Since the term ‘thin clients’ was introduced in 1993 by Tim Negris of Oracle, thin clients have become very popular especially in large corporations with thousands of computer nodes or digital academic libraries that serve thousands of students. Thin computing also lean or slim computing refers to using a computer or computer program that is almost fully reliant on another computer usually a server for it to function. The server or a fully independent PC is called a fat client. In an office where employees use computers only for spreadsheets, word processing, email and web access or a digital library where students only need PCs to access digital records; stocking the library or offices with full PCs (fat clients) is costly and resource extensive. When doing tasks like web access very little resources are used in a full PC. In such a scenario, thin clients can be implemented. Pros of thin clients: • Thin client hardware is cheaper to buy and set up compared to normal computers. In terms of operation costs, thin clients have lower power consumption and longer life spans as opposed to fat clients. • It’s very easy to maintain and deploy thin clients for configurations and data are maintained by the server. If a thin client breaks down, replacing the faulty thin client is all that is needed. No configurations or installation of software. • Services can be easily accessed remotely using thin clients making remote working efficient and secure. A remote worker can connect to the central office with the thin client via the Internet and all resources necessary will be availed just like in a normal office. • Thin clients enable use of strict security measures since all the clients access the servers under the same medium (network). System administrators can efficiently monitor clients and resources from a central location. • In a thin client environment there are fewer chances of malware infections since traffic from the Internet can be monitored from the server. Thin clients that only use peripherals like display, keyboard and mice have no way of getting infections from the user’s portable devices. Cons of thin clients: • Since multiple thin clients depend on a single server, it creates a sole point of failure. Should the server go offline, so will the thin clients. This can be addressed by use of hot swappable and redundant hardware. • Performance in a thin client environment is constricted to how powerful the servers are. If low quality hardware or software is used, it can lead to enterprise wide performance degradation. • Setting up and maintaining thin clients require highly qualified technicians and a very secure and reliable network. This can be costly and time consuming. Thin computing can be termed as environmental friendly due to low heat and carbon emissions, low power consumption and low electronic wastes due to their prolonged life time. Development in thin computing has led to ultra thin clients that save on licensing costs for they don’t use operating systems and web thin clients that run on web OS eliminating a single point of failure. Category:Home › Other • Pomegranates: A newly discovered superfood • Where did the joke why did the chicken cross the road come from and why is it funny? • Can mothers diagnosed with bipolar disorder make good parents? • Spiritual evolution of human consciousness • Tips for getting a college basketball scholarship • Living with Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) • Caring for the caregiver • Technologys impact on society