News

Please check here from time to time for the latest ThinLinX News including TLXOS & TMS release information

ThinLinX is proud to announce that we have recently become a Raspberry Pi Design Partner

Link to RPI Website Thin Clients

Wednesday August 2 2023

Finalizing testing of TLXOS-5.0.0 has taken longer than initially anticipated, we now expect to release by the end of August, we will also be releasing the TLXOS-4.99.99 firmware upgrader which will allow customers to upgrade their current 4.x.x versions of TLXOS to the new layout scheme used in TLXOS-5.0.0 without losing the current configuration of installed devices, see below for full information on the new layout scheme. If possible we will release TLXOS-5.1.0 at the same time as the above releases, otherwise a few weeks later

Wednesday July 12 2023

We have today released TMS-8.4.2 which fixes a number of minor bugs, this version has some other features that won’t be available until we release TLXOS-5.0.0

Saturday July 1 2023

We are finalizing testing of TLXOS-5.0.0 which we now expect to release by the end of July, we will also be releasing the TLXOS-4.99.99 firmware upgrader which will allow customers to upgrade their current 4.x.x versions of TLXOS to the new layout scheme used in TLXOS-5.0.0 without losing the current configuration of installed devices, see below for full information on the new layout scheme. We expect to release TLXOS-5.1.0 in about two months

Friday April 28 2023

We are in the process of the final testing of TLXOS-5.0.0 and TLXOS-5.1.0 prior to the anticipated release date of the end of June

We’ve decided that TLXOS 4.x is no longer suitable as a Long Term Stable (LTS) release – particularly in the SFF and RePC cases – due to it being forever limited to at most a 5.4 Linux kernel, on account of rigid sizing of /boot. The 5.4 kernel is too old to support the latest hardware, and kernel developers are no longer bothering to backport support for new hardware to it (on account of it now being two longterm releases out of date).

Consequently we now intend to release TLXOS 5.0.0 as a new LTS baseline, this being more-or-less a continuation of TLXOS 4.11.x with a layout change, i.e. still based on Debian 10 (Buster). At the same time, we’ll release TLXOS 5.1.0 as a new progressive release, based on Debian 11 (Bullseye).

In other words, we’ve reneged on our earlier promise that TLXOS 5.x will be exclusively Bullseye-based. Everything else remains mostly as previously advised. Upgrading from TLXOS 4.x to 5.x will not require TMS v9, and support for the new firmware format will be added later.

  • TLXOS 5.0.0 will – if possible – include a more recent kernel that still supports Reiser4, e.g. 5.15. TLXOS 5.1.0 will include a significantly more recent kernel, e.g. 6.1, and will probably revert to use of an uncompressed Ext2 root filesystem, on account of the current lack of a Reiser4 patch for 6.1 (and also because compression is no longer needed in order to fit within rigid TLXOS 4.x sizing).
  • TLXOS will no longer have a separate Maintenance Mode partition (or Linux kernel). Maintenance Mode will be merged into the /boot filesystem, as an alternative initramfs that will use the same kernel as Normal Mode.
  • TLXOS installation will become more flexible with regard to filesystem sizes. Upgrades will be able to enlarge the base root filesystem (/actualroot) as needed, and if necessary will repartition to enlarge /boot also, although this will necessarily result in loss of midlayer (/config) data, i.e. reset to default settings.
  • TLXOS 5.0.x will still support 32-bit-only Raspberry Pi models (v1, original Pi Zero, and Pi 2 v1.1) and 32 bit-only PCs, but TLXOS 5.1.0 and later will not. TLXOS RePC 5.1.0 and later will be fully 64-bit only, and TLXOS SFF will be discontinued after 5.0.x; a means to transition from SFF (NUC32 / NUC64) to RePC will be provided. TLXOS RPi IoT will be discontinued after 5.0.x also, and TLXOS RPi 5.1.0 and later will use a 64-bit Pi kernel with a 32-bit userspace, which will not run on the original Pi 2 (only the Pi 2 v1.2, a rare model, or the Pi 3 (including CM3 and Zero 2) or later).

We (still) intend to achieve the TMS 4.x-5.0 transition by means of a TLXOS 4.x update with a TLXOS 5.x compatible Maintenance Mode image that, when booted, will apply an irreversible TLXOS 5.x layout conversion, i.e. it will merge the Boot and Maintenance Mode partitions. This will put your devices in a kind of “version 4.99” state, from which you can upgrade to 5.x, but not downgrade.

