What is thin client and fat client and describe the difference between thin client and fat clent?

Answer 1

The main difference between thin and fat client systems has to do with how much processing is done on the desktop vs. on a server, and, in essence, how your company wishes to deploy computer and network resources. In a fat client system, a significant amount of processing is done on the client or desktop system, while relatively little is done on the server. This setup requires expensive desktop systems on every user's desk, and relatively little in the way of high-end networking or server systems, as they perform less of the overall processing than the desktop system. Conversely, thin client systems can be as thin as a simple browser interface running on a relatively low-end PC: in this case the bulk of the processing is done elsewhere, and that means you'll need a lot of network resources and more robust server technology than you would need in a fat client system. There are a few dozen other pros and cons for each approach, though to be frank most of the industry has moved largely in favor of thin client systems in the last decade, primarily because thin client systems can support on-demand and other internet-based applications with relatively little administrative or technical support. If you want to operate in a thin client environment, you'll need to make sure that your network resources are extremely robust and have guaranteed uptime: thin clients can't do a lot of work when the network is down.