When Explore Learning opened its doors in 2002, the UK tutoring provider faced a familiar IT dilemma: how to deliver a consistent Windows experience to students across dozens of locations without breaking the bank on hardware and maintenance. The answer arrived in 2014 with an unconventional choice—Raspberry Pi. Since then, the company has rolled out several thousand Pi-based thin clients across roughly 95 centres, using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to connect each student workstation to centrally managed Windows virtual desktops. The post on WindowsForum details how the setup has enabled reliable, low-cost access to educational software while slashing power consumption and simplifying IT management.
This model bucks the trend of expensive endpoint hardware and thick-client management in education. By substituting £35 single-board computers for traditional PCs, Explore Learning maintains a fleet of devices that boot in seconds, draw under 5 watts each, and rarely fail—all while offering a full Windows 10 or 11 experience via RDP.
The Thin-Client Architecture in Practice
At the heart of the deployment is a classic server-based computing model. Each learning centre houses a local server—or connects over a secure VPN to a central data centre—running Windows Server with the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) role, or more recently, Windows 10/11 Enterprise multi-session with Azure Virtual Desktop. Students sit down at a Raspberry Pi unit connected to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The Pi boots a lightweight, read-only Linux distribution configured solely to launch an RDP client and connect to a user session on the server.
From the student’s perspective, the desktop looks and feels like a standard Windows PC. They can run Microsoft Office, web browsers, and specialised tutoring software without realising the heavy lifting happens elsewhere. For IT staff, the arrangement means a single Windows image can serve every workstation, with updates and applications deployed once centrally rather than on dozens of individual machines.
Why Raspberry Pi?
The Raspberry Pi Foundation originally designed its credit-card-sized computers to promote coding education, but the device’s low cost, small footprint, and sufficient processing power for RDP tasks made it a natural fit for thin-client use cases. Explore Learning’s reported deployment likely spans multiple Pi generations—from the original Model B+ with 512MB RAM to the current Pi 5 with up to 8GB. The key requirement is not raw CPU grunt but a stable network connection, hardware-accelerated video decode for a smooth remote desktop experience, and enough RAM to run the local operating system and RDP viewer.
A typical configuration uses a Pi 3B+, Pi 4, or Pi 5 running a custom Raspbian Lite or specialised thin-client OS like WTware or ThinLinX. The Pi boots from a write-protected SD card or, in more recent models, from network boot via PXE, removing the risk of storage corruption and allowing a completely stateless endpoint. If a Pi ever fails, swapping in a new one takes minutes without reimaging.
Connecting to Windows Virtual Desktops
The protocol of choice is Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol, which provides a fluid, bi-directional experience for clipboard sharing, printer redirection, and local drive mapping. Explore Learning may use the open-source FreeRDP client, the official Microsoft Remote Desktop app for Linux (which runs on ARM-based architectures), or a commercial alternative optimised for the Pi’s GPU. For server-side deployments, common options include:
- Windows Server 2016/2019/2022 with RDS: Delivers session-based desktops where multiple users share one server OS. Ideal for locking down student environments.
- Azure Virtual Desktop (formerly Windows Virtual Desktop): A cloud-hosted service that runs Windows 10/11 multi-session on Azure infrastructure. This shifts management overhead to the cloud while still allowing Pi endpoints.
- Windows 10/11 Enterprise multi-session on-premises: Available through a Microsoft software assurance subscription, it offers a true desktop experience similar to Windows 10/11 but allows multiple concurrent users.
Given the age of the deployment (circa 2014), it’s plausible Explore Learning began with Windows Server RDS and may now be hybrid with Azure Virtual Desktop for scalability and disaster recovery.
Measured Benefits: Beyond the Price Tag
The WindowsForum discussion highlights several concrete advantages that resonate with any IT manager overseeing multiple educational sites.
1. Hardware Cost Reduction
A single Raspberry Pi kit—including case, power supply, and SD card—costs between £40 and £80, compared to £300–£600 for a basic business desktop PC. When scaled to thousands of seats, the savings reach six figures. Moreover, the Pi’s low power draw (2–5 watts vs 50–100 watts for a typical desktop) translates into noticeable savings on electricity, a hidden cost in large computer labs.
2. Centralised Management and Security
With no local data stored on the thin client, security risks plummet. Students cannot install unauthorised software, introduce malware, or tamper with system settings. IT staff manage all permissions, updates, and software through Group Policy on the RDS hosts or via the Azure portal. A single golden image can be replicated instantly, and session hosts can be rebuilt on the fly without touching endpoints.
3. Reliability and Longevity
Raspberry Pis have no moving parts—no fans, no hard drives—so they fail far less often than conventional PCs. In the tutoring environment, where downtime means lost revenue and frustrated parents, this reliability is critical. The expected lifespan of a Pi as a thin client often exceeds five years, with many devices still chugging along after a decade with only an SD card refresh.
4. Quiet and Cool Operation
The fanless design makes Pi thin clients completely silent, a boon in classroom settings where noise from dozens of computer fans can be distracting. They generate negligible heat, so centres avoid expensive air conditioning upgrades.