In TMS 8.4.0 we delivered two of the features that were originally listed as “likely” for inclusion in TMS 9.0.0:

  • Introduction of basic policy, i.e. association of saved profiles with TMS device groups, such that TMS will require any known client to conform to the saved profile linked to the device group of which they are a member, when they check in with TMS.
  • Overhaul of Digital Signage to use out-of-band rsync content synchronization (pull-based) instead of clumsy in-protocol content synchronization (push-based). This will be much more efficient, although clients will require direct access to the rsync service on the TMS server. The older scheme will still be available via a legacy option.

We will probably implement the following formerly-TMS9-likely features prior to TMS 9.0.0:

  • TLXOS licenses will be consolidated into a one-license-fits-all solution, i.e. you will be able to run any edition of TLXOS using a common entitlement.
  • Improved VPN capabilities, including password-based OpenVPN and Wireguard.

The following features currently remain deferred until TMS 9.0.0:

  • Encryption of updates (TLXOS firmware, tms_client, hotfixes) will be removed, and the firmware format will be simplified to be a zip file containing binary firmware object(s) and metadata file(s) in a format that ThinLinX will publicly document, along with optional GPG signature(s). This will allow customers to create their own hotfixes. TMS will check GPG signatures against an approved keyring and report whether or not the update passes signature checks.
  • Upgrade of boot[/TFM] and root filesystems will be completely separate, allowing upgrade to a newer Linux kernel (and Maintenance Mode image) while remaining at the same base firmware version.
  • Rewrite of TMS for internal client-server separation and multi-session capability, i.e. an “always on” background service/daemon component and one or more on-demand GUIs. TMS was not designed for this, so it is a very extensive and ambitious rewrite. TMS GUIs will be able to run on a different host than the service/daemon, and you will be be able to run two or more concurrently.
  • TMS 9.0.0 will introduce the concept of a “filestore” database, whereby downloaded updates, and files installed by the user, will be permanently stored in a hash tree such that clients can request download of such objects by hash rather than by name. This means that files installed using TMS’ “File->Install File” option (e.g. SSH keys and CA certs) will be part of a saved profile, and client devices will automatically download these if they are missing.

Thursday February 2nd 2023

Today we have released TLXOS 4.11.1 which will be the last release in our current TLXOS 4.x.x series, the next release will be TLXOS 5.0.0 and TMS 9.0.0

TLXOS 4.11.1 contains a number of bug fixes and updated version of the remote desktop software listed below

  • FreeRDP 2.9.0
  • Citrix Workspace App 2212
  • VMware Horizon Client 2212 (except on RePC, which remains limited to 2012 due to discontinuation of 32-bit x86 port) – RPi version now finally includes printer redirection!
  • tms_client/Tlxconfig 8.4.1
  • various Debian 10.13 package upgrades

Full details are available at this link https://help.thinlinx.com/knowledgebase.php?article=89

TLXOS 5.0.0 and TMS 9.0.0 work is taking longer than expected, so we are squeezing a little more life out of TLXOS 4.x and TMS 8.x.

It’s still the plan that the final TLXOS 4.x release (currently 4.11.x, hopefully a 4.12.x will not be necessary) will become the new Long Term Stable (LTS) release – replacing TLXOS 4.8.x – when TLXOS 5.0.0 is released. We will consider releasing TLXOS 4.8.4 if customers really need this, although Debian Jessie is now very old indeed.

We are now being severely hampered by TLXOS 4.x design limitations, in particular the inability to provide a Linux kernel later than 5.4 due to insufficient space in the /boot filesystem, and therefore intend to deliver TLXOS 5.0.0 under TMS 8.x, rather than delaying it until TMS 9.0.0 is ready.

