A
workstation or
PC on a
local-area network (LAN) that does not have its own
disk. Instead, it
stores files on a
network file server. Diskless workstations can reduce the overall cost of a LAN because one large-capacity
disk drive is usually less expensive than several low-capacity drives. In addition, diskless workstations can simplify
backups and
security because all files are in one place -- on the file server. Also, accessing
data from a large
remote file server is often faster than accessing data from a small
local storage device.
One disadvantage of diskless workstations, however, is that they are useless if the network fails.
When the workstation is a PC, it is often called a diskless PC or a Net PC.
