Diskless Nodes

In mainframe networks, a single central main computer was connected to a large number of dumb terminals. All the processing work was done by the central computer. The terminals were nothing more than a monitor and a keyboard, which merely performed input/output operations and had no processing functions. With the spread of PCs and GUI-based operating systems, dumb terminals went out of fashion. Novell tried to re-introduce the concept of diskless workstation but did not make much headway.

When a system administrator in an organisation decides to build a local area network (LAN), he simply orders a large number of desktops from HP or Dell. Apart from being very expensive, these PCS are also bristling with a host of unwanted features such as DVD writers, USB ports, and floppy drives. This puts the PCs to potential misuse by employes who might indulge in data theft.

Adline Systems offers a solution to the problems related to price and security with a product called OfficeStation. OfficeStation is a dumb terminal, which has ports for connecting the monitor, keyboard, mouse, network and very little else. There are no USB ports or floppy drives. It has no hard disk either. Several such OfficeStation nodes are connected via the network to a single powerful host PC, which handles all processing tasks. If people in your office work with just e-mail and word-processing applications, then OfficeStation is the way to go.