TLXOS 5.0.0 will still include the features that we guaranteed in our previous announcements, namely:

  • TLXOS 5.x releases will be based on Debian 11 (Bullseye), and will initially feature a 5.10 Linux kernel.
  • TLXOS will no longer have a separate Maintenance Mode partition (or Linux kernel). Maintenance Mode will be merged into the /boot filesystem, as an alternative initramfs that will use the same kernel as Normal Mode.
  • TLXOS installation will become more flexible with regard to filesystem sizes. Upgrades will be able to enlarge the base root filesystem (/actualroot) as needed, and if necessary will repartition to enlarge /boot also, although this will necessarily result in loss of midlayer (/config) data, i.e. resetto default settings.
  • TLXOS 5.x will no longer support ARMv6 (Raspberry Pi v1 or original Pi Zero) or 32-bit-only PCs. TLXOS RPi IoT, TLXOS SFF (NUC32/64), and 32-bit capable TLXOS RePC will only exist as 4.x LTS versions, until such time as a TLXOS 5.x LTS baseline is established. A means to transition from NUC32/NUC64 to RePC will be provided.
  • We intend to achieve the TMS 4.x-5.0 transition by means of a TLXOS 4.x update with a TLXOS 5.x-compatible Maintenance Mode image that, when booted, will apply an irreversible TLXOS 5.x layout conversion, i.e. it will merge the Boot and Maintenance Mode partitions. This will put your devices in a kind of “version 4.99” state, from which you can upgrade to 5.0.0, but not downgrade.
  • We have delivered early, in TMS 8.4.0, two of the features that were originally listed as “likely” for inclusion in TMS 9.0.0:
  • Introduction of basic policy, i.e. association of saved profiles with TMS device groups, such that TMS will require any known client to conform to the saved profile linked to the device group of which they are a member, when they check in with TMS.
  • Overhaul of Digital Signage to use out-of-band rsync content synchronization (pull-based) instead of clumsy in-protocol content synchronization (push-based). This will be much more efficient, although clients will require direct access to the rsync service on the TMS server. The older scheme will still be available via a legacy option.
  • We will probably also implement the following formerly-TMS9-likely features prior to TMS 9.0.0:
  • TLXOS licenses will be consolidated into a one-license-fits-all solution, i.e. you will be able to run any edition of TLXOS using a common entitlement. New licenses will be at the higher SFF/RePC cost (USD $15 per device, we have not increased our license fees for over nine years); we will not retroactively compensate SFF/RePC owners with additional entitlements.
  • Improved VPN capabilities, including password-based OpenVPN and Wireguard.
  • The following features currently remain deferred until TMS 9.0.0:
  • Encryption of updates (TLXOS firmware, tms_client, hotfixes) will be removed, and the firmware format will be simplified to be a zip file containing binary firmware object(s) and metadata file(s) in a format that ThinLinX will publicly document, along with optional GPG signature(s). This will allow customers to create their own hotfixes. TMS will check GPG signatures against an approved keyring and report whether or not the update passes signature checks.
  • Upgrade of boot[/TFM] and root filesystems will be completely separate, allowing upgrade to a newer Linux kernel (and Maintenance Mode image) while remaining at the same base firmware version.
  • Rewrite of TMS for internal client-server separation and multi-session capability, i.e. an “always on” background service/daemon component and one or more on-demand GUIs. TMS was not designed for this, so it is a very extensive and ambitious rewrite. TMS GUIs will be able to run on a different host than the service/daemon, and you will be be able to run two or more concurrently.
  • TMS 9.0.0 will introduce the concept of a “filestore” database, whereby downloaded updates, and files installed by the user, will be permanently stored in a hash tree such that clients can request download of such objects by hash rather than by name. This means that files installed using TMS’ “File->Install File” option (e.g. SSH keys and CA certs) will be part of a saved profile, and client devices will automatically download these if they are missing.

Saturday September 17th 2022

Today we have released TLXOS 4.11.0 and TMS 8.4.0, these are very impressive updates on the previous versions

TMS is now available for Windows, Ubuntu Linux, Centos 7, Centos 8, Red Hat 7, Red Hat 8, and for the first time you can now easily install TMS on TLXOS RePC and TLXOS RPi

TLXOS 4.11.0 has been updated with the latest versions of RDP, Citrix HDX, VMware Horizon Blast client and a new Digital Signage mode. Our Digital Signage mode will run on even the lowest powered US$10 Raspberry Pi Zero V1.1 W displaying Images and Videos all the way up to the Raspberry Pi4B / 400 which can display a mixed mode including Images, Videos, Web and PDF content on Dual Displays.

