While there may be posts from other bloggers on the topic, the question of 'What is a thin client?' continues to confuse many and as such I feel compelled to document a few points on the topic. The confusion comes because of the marketing done by all who wish to participate in the space - Sun included. Where do you draw the line on 'Thin client' definitions? Physical footprint? Price? Power draw? Capability at the device? Each person and organization needs to draw their own line and stay true to that definition.
To me, thin client computing is about operational state, security, management, provisioning and user experience. To that end - I prefer to use the term Ultra-thin client computing so that I can be very clear on what the expectations are. In most thin-client discussions - the technology players in the area have sufficiently muddied the waters so they can cram in that one capability that no other vendor can deliver - but they stay 'true' to their definition. This is misleading at a minimum.
So a few questions to ponder:
- Does a thin client device have resident storage? If so, how much?
- Does a thin client device cache any data or application state on the end user device?
- If you remove the proposed delivery experience from the architecture - can the device stand on its own and deliver to some other purpose?
- Can the device be used for a purpose outside of the organizations intentions?
- If the device is thin - why are there so many different versions of the same device?
To me, if any of the above questions are answered YES - then how thin is the device/model? The last bullet is only present to consider if the answer is other than form factor related.
A stripped down PC can be considered a thin client device because it boots an embedded OS, or over a network, and then communicates with a dedicated server/service (VMware, Citrix, Windows Terminal Services). Is this a thin-client? To some it is - to me, its just a stripped down PC running an application to access a service running at a different location. Is this any different than running a full blown operating system on a PC and using a browser to access a well known search engine to gain access to information? No - it is the same basic architecture. Organizations need clear definitions as to what thin client computing is.
So, is a laptop computer a thin-client? Not in my book. What about a netbook? Nope. If you remove a laptop or netbook from the list of thin-client devices - why did you remove them and using that same criteria - what else should be removed? Running a stateful operating system on the device? Then you need to remove all XP or Linux based thin clients from Wyse, IBM, Chip PC, HP ... . Booting from FLASH RAM? Same list of thin clients to be removed.
As long as you have a stateful device as the access point - you are never as thin, or secure, as you could be with a stateless device. So - define for yourself - What is thin client computing?