Network Appliances

Network appliances are inexpensive personal computers (PC) or computer boards, sometimes called thin clients, which enable Internet access and business-related activities such as security, but lack many of the features of fully-equipped PCs. Network appliances are specialized devices used on a network, such as web servers, cache servers, and file servers. A network appliance is a device that provides processing power, memory, software, and a communications interface to perform functions on a network without requiring a server or dedicated PC to perform its duties. A network backup appliance includes all of the hardware and software needed for backup, archive, and disaster recovery activities. These network appliances should include integrated hardware components for both scalability and support. A network security appliance can also be a device that provides firewall security, virtual private network (VPN), and traffic management functions.

Network appliances use thin client computing, a server-centric computing model in which the application software, data, and central processing unit (CPU) power resides on a network server instead of on client computers. Thin client computers are sometimes called network computers (NC). Each thin client computer is a regular PC without a hard drive and typically without extra I/O ports or other unnecessary features. Because they do not have hard drives, thin clients do not have any software installed on them. These network appliances run programs and access data from a server, and therefore, must have a network connection. A thin client terminal runs a lightweight operating system and executes applications delivered over the network. Thin client technology ensures that all communications, documents, and workflows originate and are stored on central servers. Network appliances that use a thin client network put all computing power on central servers and not on individual computers. The individual workstations act as remote terminals for the central computers. Rather than employing full-capacity computers, a thin client network can make use of specialized network appliances that are simpler and less expensive than full-capacity computers, and rely on the server for access to applications and other services.

• Network Appliances
  The term "network appliance" brings to mind a concept of simplicity. Like a household appliance, the network appliance is easy to set up and performs a specific function with little or no user...
  (read more)
• Network Application Delivery
  As computer networks grow increasingly complex, the time requirement and investment cost of deploying and maintaining separate software products on each client computer grows exponentially, and -...
  (read more)
• Appliances get connected
  Hybrid MCU/DSP chips bring connectivity to household appliances. Motorola, DSP Standard Products Div. Hybrid cores, such as the 56800E from Motorola, Tempe, Ariz., combine MCU and DSP functions to...
  (read more)

Pages: 1 - 3 of 460

Part Numbers for Network Appliances