Introduction

Since computers were introduced, businesses have used them to simplify tasks so that their employees could be more productive and the businesses could realize cost reductions. Through acquisitions, mergers, and distributed IT administration, and sometimes merely because a mission-critical application is available on only a certain platform, businesses have accumulated different types of computer hardware, operating systems (OSs), and applications. In any business, it is not unusual to find users with multiple computing devices, whether a shared computer used for a specific application or a personal digital assistant (PDA) in every user s pocket.

The major challenge of a network with different types of computers is being able to deliver a mission-critical application to all users. This challenge is further exacerbated by the Internet because a business cannot predict the types of OS Internet users have or whether the business s application will work for them. In addition, Internet connections are notoriously inconsistent in regard to bandwidth availability. Applications delivered across the Internet must consume a fraction of the bandwidth that is available in corporate networks. In order to meet these needs, an application must be digitally independent from the OS and the infrastructure.

The thin client, such as that provided by Citrix MetaFrame XP, is the answer to these challenges. Since MetaFrame XP can deliver applications interactively via an Internet browser, it is virtually independent of a user s OS and hardware. Citrix MetaFrame s thin clients are termed thin because of the low bandwidth they consume. This, too, meets the need...