What are Thin Clients?
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. Typically, thin Clients are low powered computers that (strictly speaking) do not have a hard disk drive. If there is no hard disk drive, there is no operating system installed also.


If there is no hard disk drive and no operating system, how does it work? How does it boot up?

All Thin Clients boot up directly from a server which is running the operating system (Windows
2003 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server or even Linux). Thin Clients may boot either directly from the server via PXE boot and then connect to it or boot up from locally installed mini disk running Windows XP embedded (Win XPe), Windows CE embedded
(Win CEe) or Linux embedded (Le) and then connect to the server. Once connected to the server, the user gets the log in screen of the operating system running on the server.
Please bear in mind that booting from a server and connecting to a server are two different
processes, since you can have more than one server - one simply for booting up and the second or even a third or more for connecting to (where the applications are installed and processing takes place) depending upon architecture. If required, an enterprise can also go in for a hybrid architecture consisting of both Windows and Linux Terminal servers.


Where are the various applications installed and user data stored?

All applications are installed on the connecting server and every user has his own
"My Documents" folder created where his profile, documents, etc. are stored.


If all files and documents of all users are stored on the same server on the same storage device, can one user not access or read the files of another user?

As stated above, every user has his own "My Documents" folder created. No user can access or
even get into another user's "My Documents" folder unless specifically permitted to do so. This,
of course, will require an NTFS file storge system and not the FAT32.

What kind of applications and software can one install and run in a Thin Client environment?

All programs of everyday life can be used with Thin Clients...to name a few MS Office; various
various browsers for surfing; e-mail clients like Outlook Express, Microsoft Outlook, etc.; ERP
packages - including SAP; Coreldraw, Adobe Photoshop, Pagemaker, Tally, MS SQL based
packages, chatting (using keyboard) programs and even open source and customized packages.

Which software packages cannot be used?

Heavy graphical games, animation packages like Maya and such others that require a very fast
screen refresh cannot be used.

How many Thin Clients can be run on a single server?

This depends upon the server hardware configuration and the programs/applications that are
installed on that particular server. Typically, a small office with 10 Thin Clients can be well
served by a P-IV machine with 1GB of RAM. Increase the RAM to 2GB and the users to 20 to 25
without any problem. For users on an enterprise level, a Xeon based server with dual or more processors, a minimum of 4GB RAM and redundancy on storage devices by way of RAID, network adaptors and power supply unit is recommended. Load balancing technology with additional servers prevents any single server from reaching critical levels. These are of course, broad guidelines. Actual server hardware and architecture will most definitely vary from case to case.

Won't running so many Thin Clients on one server slow it down or kill it altogether?

No. This will not happen since the server hardware is sized taking into account the number of
Thin Clients that are to be run and the software/applications to be installed on it. Besides, all processing is taking place electronically without any moving parts except the hard
disk drive. Load balancing technology is employed to prevent server crashes.

Can one install a printer on a Thin Client node?

Yes. Most printers can be installed on a Thin Client node either on a parallel port or USB port. The printer is physically installed on the Thin Client node but in configured on the server as a local printer printing to a TCP/IP port. In case of embedded systems, the printer in configured locally on the Thin Client itself.

What devices can a Thin Client access locally?

Most devices like local hard disk drives, pen drives, floppy disk drives and optical drives can be
accessed by the Thin Client without any problem. For other devices like scanners, multi function
devices and CD/DVD writer, if required on a Thin Client, our embedded systems are recommended, one that is running Win XPe.

Will 'Touch Screens' work with Thin Clients?

Yes, very much with our Win XPe range.

What about Thin Clients and Citrix?

Citrix metaframe server installed on the Remote Server will enable the Thin Clients to work across a relatively slow WAN link also by using the ICA protocol instead of Remote Desktop (RDP).

What about DOS? Can I run DOS progams on my Thin Clients?

Most definitely, yes!! You can run DOS programs in FULL SCREEN.

Can I have a hard disk on my Thin Client?

Of course!!! Though not required, but if you do have or want a hard disk, you have a dual boot system, whereby you can work either on the server or on the local hard disk.

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 centralized 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.