Introduction

Typical client/server applications have two tiers: the client and the server. Each tier of a client/server solution provides some form of processing and management. Databases are an example of a client/server application. The database resides on the server and stores data. A client application retrieves data from the database and manipulates it, adds new data to the database, or deletes data from the database. The processing is shared.

Thin client solutions are built in three tiers: the thin client, the application server, and the data server. The thin client requires as little information as possible to travel across the wire, in order to be termed thin. So, in this three-tier solution, processing is not evenly distributed. The application server takes on the role of processing, which a client would play in a standard client/server solution, and then transmits only the information necessary to the thin client. The data server tier remains the same as the server portion of a client/server solution.

The resulting logical design of a thin client solution becomes the basis for capacity planning, availability planning, and infrastructure design for a Citrix MetaFrame XP server. Because Citrix MetaFrame XP is installed on top of a Windows 2000 server with Terminal Services, its design is intertwined with that of the Windows 2000 Terminal Server. However, because Citrix MetaFrame XP uses the Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) protocol and has unique load-balancing capabilities, a Citrix MetaFrame XP design differs from that of a standard Windows 2000 Terminal Server.

Designing...