Editing Diskless node (section)

{{Short description|Computer workstation operated without disk drives}}
[[File:Sun 2-50 Front.jpg|thumb|A Sun-2/50 diskless workstation from [[Sun-2]] series]]
A '''diskless node''' (or '''diskless workstation''') is a [[workstation]] or personal computer without [[disk drive]]s, which employs [[network booting]] to load its [[operating system]] from a [[server (computing)|server]]. (A computer may also be said to ''act as a diskless node'', if its disks are unused and network booting is used.)

Diskless nodes (or computers acting as such) are sometimes known as ''[[network computer]]s'' or '''hybrid clients'''. ''Hybrid client'' may either just mean diskless node, or it may be used in a more particular sense to mean a diskless node which runs ''some'', but not all, [[application software|applications]] remotely, as in the [[thin client]] computing architecture.

Advantages of diskless nodes can include lower production cost, lower running costs, quieter operation, and manageability advantages (for example, centrally managed software installation).

In many universities and in some large organizations, [[Personal computer|PC]]s are used in a similar configuration, with some or all applications stored remotely but [[execution (computers)|executed]] locally—again, for manageability reasons. However, these are not diskless nodes if they still [[booting|boot]] from a local [[hard drive]].