What is network computing (thin client)?

A Thin client is a simple client program or hardware device which depends primarily on the central server for processing activities because it has little or no application logic. A thin client is a network computer without a hard disk drive, which, in client/server applications, is designed to be especially small so that the bulk of the data processing occurs on the server.

SPEED thin client:

Speed is a thin client hardware device that depends primarily on the central server for processing activities.
Speed is a thin client that also regarded as an advertisement.
Speed is a thin client that also used as a digital photo frame with out frame.
Speed is a SD/MMC/MS/USB player who will instead of HDD Media Player.
Speed is a DVD player without servo.

History of thin client

What are now called thin clients were originally called graphical terminals when they first appeared, because they were a natural development of the text terminals that had gone before them. (Text terminals are generally not classified as thin clients, because they are from an earlier computing era.)

X terminals were a relatively popular form of graphical terminal in the 1990s.

It is likely that the term "thin client" started to be used instead of "graphical terminal" for the following reasons:

• When thin clients started to come back into vogue, fat clients had long been the norm in most environments. Many IT workers and managers used to working with fat clients such as PCs and Macs would have been unfamiliar with the term "graphical terminal".

• The term "thin client" is more descriptive and relevant than "graphical terminal", in an age in which all desktop computing devices have graphical capabilities.

• As a marketing term, it sounds short and snappy – and also, importantly, it made the technology sound innovative and technologically advanced, even though it was neither – X terminals had been acting as thin clients years before the term was widely used in the IT industry.

Thin Client Network Computing Application Program

A thin client as an application program communicates with an application server, relying on a separate piece of software for the most significant elements of its business logic. A thin client does most of its processing at the central server based computer (server based computing), the thin client with as little hardware and software as possible, and as much as possible at some centralized managed site.

However, a great deal of software today is typically included in the base boot image of a thin client, specifically to support various user applications running on the server, so that it need not be reinstalled on every computer. Often, a departmental boot image is prepared to include applications specific to a department.

Thin Client User-Interface Device

The thin client network computing device is specifically designed to provide just those functions which are useful for user-interface programs. Because they may become corrupted by the installation of misbehaved or incompatible software, often such devices do not include hard disk drives. But instead, in the interests of low maintenance cost and increased mean-time between failures, the thin client network computing device will use read-only storage such as a CD-ROM, Network Virtual Drive, or flash memory. The user will have only a screen, a keyboard, a pointing device (if needed), and enough computer to handle display and communications.

Software thin client

Most thin clients are software-only however, and run on standard PC hardware. One example of this software-only thin client is PXES Universal Linux Thin Client and Pilotlinux. Knoppix is also actively pursuing this market, as is ThinStation. (See also Puppy Linux. Hopnetix is a diskless, network booting thin client software that runs from a Windows server platform, similar to (and potentially licensed from) Neoware Image Manager software. Neoware Image Manager allows a diskless client to stream a complete system disk "on-demand" from a file server. In that perspective, it replaces the IDE or SCSI cable that connects a disk drive to a motherboard by a network protocol and a server that shares virtual disk drives to the client. Another example on the Windows platform is the BeTwin program, which uses extra VGA/DVI graphics ports, or cards, in the host PC plus USB connected keyboards and mice to enable additional workstations.

Advantages of Thin Client Network Computing

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 network computing 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 computing 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.

Lower Energy Consumption - Dedicated thin client network computing hardware has much lower energy consumption than thick client PCs. This not only reduces energy costs but may mean that in some cases air-conditioning systems are not required or need not be upgraded which can be a significant cost saving and contribute to achieving energy saving targets.
Worthless to Most Thieves - Thin client hardware, whether dedicated or simply older hardware that has been repurposed via cascading, is useless outside a thin computing environment. Burglars interested in computer equipment have a much harder time fencing thin client hardware (and it is less valuable).
Hostile Environments - Most devices have no moving parts so they can be used in dusty thin computing environments without the worry of PC fans clogging up and overheating and burning out the PC.

Less Network Bandwidth - Since terminal servers typically reside on the same high-speed network backbone as file servers, most network traffic is confined to the server room. In a fat client environment, if you open a 10MB document that's 10MB transferred from the file server to your PC. When you save it, that's another 10MB from your PC to the server. When you print it the same happens again - another 10MB over the network to your file server and another 10MB back to the printer. This is highly inefficient. In a thin client network computing environment only mouse movements, keystrokes and screen updates are transmitted from / to the end user. Over efficient protocols such as ICA this can consume as little as 5Kbps bandwidth.

Industrial Thin Client Applications

Since 2006 there has been a growing interest in using Thin Client technology in hazardous areas, such as oil & gas exploration, military mobile use to monitor gen sets and mobile missile installations, and in industry in Zone 1 areas where hardened industrial computers can be prohibitively expensive. Thin Client hardware is easier to seal against environmental hazards and contamination, and can sometimes withstand a wider temperature and vibration level, due to simplified components and lack of moving parts, such as hard drives.

Flash memory is a critical component of these Thin Client terminals. With sufficient Flash (solid-state) memory and the ability to install user firmware and PCI cards, a Thin Client can perform most of the functions that a user would want to perform at these locations, typically called "point-of-attack" or "rig floor". The Thin Client can be equipped with a sealed membrane keypad for operator interface, and I/O (input/output) connectors that allow the Thin Client to be hooked up to a remote location and perform data recording of processes or history of connected device readings, that could be anything from radar to pumps to drilling apparatus.

Industrial Thin Clients typically operate on embedded software systems such as Windows® CE.net or Windows XP® Embedded Ethernet (trademark products of Microsoft). Industrial clients typically prefer an OS (operating system) environment in which the Thin Client can easily interface with proprietary firmware (software embedded in memory on a PCB card), and communications often interface with a hosting central computer in a safe environment control room. Ethernet protocol is a preferred network means of interfacing the computers, Thin Clients, and devices being monitored and controlled.

Fiber networks and wireless interface are also popular to enhance versatility in location and installation of Thin Clients. Encryption of data is usually a priority, and wireless options need to rely on a fast Ethernet radio transmitter using 11Mbps 2.4GHz 802.11 output, otherwise data transmission speed and security can be compromised.

Ruggedized Thin Client products therefore enable easy-to-employ industry standard network creation and control at hazardous area zones for less cost and with less risk of failure than full computer systems. In fact, in the first quarter of 2007, mandates have been created by the US Armed Forces to look at Thin Client solutions in all field applications. The military is primarily interested in Thin Client technology in the field due to its improved cost control, more robust construction, less vulnerability to failure and security breaches, lesser weight and greater mobility, and lower incidence of OS failures.