Client and server operating system

Answer 1

Basically the difference is how it's intended to be used. For instance, a client OS is optimized to give higher priority to client programs such as games, word processors, internet browsers, etc where a server would be optimized to run processes that the client systems would connect to and get information from such as email server programs, web server programs, databases, etc.

However, there are a lot of similarities between the two and it is possible for a client OS to act as a server for some functions and vice versa.

Answer 2

A thin client (sometimes also called a lean or slim client) is a computer or a computer program which depends heavily on some other computer (its server) to fulfill its traditional computational roles.[1] This stands in contrast to the traditional fat client, a computer designed to take on these roles by itself. The exact roles assumed by the server may vary, from providing data persistence (for example, for diskless nodes) to actual information processing on the client's behalf.

Thin clients occur as components of a broader computer infrastructure, where many clients share their computations with the same server. As such, thin client infrastructures can be viewed as the amortization of some computing service across several user-interfaces. This is desirable in contexts where individual fat clients have much more functionality or power than the infrastructure either requires or uses. This can be contrasted, for example, with grid computing. An Aleutia E3 thin client, with flash memory

The most common sort of modern thin client is a low-end microcomputer which concentrates solely on providing a graphical user interface to the end-user. The remaining functionality, in particular the operating system, is provided by the server.

Answer 3

In a client and server operating system, multiple clients can share resources. Examples of this include Windows Server and Banyan VINES.