page_title: Thin client
section_title: Web client
hierarchical_section_title: Thin client / Variants / Web client
caption_attribution_description: English: Arbyte Nettop
context_page_description: In computer networking, a thin client is a simple computer that has been optimized for establishing a remote connection with a server-based computing environment. The server does most of the work, which can include launching software programs, performing calculations, and storing data. This contrasts with a fat client or a conventional personal computer; the former is also intended for working in a client–server model but has significant local processing power, while the latter aims to perform its function mostly locally.
  Thin clients occur as components of a broader computing infrastructure, where many clients share their computations with a server or server farm. The server-side infrastructure uses cloud computing software such as application virtualization, hosted shared desktop or desktop virtualization. This combination forms what is known as a cloud-based system, where desktop resources are centralized at one or more data centers. The benefits of centralization are hardware resource optimization, reduced software maintenance, and improved security.
context_section_description: Web clients only provide a web browser, and rely on web apps to provide general-purpose computing functionality. However, note that web applications may use web storage to store some data locally, e.g. for "offline mode", and they can perform significant processing tasks as well. Rich Internet Applications for instance may cross the boundary, and HTML5 web apps can leverage browsers as run-time environments through the use of a cache manifest or so-called "packaged apps" (in Firefox OS and Google Chrome).
  Examples of web thin clients include Chromebooks and Chromeboxes (which run Chrome OS) and phones running Firefox OS.
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  Chromebooks and Chromeboxes also have the capability of remote desktop using the free Chrome Remote Desktop browser extension, which means, other than being a web thin client, they can also be used as an ultra-thin client (see above) to access PC or Mac applications that do not run on the Chromebook directly. Indeed, they can be used as a web thin client and an ultra-thin-client simultaneously, with the user switching between web browser and PC or Mac application windows with a click.
  Chromebooks are also able to store user documents locally – though, with the exception of media files (which have a dedicated player application to play them), all such files can only be opened and processed with web applications, since traditional desktop applications cannot be installed in Chrome OS.
caption: Web-centric thin client
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