Thin Clients

Thin Clients

A thin client is a computer (client) in client-server architecture networks which has little or no application logic, so it has to depend primarily on the central server for processing activities. The word "thin" refers to the small boot image which such clients typically require - perhaps no more than required to connect to a network and start up a dedicated web browser or "Remote Desktop" connection such as X11, Citrix ICA or Microsoft RDP.
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Advantages of thin clients
Obviously, boot image control is much simpler when only thin clients are used - typically a single boot image can accommodate a very wide range of user needs, and be managed centrally, resulting in:

• Lower IT admin costs. Thin clients are managed almost entirely at the server. The hardware has fewer points of failure and the local environment is highly restricted (and often stateless), providing protection from malware.
• Easier to secure. Thin clients can be designed so that no application data ever resides on the client (it is entirely rendered), centralizing malware protection.
Lower hardware costs. Thin client hardware is generally cheaper because it does not contain a disk, application memory, or a powerful processor. They also generally have a longer period before requiring an upgrade or becoming obsolete. The total hardware requirements for a thin client system (including both servers and clients) is usually much lower compared to a system with fat clients. One reason for this is that the hardware is better utilized. A CPU in a fat workstation is idle most of the time. With thin clients, memory can be shared. If several users are running the same application, it only needs to be loaded into RAM once with a central server. With fat clients, each workstation must have its own copy of the program in memory.
• Worthless to thieves. Thin client hardware, whether dedicated or simply older hardware that has been repurposed via cascading, is useless or of little interest outside a client-server environment. Burglars interested in computer equipment have a much harder time fencing thin client hardware (and it is less valuable).

Excerpt from "Thin client." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 29 Apr 2006, 01:40 UTC. 1 May 2006, 13:13 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thin_client&oldid=50676825