A thick client is a powerful computer on which a full-fledged operating system is installed. Its char­ac­ter­is­tic feature is its per­for­mance. It has suf­fi­cient capacity for local work and the in­de­pen­dent execution of tasks. An example of a thick client is a desktop PC on which Windows is installed as the operating system.

De­f­i­n­i­tion and char­ac­ter­is­tics of a thick client

A thick client is a type of client that has its own computing power, storage media, and graphics resources. With these dedicated computing resources, thick clients are able to run programs locally and in­de­pen­dent­ly of server resources. In most cases, it also means that users have access to rich graphical user in­ter­faces. Thick clients are commonly referred to as fat clients.

There are several char­ac­ter­is­tics that make up thick clients. Data pro­cess­ing, output, and input take place locally on the client. Data storage takes place on local memory resources. If a fat client is connected to a network, data storage can also be performed on a storage medium in the network.

A fat client has all the pre­req­ui­sites for accessing a network’s services. By being equipped with many in­ter­faces, the client es­tab­lish­es con­nec­tions to storage drives and pe­riph­er­al devices, like printers.

On one hand, thick clients can be used on their own. On the other hand, they can be used in com­bi­na­tion with a server. In this way, in­di­vid­ual tasks or ap­pli­ca­tions can be out­sourced to the server.

What are the ad­van­tages of a thick client?

Using thick clients has several ad­van­tages. They can be used in­di­vid­u­al­ly as a stand­alone resource. In addition, no direct con­nec­tion to a network is required for full func­tion­al­i­ty. This means that their self-suf­fi­cien­cy enables offline work.

If a thick client is used in com­bi­na­tion with a server, the demands on the server in terms of resources are lower, since the fat client runs the programs locally using its own resources.

Complex mul­ti­me­dia ap­pli­ca­tions in the mul­ti­me­dia area, like rendering graphics, run in­de­pen­dent­ly of internet con­nec­tion and bandwidth due to local execution. When trans­fer­ring the task to a server, high bandwidth re­quire­ments follow. Due to the thick clients’ own high computing power, the server in the client-server model can serve multiple clients si­mul­ta­ne­ous­ly. In general, the fat client is con­sid­ered a versatile client that can run many different ap­pli­ca­tions si­mul­ta­ne­ous­ly.

What are the dis­ad­van­tages of a thick client?

While thick clients have many ad­van­tages, they also come with some dis­ad­van­tages. The ad­min­is­tra­tion of fat clients is much more complex since the operating system and programs are installed locally.

The complex ad­min­is­tra­tion makes it more difficult to secure the system. Securing each in­di­vid­ual client against cy­ber­at­tacks is a costly and resource-intensive process. Ensuring cy­ber­se­cu­ri­ty is a factor that should not be un­der­es­ti­mat­ed when working with a fat client. The bundling of resources makes the system vul­ner­a­ble. If malware is de­lib­er­ate­ly installed by malicious code, there’s a risk of the system failing al­to­geth­er. This could, for example, occur when opening a con­t­a­m­i­nat­ed email at­tach­ment.

Since thick clients are equipped with a lot of hardware, they are expensive to procure. Since the hardware consumes a lot of power, they’re also energy-intensive to operate.

What can thick clients be used for?

There are many possible uses for thick clients. In the corporate context, fat clients can function as work­sta­tions. The creation of CAD models, pro­gram­ming software, or the work­sta­tion of a sales employee are common scenarios. Thick clients can also be used for different kinds of content pro­duc­tion, like the creation of videos for video marketing purposes.

In the private sector, fat clients also have a variety of uses, es­pe­cial­ly when it comes to gaming. Many users also use thick clients to manage and store personal files and data. Here, however, more and more users are switching from local storage to cloud storage. This allows users to access their files and data from different devices.

Tip

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What’s the dif­fer­ence between a fat client, thin client and zero client?

In addition to the fat client, or thick client, there are other clients in the client-server model, namely the zero client and thin client. The table below explains how they differ in terms of features and char­ac­ter­is­tics.

Thick client Thin client Zero client
Resources
  • Equipment with high computing capacity
  • Local resources for running programs and storing data
  • Local, full-fledged operating system
  • Equipment with low computing capacity
  • Often have their own memory drive
  • Have their own compact operating system
  • Equipment with low computing capacity
  • No local resources to store data
  • Operating system is limited to the function of con­nect­ing to a server
Cost
  • High ac­qui­si­tion costs for hardware
  • High operating costs due to large energy re­quire­ments
  • Low ac­qui­si­tion costs due to low hardware resources
  • Low energy con­sump­tion during operation
  • Low ac­qui­si­tion costs due to low hardware resources
  • Low energy con­sump­tion during operation
Ap­pli­ca­tion
  • In­de­pen­dent execution of programs
  • Creating 3D models
  • Playing video games
  • Editing videos
  • Editing photos
  • Ap­pli­ca­tion for vir­tu­al­ized desktop en­vi­ron­ments
  • Virtual desktop ap­pli­ca­tion
  • Compact client-end PC
De­pen­dence on server
  • Au­tonomous de­ploy­ment option
  • No direct de­pen­dence on the server
  • Offline operation is possible
  • Com­mu­ni­ca­tion with servers is possible
  • Clear de­pen­dence on the server, without which a thin client cannot work
  • The thin client behaves like a terminal to the server
  • Complete de­pen­dence on a server
Ad­min­is­tra­tion
  • De­cen­tral­ized ad­min­is­tra­tion is costly
  • Ensuring pro­tec­tion against cy­ber­at­tacks and hackers is chal­leng­ing due to com­pli­cat­ed ad­min­is­tra­tion
  • Cen­tral­ized ad­min­is­tra­tion of the clients
  • Pro­tec­tion against risks in the event of cy­ber­at­tacks can be im­ple­ment­ed
  • Cen­tral­ized ad­min­is­tra­tion of the clients
  • Pro­tec­tion against risks in the event of cy­ber­at­tacks can be im­ple­ment­ed
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