What is a zero client?

The zero client is a par­tic­u­larly stream­lined form of the thin client. Its func­tion­al­ity depends entirely on the presence of a server. It has no local storage resources and its operating system is limited to essential functions. Zero clients are often used in virtual desktop en­vir­on­ments.

Defin­i­tion, func­tion­al­ity, and technical real­isa­tion

What is a zero client?

When searching for a suitable client, the term zero client may come up. But what is a zero client and how does it work? There is no universal defin­i­tion that all man­u­fac­tur­ers, providers, and pro­fes­sion­als in different ap­plic­a­tion areas agree on. Zero clients are also known as ultra-thin clients.

Zero clients refer to a compact client-end PC. A common defining feature is that they are a par­tic­u­larly slimmed-down version of a thin client. Their function is limited to defined ap­plic­a­tions. All other features are defined by the man­u­fac­turer. In most cases, zero clients can only be used for a specific visu­al­isa­tion solution, which is de­term­ined by the re­spect­ive provider.

Technical real­isa­tion of zero clients

The zero client is the exact opposite of the fat client, which has a full operating system and can be used in­de­pend­ently and autonom­ously. Zero clients generally have no hardware resources of their own, for example, disk drives and local memory resources. They are com­pletely dependent on the avail­ab­il­ity of a server.

Phys­ic­ally speaking, zero clients look like a small box, which peri­pher­al devices like a keyboard and mouse can be connected to. Depending on the design of the hardware, one or more monitors can also be connected. In addition, the zero client has an interface that com­mu­nic­ates with the server that it depends on. This interface can be im­ple­men­ted with a cable or wire­lessly.

The client-server model forms the ar­chi­tec­ture for the in­ter­ac­tion between server and client. In many cases, the zero client is a single-chip board. This chip is the network con­trol­ler and provides the processor function and graphics function. When switched on, it uses firmware, where the remote protocol is anchored, to connect to the server.

Ad­vant­ages of the zero client

Zero clients are a popular choice, es­pe­cially in large en­ter­prises. Companies use them for a variety of reasons and ad­vant­ages.

The top argument for zero clients is the sim­pli­city of their system ad­min­is­tra­tion. De­pend­ency on the server elim­in­ates the need for local man­age­ment of software and client updates. This also reduces main­ten­ance costs. And it makes securing the system against cy­ber­at­tacks more efficient. Instead of securing in­di­vidu­al clients locally, cy­ber­se­cur­ity is managed centrally through a remote server.

In addition to their low purchase cost, the operation of zero clients is also rather eco­nom­ic­al. Their low energy con­sump­tion means they also work ef­fi­ciently with the chosen server solution. Startup times are fast and efficient. The sus­cept­ib­il­ity to errors is also low. Due to the zero client’s limited system functions, operating errors are unlikely as users are re­stric­ted to their specific tasks. These features result in high system re­li­ab­il­ity.

Due to the lack of extensive hardware resources, noise is also kept to a minimum. This is a great advantage when, for example, several clients are in the same office.

Dis­ad­vant­ages of zero clients

One of the biggest dis­ad­vant­ages of using zero clients is the loss of flex­ib­il­ity. Relying so heavily on a server brings its own set of con­sequences with it. Server de­pend­ency means that clients are not only affected by local failures, but also by network problems or server failures. In addition, while zero clients are con­sidered cost efficient, you’ll need to allocate more of your budget to server costs since this type of client uses sig­ni­fic­antly more server resources.

What are the ap­plic­a­tion areas of a zero client?

As we mentioned earlier, zero clients are par­tic­u­larly suited for companies. Companies benefit from the ad­vant­ages of efficient ad­min­is­tra­tion and low purchase costs. Zero clients are designed to access vir­tu­al­ised desktop solutions. Vir­tu­al­isa­tion replaces classic PCs, offering companies a sensible al­tern­at­ive.

What’s the dif­fer­ence between a zero client and thin client?

A zero client, also called an ultra-thin client, refers to a highly stream­lined form of a thin client. It’s difficult to draw a clear line between a zero client and a thin client. Nev­er­the­less, there are some sig­ni­fic­ant dif­fer­ences and sim­il­ar­it­ies of note.