A natural consequence of this architecture was the emergence on the market of specialised hardware called X-terminals. These are machines that have display hardware, a network adapter, and firmware on the board to either hold or load over the network an X-server. After the user has logged in, she is connected to the remote machine and runs all her applications on that machine, displaying via the network back on her display. This tutorial will show you how to set up a Linux machine as an X-terminal. This program can be stored in firmware or loaded from the network, which means the X-terminal can be diskless.
Diskless machines have several advantages.
Firstly, the lack of a disk makes the machine quieter. This makes for a more pleasant working environment. It also means the X-terminal is more reliable as it has fewer moving parts, typically only the cooling fan. Secondly, the applications are stored elsewhere, on the remote machine. In a network with many X-terminals, the software is maintained in a central location.