Editing Diskless node (section)

==Distinction between diskless nodes and centralized computing==

Diskless nodes process [[data (computer science)|data]], thus using their own [[Central processing unit|CPU]] and [[Random-access memory|RAM]] to run [[computer software|software]], but do not store data persistently—that task is handed off to a server. This is distinct from [[thin client]]s, in which all significant processing happens remotely, on the server—the only software that runs on a thin client is the "thin" (i.e. relatively small and simple) client software, which handles simple input/output tasks to communicate with the user, such as drawing a [[dialog box]] on the [[display device|display]] or waiting for user input.

A collective term encompassing both thin client computing, and its technological predecessor, [[computer terminal|text terminals]] (which are text-only), is [[centralized computing]]. [[Thin client]]s and text terminals can both require powerful central processing facilities in the servers, in order to perform all significant processing tasks for all of the clients.

Diskless nodes can be seen as a compromise between [[rich client]]s (such as ordinary personal computers) and centralized computing, using central storage for efficiency, but not requiring centralized processing, and making efficient use of the powerful processing power of even the slowest of contemporary CPUs, which would tend to sit idle for much of the time under the centralized computing model.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;"
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![[Centralized computing]] <br/>or [[Thin client]]
!Diskless node
!Dataless node <ref>page 166, Managing NFS and NIS, By Mike Eisler, Ricardo Labiaga, Hal Stern, O'Reilly Media, Inc., Jul 1, 2001</ref>
![[Rich client]]
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!Local [[hard drive]]s used for data
|{{No}}
|{{No}}
|{{No}}
|{{Yes}}
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!Local [[hard drive]]s used for OS
|{{No}}
|{{No}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
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!Local general-purpose processing used
|{{No}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|}