![[SINE]](./images/sinewave1.gif) |
|
Introduction | Cost | Sustainability | User Productivity | Reliability and Security | Conclusion
|
|
Introduction | Cost | Sustainability | User Productivity | Reliability and Security | Conclusion
Introduction
'Client/Server' is one of the computer industries newest and hottest buzz words. There is no generic definition of client/server as it is used to depict a vast number of mature, developing, and anticipated technologies. However the general idea is that clients and servers are separate logical entities that work together over a network to accomplish a task (Edwards, Harkey, and Orfali, 1996).
The parts of a client/server system are the client, server, and the network. The client can be a personnel computer (PC) or the soon to be released network computer (NC.) The server can be anything from a mainframe to a PC but is usually a platform suited for a specific application or task. The network could be as simple as two computers connected by modem or as complicated as several thousand computers linked by a combination of fiber optics, coaxial cable, and wireless communications. The client and server might be in the same room (possibly even the same physical machine) or half a world apart. The difference between client/server computing and the mainframe computing that it often supersedes is that the client is not a dumb terminal. The client has its own operating system and can manage inputs (keyboard, mouse, etc..) and outputs (display, local printer, sound, etc..) without the server. The server's role is to wait passively for a client to request a service. This distribution of processing allows the client to offer a more user friendly environment (graphical user interface, local applications, mouse, etc..) than a dumb terminal and allows the servers to be less complex and expensive than current mainframe systems. Overall client/server computing leads to a flexible and dynamic computing environment.
This brief introduction might give the impression that client/server computing has many advantages over the mainframe computing that it often replaces. The hype surrounding client/server technology and the computing industry in general tend to push consumers in the direction of client/server technology. However there are some very real issues that a chief information officer (CIO) must contemplate when considering a change to client/server computing. This essay will examine the cost, sustainability, user productivity, reliability, and security of client/server computing as compared to mainframe computing.