Fat or thin? Is the verdict in?
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Thin client or network computing is a hot topic. The hype claims lower total cost of
ownership, faster applications deployment and reduced management pain, compared to
traditional computing architectures. Early in 1998 the Flinders University Library installed
network computers in the Central and branch libraries for student access to the Internet. This
paper is a review of network computers in the light of our experience over the past two years.
Do network computers offer all that is claimed in the hype? Are there hidden costs? What
are the issues of configuration, server scaling, network performance and fault diagnosis? Do
they have a future in the Library arena?