Digital Signage will run on any TLXOS 4.11.0 device including X86 Small Form Factor devices such as Intel NUC’s and any device running TLXOS RePC 4.11.0

Digital Signage Quick Start Guide

Click for TLXOS 4.11.0 Release Notes

Click for TMS 8.4.0 Release notes

Click for Tlxconfig 8.4.0 Release notes

Saturday August 20th 2022

Exciting news!

After eight months of continuous development since our last releases we are now only two weeks out from releasing TLXOS 4.11.0 and TMS 8.4.0. This release started out as 4.10.2 but had a lot of scope creep, has ended up with many complicated new features, and has therefore taken us a long time to develop and test. We expect to release this all in early September

One of the new features which we are very proud of is our new Digital Signage Mode, we have retained the previous Legacy signage which allowed the playing of either Video, Images or Web Content on each display. There was a limitation on devices with only one display as only one type of content could be played at once, the other limitation was the content had to be pushed using our ThinLinX Management Software (TMS) to the client. Minimum hardware required to play Video reliably was a Raspberry Pi 4

Our new Digital Signage mode has a number of significant advantages over the Legacy model, including the ability to play any combination of mixed content on each display Video, Images, multiple Website shortcuts for different Websites and page content via “.url” text files

We have changed the way that content is handled to make it much easier to update content by providing an automatic check for new content every “X” cycles of playing your content. You can set “X” to how often new content should be checked, we now use the very popular “Rsync” to synchronize content using “Pull” from the client end, this allows content to be synchronized behind multiple firewalls on a device located anywhere in the World

Our new upgraded TMS 8.4.0 has a built in Rsync Server which the client device connects to, you can also select a remote Rsync server instead of the version built into TMS if you wish. The minimum device for playing DSI is now the US$15 Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, add TLXOS for US$10 and for a total of US$25 you have the lowest cost DSI device anywhere in the World. We use hardware accelerated Video which allows even the 512MB Ram RPi Zero 2 W to play full screen Video at less than 5% CPU load leading to a low CPU temperature of approximately 40 degrees Celsius. Audio is output automatically using the HDMI Video cable. The only limitation with using an RPi Zero 2 W for DSI is it has insufficient RAM for Web content but is perfect for mixed content of Video and Images.

Other features include, RDP mode now provides a pick list of the last five used usernames when Auto Login and Kiosk Mode are not in use, rather than the most recently used username only, audio quality and stability has also been greatly improved

Software upgrades include Citrix Workspace App 2205, VMware Horizon Client 2203 (RPi) or 2206 (SFF); RePC remains limited to 2012 due to discontinuation of 32-bit x86 port, FreeRDP 2.7.0, tms_client 8.4.0 and Tlxconfig 8.4.0, also various Debian 10.12 package upgrades and bug fixes

We’ve also done some initial work on TLXOS 5.0.0 and TMS 9.0.0, which are even more ambitious due to fundamental design changes and complicated backward compatibility requirements, but this work is on hold for now. A newer kernel (e.g. 5.15) can’t happen until TLXOS 5.0.0 because of fundamental size limitations in 4.x, and this is now desperately needed (e.g. to support the latest x86 hardware), so we’ve taken TLXOS 4.x as far as we can go with the forthcoming 4.11.x series.

We hope you will be as excited about these releases as our team at ThinLinX is!

Saturday December 11th 2021

ThinLinX has today released TLXOS RPi 4.10.1 (Current) & TLXOS 4.8.3 (LTS) with support for the NEW Raspberry Pi 400, RPi4, CM4, RP3, RP2 and the new RPi Zero 2 W.  We have also released TLXOS SFF which supports small Form Factor devices with Intel or AMD CPU’s, and TLXOS RePC for Re-Purposing older hardware and Laptops as Thin Clients

This release contains a number of new features including Parallels RAS (formerly 2X) mode, based on RASClient version 16.5.3, we have also added an out-of-tree Wireguard kernel module to allow the use of very popular Wireguard VPN in addition to our OpenVPN support.

Our Digital Signage solution has also had a number of enhancements and various bugs fixed

Please see the links below to review all the new features bug fixes etc

Click here for TLXOS 4.10.1 Release notes

Click here for TLXOS 4.8.3 Release notes

Click here for Tlxconfig and tms_client release notes

We expect that TLXOS 4.10.1 will probably be the last progressive TLXOS release in the 4.x series, although 4.x will continue for some time as Long Term Stable (LTS).

