To understand thin clients we'll have to take a step back in time to the days of the mainframe computer. In the early days of computing a user would have to use a "dumb" terminal to interface with the mainframe server to enter and receive data. They were called this because they had no real processing power of their own.
All of the processing power was housed in the central mainframe therefore it alone would process all request from the users/terminals connected to it. Since no data was stored or processed by the "dumb" terminal, there was virtually no cost to maintain a terminal.
In the late 1970's and the early 1980's the computing power was shifted to the desktop or "user" by companies like Microsoft® and Apple Computer®. This was a welcome change as it presented a lot more power to the user.
As personal computers (PCs) became more powerful and operating systems more robust, the chore of maintaining the PCs quickly became a fulltime job. IT became its own department just to keep up with system patches, fight viruses, and support basic software upgrades.
Along with bringing great power and ease of use to the desktop, PCs also brought some unforeseen problems. Now users could exercise a great deal of control over their own workstations and when servers started to enter the workplace, those same users were able to share all manner of non-productive material across a corporate network.
It became obvious by the turn of the century that the time and expense of maintaining and securing PC networks in their current form was going to have to change.
About this same time networks were becoming very fast and servers were being built as powerful as ever because memory, storage, and processor prices were low and manufacturing PCs was commonplace.
It was at this point that several companies starting producing workstation terminals called "thin clients". These low powered, cheap terminals were made to take advantage of a technology called terminal services which would come from a Microsoft® or Citrix® terminal server. The technology pendulum was swinging back toward a more server-centric paradigm.
But even this technology lacked the security and robustness for the industrial environment. What was needed was a better way to manage and configure these thin client terminals. We can show you how.
• ACP Thin Manager
• Advantech
• Arista