Overview of System Types

System types are sometimes defined by how they access the root (/) and /usr file systems, including the swap area. For example, standalone systems and server systems mount these file systems from a local disk, while other clients mount the file systems remotely, relying on servers to provide these services. This table lists some of the characteristics of each system type.

Table 7–1 Characteristics of General System Types

System Type	Local File Systems	Local Swap?	Remote File Systems	Network Use	Relative Performance
Server	root (/) /usr /home /opt /export/home /export/root	Yes	– None –	High	High
Standalone System	root (/) /usr /export/home	Yes	– None –	Low	High
Diskless Client	– None –	No	root (/) swap  /usr /home	High	Low
AutoClient System	Cached root (/) Cached /usr	Yes	/var	Low	High
Appliance	None	None	None	High	High

Servers

A server system contains the following file systems:

• The root (/) and /usr file systems, plus swap space

• The /export and /export/home file systems, which support client systems and provide home directories for users

• The /opt directory or file system for storing application software

Servers can also contain the following software to support other systems:

• Operating system (OS) services for diskless systems or AutoClient systems that are running a different release or clients that are a different platform than the server

• Solaris CD image software and boot software for networked systems to perform remote installations

• JumpStart^TM directory for networked systems to perform custom JumpStart installations

Standalone Systems

A networked standalone system can share information with other systems in the network, but it can continue to function if detached from the network.

A standalone system can function autonomously because it has its own hard disk that contains the root (/), /usr, and /export/home file systems and swap space. The standalone system thus has local access to operating system software, executables, virtual memory space, and user-created files.

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Note –

A standalone system requires sufficient disk space to hold its necessary file systems.

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A non-networked standalone system is a standalone system with all the characteristics listed above, except it is not connected to a network.

Diskless Clients

A diskless client has no disk and depends on a server for all its software and storage needs. A diskless client remotely mounts its root (/), /usr, and /home file systems from a server.

A diskless client generates significant network traffic due to its continual need to procure operating system software and virtual memory space from across the network. A diskless client cannot operate if it is detached from the network or if its server malfunctions.

For more overview information about diskless clients, see Diskless Client Management Overview.

AutoClient Systems

An AutoClient system is nearly identical to a diskless client in terms of installation and administration. An AutoClient system has the following characteristics:

• Requires a minimum of a 100-Mbyte local disk for swapping and for caching its individual root (/) file system and the /usr file system from a server

• Can be set up so that it continues to access its cache when the server is unavailable

• Relies on a server to access other file systems and software applications

• Contains no permanent data, making it a field-replaceable unit (FRU)

Appliances

An appliance, such as the Sun Ray appliance, is an X display device that requires no administration. There is no CPU, fan, disk, and very little memory. An appliance is connected to a Sun display monitor, but the appliance user's desktop session is run on a server and displayed back to the user. The X environment is setup automatically for the user and has the following characteristics:

• Relies on a server to access other file systems and software applications

• Provides centralized software administration and resource sharing

• Contains no permanent data, making it a field-replaceable unit (FRU)

Guidelines for Choosing System Types

You can determine which system types are appropriate for your environment by comparing each system type based on the following characteristics:

• Centralized Administration

  • Can the system be treated as a field-replaceable unit (FRU)? This means that a broken system can be quickly replaced with a new system without any lengthy backup and restore operations and no loss of system data.

  • Does the system need to be backed up? Large costs in terms of time and resources can be associated with backing up a large number of desktop systems.

  • Can the system's data be modified from a central server?

  • Can the system be installed from a centralized server, quickly and easily, without handling the client system's hardware?

• Performance

  • Does this configuration perform well in desktop usage?

  • Does the addition of systems on a network affect the performance of other systems already on the network?

• Disk Space Usage

  • How much disk space is required to effectively deploy this configuration?

This table describes how each system type scores in terms of each category. A ranking of 1 is most efficient. A ranking of 4 is least efficient.

Table 7–2 Comparison of System Types

System Type	Centralized Administration	Performance	Disk Usage
Standalone System	4	1	4
Diskless Client	1	4	1
AutoClient System	1	2	2
Appliance	1	1	1