Hi
Question:
Given an environment where the DataMiner Server and Client(s) can run on different (Windows) machines...
Are there any advantages for running the fully featured Cube Desktop App on the same machine as the Server(s)?
Background:
It appears to be common practice for Skyline's engineers to install and run Cube client on the Server(s), despite dedicated Clients are freely accessible. This practice is seen as a recommendation, encouragement and inspiration for local/on-prem DataMiner admins/users to follow Skyline's lead.
Why not?
However, running the Client on the Server machine(s) causes avoidable, unnecessary extra load and disk space usage on the Server(s). On a typically Windows Server OS, the number of concurrent Remote Desktop Sessions (RDS) is limited to 2 users. When the 'default' client is via RDS to Server, it can potentially block others from essential OS-level access.
Convenience?
When an engineer/admin requires RDS access, say, to read some logs, and that the Client can be run from another machine, why run the Client on the Server other than the convenience of seeing everything in one (RDS) windowpane?
To my knowledge there is no added technical value to having the Cube client open on the server instead of on a dedicated client PC.
Mostly it's a habit because most of the times there is no dedicated client PC available.
Sometimes the connection to the server is used for a combination of investigating communication to devices on Wireshark, opening log files and other tools. Opening Cube on the same server session is in that case also more out of practical reasons than having a technical advantage.
It's therefore possible to impose a rule not to open a Cube client on the server in case there are dedicated client machines available, with the exception of investigating very specific issues that would require otherwise.