Thin Clients Imprint & Privacy   • DE
Full-fledged desktop PCs, called fat clients, are equipped with powerful hardware and run programs locally. While this may be necessary for computationally intensive tasks such as video editing or 3D modeling, it far exceeds the requirements of many office workstations. In typical business environments, standard applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, or web browsers are mainly used. For these purposes, a fat client is often oversized, leading to unnecessary costs for hardware, maintenance, and energy consumption.
Companies face the challenge of finding efficient and cost-effective solutions for their computer workstations. Slim clients enable centralized management, improved security, and reduced total operating costs. With the ongoing development of cloud technologies and the increasing prevalence of software-as-a-service solutions, the importance of slim client architectures is likely to continue growing in the future.
Slim Desktop

Slim clients, also known as thin clients, offer an efficient solution here. These simple PCs for data input are specifically designed for use in terminal environments. They have minimal local resources and primarily serve as input and output devices, while the actual data processing takes place on powerful terminal servers.

In a typical terminal application, the slim client merely establishes a connection to the terminal server. This central server hosts the applications and performs the calculations. The slim client transmits user inputs to the server and displays the screen contents sent by the server.

This concept brings several advantages ... Cost efficiency: Slim clients are cheaper to purchase than full-fledged PCs and have lower energy consumption. Simplified maintenance: since most software runs on the terminal server, the maintenance effort for individual workstations is significantly reduced. Improved security: sensitive data remains on the central server, minimizing the risk of data leaks. Flexibility: Users can log into their personal work environment from any slim client. Longer lifespan: Slim clients have fewer wear-prone components and can therefore be used for longer.

The implementation of a slim client system requires a well-thought-out server infrastructure. Terminal servers must be powerful enough to handle the requirements of all connected clients. Modern virtualization technologies make it possible to flexibly allocate resources and scale server capacity as needed.

There are various possibilities for implementing a slim client concept ... Dedicated thin client hardware: specially developed devices with minimal local computing power and optimized software for terminal access. Zero clients: even further reduced devices that are designed exclusively for connecting to the server and do not require their own operating system. Repurposing: older PCs can be converted into slim clients by installing thin client software, which represents a cost-effective transitional solution. Browser-based solutions: modern web technologies make it possible to run many applications directly in the browser, allowing almost any device with an internet connection to serve as a slim client.

And surprisingly, there are even purely software-based thin clients: regular PCs can be equipped with special software that makes them function as thin clients in a secure mode.