TLXOS 5.0.0 and TMS 9.0.0 will include the following improvements:

Guaranteed features:

Encryption of updates (TLXOS firmware, tms_client, hotfixes) will be removed, and the firmware format will be simplified to be a zip file containing binary firmware object(s) and metadata file(s) in a format that ThinLinX will publicly document, along with optional GPG signature(s).  This will allow customers to create their own hotfixes.  TMS will check GPG signatures against an approved keyring and report whether or not the update passes signature checks.

  • TLXOS 5.x releases will be based on Debian 11 (Bullseye), and will initially feature a 5.10 Linux kernel.
  • TLXOS will no longer have a separate Maintenance Mode partition (or Linux kernel).  Maintenance Mode be merged into the /boot filesystem, as an alternative initramfs that will use the same kernel as Normal Mode.
  • TLXOS installation will become more flexible with regard to filesystem sizes. Upgrades will be able to enlarge the base root filesystem (/actualroot) as needed, and if necessary will repartition to enlarge /boot also, although this will necessarily result in loss of midlayer (/config) data, i.e. reset to default settings.
  • Upgrade of boot[/TFM] and root filesystems will be completely separate, allowing upgrade to a newer Linux kernel (and Maintenance Mode image) while remaining at the same base firmware version.
    Likely features (not finalized, and subject to change):
  • Rewrite of TMS for internal client-server separation and multi-session capability, i.e. an “always on” background service/daemon component and one or more on-demand GUIs.  TMS was not designed for this, so it is a very extensive and ambitious rewrite.  TMS GUIs will be able to run on a different host than the service/daemon, and you will be able to run two or more concurrently.
  • TLXOS licenses will be consolidated into a one-license-fits-all solution, i.e. you will be able to run any edition of TLXOS using a common entitlement. New licenses will be at the higher SFF/RePC cost (USD $15 per device); we will not retroactively compensate SFF/RePC owners with additional entitlements.
  • TMS 9.0.0 will introduce the concept of a “filestore” database, whereby downloaded updates, and files installed by the user, will be permanently stored in a hash tree such that clients can request download of such objects by hash rather than by name.  This means that files installed using TMS’ “File->Install File” option (e.g. SSH keys and CA certs) will be part of a saved profile, and client devices will automatically download these if they are missing.
  • Introduction of basic policy, i.e. association of saved profiles with TMS device groups, such that TMS will require any known client to conform to the saved profile linked to the device group of which they are a member, when they check in with TMS.
  • Overhaul of Digital Signage to use out-of-band rsync content synchronization (pull-based) instead of clumsy in-protocol content synchronization (push-based).  This will be much more efficient, although clients will require direct access to the rsync service on the TMS server. The older scheme will still be available via a legacy option.
  • Improved VPN capabilities, including password-based OpenVPN and Wireguard.

Monday June 7th  2021

ThinLinX has today released our first Mobile LIVE version of TLXOS 4.10.0 RePC, this is available by clicking on the download Icon above. Once downloaded insert a blank USB stick and double click on the .exe file to unpack the image and write it to the USB stick. A few minutes later you can unplug the USB stick and insert into Laptops or PC’s to run TLXOS as a LIVE session that is NOT installed to the hardware but runs entirely from the USB stick. The LIVE USB version of TLXOS can NOT be used for installation, it can only run TLXOS not install TLXOS, rendering your Laptop or PC data safe from accidental erasure. Please read the updated TLXOS user guide for more information (which will be released later today)

Monday May 17th 2021

ThinLinX has today released TLXOS 4.10.0 (Current) & TLXOS 4.8.2 (LTS) with support for the NEW Raspberry Pi 400, Pi4, P3, P2, CM3, CM4, small Form Factor devices with Intel or AMD CPU’s, and RePC for Re-Purposing older hardware and Laptops as Thin Clients

This release contains a number of new features including Parallels RAS (formerly 2X) mode, based on RASClient version 16.5.3, we have also added an out-of-tree Wireguard kernel module to allow the use of very popular Wireguard VPN in addition to our OpenVPN support.