5. Rapid Deployment and Scalability
New centres can be outfitted in record time. IT staff pre-configure Pi SD cards or set up network boot templates centrally, then ship them to the centre. On-site personnel simply plug in the Pi, connect it to the network, and turn it on—it automatically fetches its configuration and connects to the desktop. This brick-and-mortar scalability has allowed Explore Learning to open new locations without a proportional increase in IT headcount.
Real-World Challenges and Mitigations
No technology deployment is without hiccups, and the Raspberry Pi thin client approach has its share. The WindowsForum thread and related community discussions reveal several pain points that Explore Learning had to navigate—or continues to improve upon.
Multimedia Performance
RDP is not inherently designed for high-frame-rate video or 3D graphics. While the latest versions of RDP (starting with RDP 10 in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016) support RemoteFX and AVC/H.264 codec for video, achieving smooth playback of educational animations or YouTube clips can still stutter on underpowered Pis. Placement of a local hardware-accelerated video player like Kodi or using the Pi’s browser with remote session fallback is a common workaround.
USB Redirection
In a tutoring context, students may need to plug in USB flash drives, headphones, or specialised input devices. RDP supports USB redirection, but not all devices work flawlessly, and the Pi’s limited USB bandwidth (shared with Ethernet on some models) can cause lag. IT admins often configure selective redirection policies, allowing only certain device classes.
Dual-Monitor Support
The demand for multiple monitors is growing in education. The Pi 4 and Pi 5 support dual HDMI outputs, and RDP clients can span the remote session across displays. However, ensuring consistent resolution and alignment requires careful display configuration on the Linux side.
Network Dependency
Because all computation happens on the server, a thin-client setup is only as robust as the network. A single point of failure—be it a flaky switch or an overwhelmed internet connection—can bring an entire centre to a standstill. Explore Learning likely mitigates this with local RDS servers at each site, reducing dependency on wide-area network uptime.
Printing
Printing from a remote desktop can be complex. RDP’s built-in Easy Print redirection works with many printers, but driver compatibility on the server side often necessitates installing manufacturer drivers for every printer model used across centres. Some organisations sidestep this by using cloud print services or dedicated local print servers.
Community Insights and Common Questions
WindowsForum users who manage similar deployments frequently discuss topics such as:
- Which OS image to use? Debate rages between Raspbian Lite with xfreerdp, ThinLinX’s purpose-built thin-client OS, and Stratodesk’s NoTouch. Each promises better performance, management, or licensing.
- Are ARM64 Windows thin clients viable? With Windows on ARM for PCs, some wonder if a Windows 10 IoT Core or Windows 10 ARM on Pi could natively run RDP without Linux layers. However, official support remains sparse, and the performance overhead often negates the simplicity.
- How to handle video conferencing? As platforms like Zoom and Teams demand more local processing, hybrid setups where the Pi runs the conferencing app locally while displaying the remote desktop via a window are gaining traction. The Pi 4/5’s improved CPU makes this feasible.
- Licensing complexities: Microsoft’s VDA or RDS CAL requirements can surprise newcomers. Each user or device accessing a Windows virtual desktop must be properly licensed, a non-trivial cost that partially offsets hardware savings.
Comparative Table: Raspberry Pi Models as Thin Clients
| Model | CPU Cores | RAM | Max Displays | Gigabit Ethernet | USB 3.0 | Practical RDP Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pi 3B+ | 4x ARMv8 | 1 GB | 1x 1080p | No (Fast Ethernet over USB) | No | Adequate for simple office tasks; minor lag |
| Pi 4 (2 GB) | 4x ARMv8 | 2 GB | 2x 4K | Yes | Yes (2) | Smooth for most education workloads; video fine |
| Pi 4 (4/8 GB) | 4x ARMv8 | 4/8 GB | 2x 4K | Yes | Yes (2) | Handles multimedia and multitasking well |
| Pi 5 (4/8 GB) | 4x ARMv8 | 4/8 GB | 2x 4Kp60 | Yes | Yes | Near-desktop responsiveness; future-proof |
| Pi 400 | 4x ARMv8 (Pi 4 board) | 4 GB | 2x 4K | Yes | Yes (1) | All-in-one form factor good for labs |
The Road Ahead: Cloud, VDI, and the Post-Pandemic Classroom
Explore Learning’s decade-long reliance on Raspberry Pi thin clients offers a blueprint for the modern, cost-conscious educational institution. As the world shifts toward hybrid learning and cloud-first strategies, the principles remain: separate the endpoint from the compute, manage centrally, and minimise energy consumption.
Microsoft’s Azure Virtual Desktop continues to mature, with features like multimedia redirection, Teams optimisations, and GPU-enabled session hosts that promise a richer remote experience even on modest hardware. For Pi enthusiasts, the growing support for ARM64 in the Linux RDP clients and the possibility of Windows 11 ARM on devices like the Pi could eventually eliminate the performance gap entirely.
Ultimately, the Explore Learning case is not just about wringing every penny from IT budgets—it’s about the agility to focus on teaching, not troubleshooting. When a device’s entire state can vanish at the flick of a power switch and reappear ready for the next student, that’s not just efficient administration; it’s a fundamentally different way of imagining the classroom. As one WindowsForum contributor put it, “The children don’t know or care what’s under the desk. They just see Windows, and that’s exactly the point.”