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Sun's Thin Clients
Posted: Fri 02 Sep 2005, 14:08
by raffy
Sun's
thin clients may prove useful to Puppy as it is being promoted aggressively by the company.
These devices will be a lot different from
those we have seen so far, mostly consisting of Via mainboards.
Can they be useful as Puppy machines? How - for example, as full-fledged thin clients running Java or OO from a Puppy server?
Edit:
Here is an instance of Linux being used with the machines.
Clarification: In the Puppy Power section, "thin PC" is used to refer to thin clients that can run Puppy and therefore function as a PC. Sun's thin clients may be different, hence this new thread.
Posted: Fri 02 Sep 2005, 14:15
by Guest
Doubt it very much as these seem to be true thin clients., ie: all the processing is done on the server and the client is only used for input and output.
I think some of this forum haven't quite been using the term thin client correctly and causing some confusion.
Posted: Fri 02 Sep 2005, 15:25
by Flash
I think the confusion you refer to is caused by different definitions of "thin client." My understanding is that a thin client is basically a computer without a hard drive - and perhaps a few other bits - but still capable of somehow being used as a stand-alone computer. Perhaps it is a distinction without a difference, but I believe that what you describe is more properly called a terminal. Thin clients, as I understand them, can be used as terminals but also as computers, for instance with Puppy as the OS.
Posted: Fri 02 Sep 2005, 15:31
by Guest
Think of the client bit....
JBOX
Posted: Mon 05 Sep 2005, 00:05
by raffy
So this must be something cooked up by Via, Sun and a third party, iGologic: the JBOX
http://store.igojava.com/
Posted: Mon 05 Sep 2005, 00:50
by Flash
So, they are called thin clients if the BIOS is only capable of netbooting? Give us a definition bladehunter, not just a cryptic word or two.
Posted: Mon 05 Sep 2005, 01:25
by Guest
thin client (computing)
thin client (computing): A server-centric computing model in which the application software, data, and CPU power resides on a network server rather than on the client computer (s). Note 1: This computing philosophy allows administrators to purchase one relatively powerful and expensive server and be confident that any external terminal, regardless of its power or sophistication, can run applications on the server. Most "shopping" Web pages, for example, are thin-client applications (i.e., the client needs nothing more than a browser and a connection to the network to be able to search the "shopping" page and to order products). Local area networks can use thin-client modeling to install only one copy of necessary programs onto the main server for many clients on the network to use. Note 2: Server software is required to interface clients with the software on the server. Synonyms Internet appliance (computing), Internet box (computing), network computer. This HTML version of Telecom Glossary 2K was last generated on Wed Feb 28 15:39:21 MST 2001. References can be found in the Foreword.
Ref:
http://www.atis.org/tg2k/_thin_client.html
This maybe better as it discusses thin and fat clients
http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/ ... 832,00.asp
Posted: Mon 05 Sep 2005, 02:30
by Ian
Thin clients originally consisted of a monitor and keyboard and a server.
What I referred to as a dumb terminal, that started a big &*itfight with Atang1 and everyone else, would be a more appropiate term but there are also the terms diskless client, slave workstation, netboot client and a heap of others that are describing a workstation that has no means of saving and storing data within itself and so must use a server to store its data.
So it doesn't really matter what terms are used as long as the meaning is clear,it is either a workstation with inbuilt storage capability or a workstation that must save to a separate server.
Diskless comes close to describing it as it implies that there is no internal or external disk medium to save to i.e. no hard drive and no floppy drive and if you are using a CDROM, not a burner, there is no way to save data apart from using a networked server.
Posted: Mon 05 Sep 2005, 02:37
by Flash
In addition to a lack of local storage, would a BIOS which only allows for netbooting be necessary for it to be a thin,discless,dumb slave? (Jeez, that's how I feel!)
Posted: Mon 05 Sep 2005, 02:46
by Ian
You got it in a nutshell Flash
Posted: Mon 05 Sep 2005, 11:52
by keenerd
The point has been well made. We aren't using thin clients.
We're abusing them.
Posted: Mon 05 Sep 2005, 18:34
by ljones
Did anyone see the price? Nearly $500 for the basic unit? What a rip-off, you'd be better buying a normal PC -- at least you get a screen with a basic PC. But as someone has pointed out before (I think) this is just a return to the decades old "Dumb terminal" idea of the 70s, except the only difference back then would have been that it would all have been text.
You'd be better off buying an old PC with a copy of linux rather than pay for one of these!
ljones
The question
Posted: Tue 06 Sep 2005, 00:29
by raffy
With the usual properties of thin clients made clear, the question remains:
Will Sun's recently launched thin clients have processing power so that when used with Puppy, it can become a PC?
This is already possible with thin clients using the Via ITX and Eden processors (starting with 400 Mhz, see ntavo.com).
Does anyone here have access to a Sun thin client ...