Our Digital Signage solution has also had a number of enhancements and various bugs fixed

Please see the links below to review all the new features bug fixes etc

Click here for TLXOS 4.10.0 Release notes

Click here for TLXOS 4.8.2 Release notes

Click here for TMS 8.3.0 release notes

Click here for Tlxconfig and tms_client release notes

Thursday February 04 2021

ThinLinX has today released TLXOS 4.9.3 (Current) & TLXOS 4.8.1 (LTS) with support for the NEW Raspberry Pi 400, Pi4, P3, P2, CM3, CM4, small Form Factor devices with Intel or AMD CPU’s, and RePC for Re-Purposing older hardware and Laptops as Thin Clients

We have also integrated Microsoft “Teams for Linux” as a local App, this provides an excellent Video Conferencing solution especially on the more powerful RPi 400 and of course all X86 versions of TLXOS

The installers are available as a download from the ThinLinX Website, or in the case of the Raspberry Pi series as a download from the ThinLinX Website, via any RPi NOOBS installer, or by using the new RPi-Imager available from the RPi Website

TLXOS 4.9.3 and 4.8.1 support Diskless booting of X86 devices and the RPi400, RPi4 and RPi3 and Provision Mode on the RPi 400 and RPi 4 where TLXOS can be installed via PXE boot with a blank SD Card fitted into the RPI 400 or RPi 4, see the ThinLinX Management Software (TMS) and TLXOS user guides for more information on howto setup Diskless and Provision modes
The RPi 400 and RPi 4 EEPROM has to be updated to enable PXE boot, ThinLinX will provide a zip file that is copied to a blank SD Card then booted on a RPi 400 or RPi 4 to activate PXE boot mode

Click here for the TLXOS 4.9.3 Release Notes

A updated version of the ThinLinX Management Software (TMS) has also been released

Click here for the TLXOS 4.8.1 Release notes

Friday December 04 2020

ThinLinX has today released TLXOS 4.9.2 with support for the NEW Raspberry Pi 400, Pi4, P3, CM3 & CM4
We have also integrated Microsoft “Teams for Linux” as a local App, this provides an excellent Video Conferencing solution especially on the more powerful RPi 400
The installer is available as a download from the ThinLinX Website, or by using the new RPi-Imager available from the RPi Website or via any RPi NOOBS installer

TLXOS 4.9.2 supports Diskless booting of the RPi400, RPi4 and RPi3 and Provision Mode on the RPi 400 and RPi 4 where TLXOS can be installed via PXE boot with a blank SD Card fitted into the RPI 400 or RPi 4, see the ThinLinX Management Software (TMS) and TLXOS user guides for more information on howto setup Diskless and Provision modes
The RPi 400 and RPi 4 EEPROM has to be updated to enable PXE boot, ThinLinX will provide a zip file that is copied to a blank SD Card then booted on a RPi 400 or RPi 4 to activate PXE boot mode

Click here for the TLXOS 4.9.2 Release Notes

A updated version of the ThinLinX Management Software (TMS) has also been released

Click here for the TMS 8.2.3 Release Notes

Monday October 26 2020

ThinLinX has today released TLXOS 4.9.1

Click here for the TLXOS 4.9.1 Release Notes

Tuesday June 16 2020

ThinLinX has just released TLXOS 4.8.0, TLXOS 4.9.0 and TMS 8.2.0

• TLXOS 4.8.0 will be the final release for NUC32 and RPi IoT, and that it is an older release than 4.7.1 in that it is based on Debian 8 (Jessie) rather than Debian 9 (Stretch), but newer with regard to TMS agent functionality and bug fixes.

• What’s the difference between 4.8.0 and 4.9.0? The short answer is that 4.8.0 has older versions of Horizon Client, Citrix Receiver and the Chromium web browser, and uses ext2 (no compression, faster) rather than reiser4 (with compression, slower) for its main filesystem. Otherwise they’re functionally very similar.

• Starting with the new TLXOS 4.8.0 and TLXOS 4.9.0 Licenses never expire, we have removed the previous requirement to buy a new License every three years (renewal was needed if you wanted to upgrade firmware after three years)

• If you are running an older version of TLXOS, to see the support expiry change to “Never”, you can just upgrade to the latest TLXOS 4.8.0, 4.9.0 or install the new TMS Client end 8.2.0, also ensure that you have upgraded TMS to the new TMS 8.2.0

Click here for the Latest Release Notes

Click here for the NEW TMS User Manual