computing easily affordable for institutions, corporates and other organisations in a pooled area.
The technology is now being rolled out in the country as Ncomputing by two firms Smoothtel and Data Solutions that connects multiple users to a CPU under a network called Ethernet.
“With it, the Government could reduce its current budget by half and even double its work,” said Raphael Mwangi, Smoothtel’s Regional Technical Director. With the escalation of power tariffs, companies using this technology would also save on energy bills.
The NComputing Multiuser Computer Networking Access Terminals help offices to maximize the use of CPU resources and achieve up to 50 per cent savings by giving multiple users access to a single PC.
Branded CPUs are presently selling at between Sh25,000 and Sh30,000 depending on the specifications while clones are available at between Sh10,000 and Sh12,000.
A HP Duo core, for instance is selling at Sh29,000, while a comparable Dell and Accer are going for Sh25,000 and Sh27,000 respectively. The prices are inclusive of CPU, Key board and Mouse.
Power savings
Unlike a normal computer that consumes 400W of power, NComputing Access Terminals consume less than 5 Watts of power, translating into a saving of over 98 per cent in power consumption
NComputing comes in two categories. The L-Series Access Terminals allow users to be located at unlimited distance within a Local Area Network (LAN).
The X series allows one to add three other users to an existing computer. A second kit allows one computer to be shared by 7 users, six connected through the kits and one working directly on the host computer.
Through this companies can achieve over 50 per cent cost savings in hardware acquisition by connecting up to 10 users to a single PC, and up to 30 in a server environment. This means that a company only needs to invest in 1 PC and 9 Access Terminals.
An all solid state design guarantees that the NComputing Access Terminal cannot break down, eliminating the need for repair. Usually repairs in computers may take the form of replacement of crashed hard disks, corrupt memories, spoilt fans, spoilt power supplies, spoilt motherboards or even spoilt processors.
NComputing Access Terminals contain none of these components.
Companies also realize cost savings in the long run when replacing old computers with new ones, usually after every two or three years, with only the host computer needing replacement.
Business Daily
