In one classification, client computers and devices are either
thick clients,
thin clients, or
diskless nodes.
Thick A
thick client, also known as a
rich client or
fat client, is a client that performs the bulk of any data processing operations itself, and does not necessarily rely on the server. The
personal computer is a common example of a fat client, because of its relatively large set of features and capabilities and its light reliance upon a server. For example, a computer running an
art program (such as
Krita or
Sketchup) that ultimately shares the result of its work on a network is a thick client. A computer that runs almost entirely as a standalone machine save to send or receive files via a network is by a standard called a
workstation.
Thin A
thin client is a minimal sort of client. Thin
clients use the resources of the host computer. A thin client generally only presents processed data provided by an
application server, which performs the bulk of any required data processing. A device using
web application (such as
Office Web Apps) is a thin client.
Diskless node A
diskless node is a mixture of the above two client models. Similar to a fat client, it processes locally, but relies on the server for storing persistent data. This approach offers features from both the fat client (multimedia support, high performance) and the thin client (high manageability, flexibility). A device running an online version of the video game
Diablo III is an example of diskless node. ==References==