What is a thin client?

A thin client is a computer without a hard drive. It operates on the mainframe paradigm. All instructions and sessions take place on a central, secure server. Each thin client has its own session and operates independently from others. As thin clients have no hard drives, there is no loss of data if a thin client is damaged or has a local power failure.

Why use a thin client instead of a regular PC?

The main reason thin clients are better than PCs is because they offer ‘lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)’. By reducing maintenance and installation time, thin clients keep downtime to an absolute minimum. Take the example of a business that has a server and five PCs. Assume that this business needs to apply a security patch for an application that’s installed on all the PCs; it would need to install and configure all five PCs, one at a time.

With a thin client an update on the server ensures that all thin clients are running the latest software. Client management and maintenance is centralised. It attempts to address staffing shortages, data privacy and security issues, and the quest for value from technology purchases. Centralising core functions of processing, disk storage, memory, applications and operating systems shifts the requirement for performance significantly, with the entire burden being placed on one or more back-end servers.

What are the advantages of a thin client?

Thin clients can be used anywhere you would normally have a PC. With thin clients being less expensive on a per-seat basis, more seats can be made available. Since servers usually have large hard drives, the user hard drive space is considerable, and data backup is simple. Most thin clients come with displays that work at up to 1600 x 1200 resolution, and top-end models come with flat panel displays.

Thin client computing is secure as there are no removable drives and users cannot insert disks that may contain viruses. They permit rapid, system-wide application or operating system upgrades. Since applications are stored on a centralised server, it is possible to upgrade thin client servers within four hours or less.

When should one use a thin client?

Thin clients are useful when a company needs several workstations with substantially lower TCO, and the workload isn’t very heavy (CAD/animation and other heavy-duty tasks require an engineering workstation.) Thin clients can be handy in harsh factory conditions or when a company doesn’t have the time or money to hire IT staff to keep its industrial or office systems up and running.

What is a thin client computing environment?

A thin client is similar to a traditional PC, except that it has minimal hardware as the computing and data storage takes place on the server. Thin clients have low-power, high-performance CPUs and decent graphics capabilities. The power requirements for thin clients tend to be on the lower side. They are usually compact with many present-day thin clients built within the display device, or externally mounted behind or beneath a flat panel or CRT.

The thin client operating system is usually loaded on the thin client flash memory or other programmable memory. The typical operating systems on these machines are Windows CE or Linux. Some browser applications may be available. Having a resident browser shifts the computing load from the host to the client to some extent. This is acceptable as long as the client has flash or similar non-volatile memory to maintain user settings, bookmarks, cache, etc.