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As I have understood it, a thin client processes all software on it's weak CPU with little RAM. A typical thin client has 1GHz CPU and 256 MB RAM, and boots from it's server and downloads all applications from the server and runs the all of the applications or parts of the applications, on it's 1GHz CPU.

This is what a diskless system is, NOT a thin client, but please read my post on

Whereas an ultra-thin-clients doesnt process any software at all, it just handles I/O. That is SunRay. The server processes all software. On the SunRay no software is processed at all, it just shows the bitmaps that the server transmits.

This is correct.

You are telling me that this is wrong? You are telling me that any thin client act the way as the SunRay does. Every thin client just shows the picture from the server, and no processing is done on its 1GHz CPU and 256MB RAM? Everything is processed on the server? Is this so? Can you show me a link to a thin client that behaves like this? (Other than SunRay). I have never found any ultra-thin-client other than SunRay.

Phoenix already explained this. He said there are hybrid thin-clients which do have a better cpu, and ram when compared to "ultra thin-clients" like the sunray. But, these are not true diskless systems. Which is what phoenix and I have been talking about.

Either you or my understanding of thin-clients is very wrong. Who is correct? You or me? If you can show links on thin clients working as you described, then you are correct and I am wrong. If you can not show links, then you are wrong and I am correct.

I think your understanding is correct your labels for the different solutions are just wrong, and you also don't seem to understand the third solution completely. A truly diskless system.

There are some grave misunderstandings going on right now. Even the nick "broken_symlink" is confused. He also believes the same thing as me. He states that a thin-client solution should need a ton of RAM.

I never stated anything of the sort. What I said is that as the number of clients in a thin client solution increases you need better hardware for the server. I have no idea what the exact specifications are as I have never used a thin client setup, only diskless pcs.

We can settle this out, if you post some links to thin-clients. Then I can read about them myself. And study the datasheets. And then I can tell if I have misunderstood the thin client concept.

If you don't get it now, I think the only way you will is by actually seeing a setup in action. I'm sure there are guides online how to setup a diskless system. Then you should probably setup ltsp. Finally, compare those two to your sunray, and hopefully then you will understand the difference. Think of ltsp as the "hybrid" thin-client.

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