Diskless Client?

jellytusslejellytussle
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Wading my way through the Panther Server docs, just for fun. The System Image Admin pdf (for NetBoot and NetInstall) has 29 (count 'em) references to 'diskless' clients. Now, when have Apple ever had a diskless Mac? Right. So, apart from busted HDs in iMacs, why go to all the trouble to emphasise this? It's not like it's been a big deal in NetBoot docs before now, and that tech. goes back to 1998.





[edit] ran over my apostrophe quota - all better now.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 2
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    The university in Tokyo that just bought 1,200-odd Macs got some that are truly diskless. The iMac has been ready for this since 1998, but the demand hasn't been there, because diskless clients have a (well-earned) reputation for sucking. To put it bluntly.



    With fast Ethernet (and Gigabit becoming affordable, slowly) and with OS X and (especially) OS X Server, and the Xserve, the pieces are falling into place. In places where information security is incredibly important (any number of government institutions, for one) I would not be surprised to see diskless, optical-drive-less iMacs being offered - terminals, really. They'll have their niche, and it's an important niche, but I'll be surprised if they take any market by storm.



    Terminals. Amazing. Everything old is new again.
  • Reply 2 of 2
    willywalloowillywalloo Posts: 408member
    and really, i think that terminals are the way to go, for most ID-10-T's(people).



    Only for certain locations. Computer labs, where people only check email and write .doc files. Right now, these machines are each maintained individually...a BIG PAIN. Ask any computer tech. Each has a hard drive, and because of that...maintenence must ensue.



    Sun and Apple both have great ideas for diskless computers.



    Sun's was to have a computer that would run apps from the internet. you'd save your files on their servers, with access to saving them locally as well, but largely your computer would run off of highly reliable, redundant array servers. Data loss at a minimum was the idea backing this. (Apple is seeming to take this route)



    Apple's take on the diskless client was pretty similiar. Run a Fast Server-end MAC that would boot many other imacs with out hard drives. (Why didn't they ever create software to allow this to run off of a Firewire Network?:that will go in the next document I send to Apple)



    The major bonus to having your computer boot from a central server is that you don't have to make sure it's always working. 50 people can unload their virus problems on to an administrater, and the total amount of work for the virus would be cut by 49/50, or a whole hell of a lot. (unless there are idiots involved, then that number would jump to over 1000/50:a great decrease in irritability with your own computer, especially those windows users)



    Granted, using a computer for graphics and high-end video editing would be a different local-harddisk-intensive scenario.



    If something were to go wrong with the server, there would be a back up server anyways. And if power were to be cut to the whole system, then all i have to say is that, shit happens. And with every service provided, they will ALWAYS have their flaws, and to continue, they keep those flaws at minimally at bay.



    Cable TV is better than DirectTV...only because they say it is, and if you really cared, you'd do background checks to see which is really better.



    i'm out

    -walloo.
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