Chapter Four: Form Follows Function: A Computing Continuum

So far in this book, you ve learned about what thin-client/server computing is, about what it takes to deploy client/server and Web-based applications using a thin-client/server model, and about how Microsoft Windows NT Server provided a great foundation on which Citrix Systems built WinFrame. You ve also seen how well the Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) works on any client platform whether MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows 3.x, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows NT, Apple Macintosh, or UNIX regardless of available bandwidth.

ICA works on any client platform regardless of available bandwidth.

In this chapter, I ll describe the range of computing platforms and hardware devices that are enabled by the Citrix ICA client. As you can see in Figure 4-1 on page 74, you have a lot to choose from. The purpose of this book is to provide information that will help you decide where and when to add thin-client/server computing to your IS infrastructure. The thin-client/server model allows you to deploy applications rapidly regardless of available hardware and provides you with the flexibility to choose the hardware device, thick or thin, that s best suited to your users job requirements. Because of this freedom to choose among a range of devices, you can allow the form of the device you select to follow the function required for the job a choice far preferable to shoe-horning a fully configured workstation onto every employee s desk.

With thin-client/server solutions, you can choose a hardware device in the form required for a job function.

FIGURE 4-1

Using the ICA thin-client/server software allows access from almost any type of device.