Thin Client Computing

What is a Thin Client?

A thin client, sometimes called a lean client, is a low-cost, centrally-managed computer devoid of CD-ROM players, diskette drives, and expansion slots. The term derives from the fact that small computers in networks tend to be clients and not servers. Since the idea is to limit the capabilities of these computers to only essential applications, they tend to be purchased and remain "thin" in terms of the client applications they include. As software as a service (SaaS) gains popularity, it is expected that thin clients and blade PCs will replace desktop PCs in many work and educational environments. In general, they are not as vulnerable to malware attacks, have a longer life cycle, use less power and are less expensive to purchase.

PC desktop virtualization–often dubbed thin-client computing-is not a new concept. Thin Client computing answers the dilemma: How to cut computing costs with centralized management and not infringe on the user's personal control of the computing environment.

Why should your business use Thin Client Computing?

According to Gartner Research, most companies simply don't employ rigorous best management practices with their desktop PCs. As a result, the indirect costs of a typical desktop PC are twice the direct costs.

In the case of a desktop PC, Gartner projects that if IT were to virtualize the GUI of all PC applications and manage the software centrally, indirect IT costs would be cut in half. For IT, that represents a considerable amount of savings, as cutting indirect costs in half cuts PC TCO by about one third.

The solution to PC management savings is an amazingly simple one, now that the technology is readily available: Virtualize the PC. If a virtual server is a good idea, why not extend that notion to a virtual desktop PC?

What are some additional benefits?

First and foremost, users retain full control of the look-and-feel of their desktop environment. They also continue to enjoy all of the functionality associated with personal control, including audio and USB. In short, they retain full control of the logical resource.

At the same time, IT gains full management control of the physical resource. As a result, many of the performance and management tasks that now burden end-users are shifted to IT. They have the capability to dedicate CPU, memory, storage, and network resources to virtualized desktop machines. That means users can be guaranteed high service levels even as their numbers increase.

With software and data managed centrally, IT provisioning, maintenance, security, regulatory compliance, and backup processes are all streamlined. Since a user's logical PC is represented by a standard virtual machine image, rolling out a new user amounts to cloning that image with a file copy. Similarly, load balancing becomes dynamically migrating virtual machines from one physical server to another.

Finally, there is no need to leave a supercomputer's worth of CPU resources to lie fallow on desktops every night. Servers used to support virtual desktop machines by day can be easily repurposed each evening for business performance computing tasks, such as sales data analysis and supply chain optimization. There is also the potential to leverage additional long-term gains through sophisticated autonomic management and IT process management.