I have a web-based bussines application written in C#/ASP.NET
Recently my boss start pushing to re-write the app as Linux multi-user desktop application. In his design users will need to connect to Linux server via VNC or alike to use the app.
I am not familiar with this kind of application design. I'd appretiate any help explainig pros and cons of this approach vs. web and perhaps vs. traditional client-server design
Thank you
Oh, boy that's some client-server design :) So VNC to Linux with some sort of terminal technology and use full-featured application. Obviously your boss wants desktop-reach app with all the facilities of desktop available (native widgets, disk access, etc) So your best bet to sell him something like Silverlite or GXT (if he hates MS technology) to demonstrate that web-app can be just as (or almost) powerful and secure as desktop app
In my opinion as the question is asked, this sounds incredibly backward. I can understand moving the server to a LAMP stack or using Mono on the Linux server and porting the existing app. Having a bunch of people using VNC to connect to the app does not sound like a very good idea.
Developing a Linux server piece along with a client app sounds like a way to go too - if one wanted to move away from a web-based thing.
That is not such of a far fetched idea as it sounds. As an hosted application the organization has a bit more control over who sees the application. However, this way of going about the problem may create more problems than its worth. My suggestion is to go with an Web application. It would be easier to maintain, easier to make it asethically pleasing, easier to manage, and easier to move from server to server. Creating a distributed linux app for an small audience tends to require quite a bit of support and can lock your organization into legacy applications. Also... trust prebuilt frameworks [with web apps], don't reinvent the wheel.