Technologies for providing high performance, feature rich and interactive graphics in a browser environment are constantly evolving. The definition of the terms rich client and thin client are also continually changing as the technologies advance. In a very general definition, rich client means that the client is more intelligent and can assist in some of the processing. Thin client means that the client is less intelligent and the majority of the processing is done on a server.  Currently, with Java based implementations, rich client solutions involve the use of Java applet technology and thin client solutions involve HTML, DHTML, Java Script, JSP, Java Struts, Java Server Faces or most recently AJAX technologies.

Enterprise RTView provides the option of shifting seamlessly between the Rich Client Browser or Thin Client Browser deployment. SL also continually evaluates the most efficient technologies available for either deployment and provides the best solution available with complete upward compatibility for all deployed Enterprise RTView displays. Therefore you are shielded from the risks and costs of implementing these solutions via in-house programming efforts and potentially choosing a soon to be obsolete technology. Currently Enterprise RTView uses AJAX technologies for its Thin Client Browser solution which provides the optimal solution for dynamic and real-time dashboard solutions.

There are many factors described in the table below which need to be evaluated in order to choose the optimal browser deployment. However, in most cases this decision would be made by weighing the costs of deploying and maintaining the Java plug-in for the Rich Client Browser applet against any degradation in usability or performance with the Thin Client Browser option.

The pros and cons of the two browser options, Rich Client Browser and Thin Client Browser, are described below.

Pros and Cons

Issue	Rich Client Browser	Thin Client Browser
Setup	Server:  Requires application server and lower memory requirement Client: Each client must run JDK plugin and be configured to allow applets	Server:  Requires application server and higher memory requirement Client: JDK plugin is not required but each client must be configured to allow JavaScript
Usability	More interactivity - zoom and pop-up legend cursor on graphs, scrollbars	Less interactivity - no zoom or pop-up legend cursor on graphs, scrollbars do not work except on tables
Performance	Applications requiring rapid data updates perform better Lower bandwidth requirements but initial download of jars may be slow	Applications requiring rapid data updates perform worse Higher bandwidth requirements but no jars to download
Security	Equally secure	Equally secure
Scalability	Equally scalable	Equally scalable
Cost	Large Deployment: Client maintenance more costly, hardware less costly Small Deployment: Hardware cost equal to Thin Client Browser but client maintenance more costly	Large Deployment: Hardware more costly, client maintenance less costly Small Deployment: Hardware cost equal to Rich Client Browser but client maintenance less costly

Rich Client Browser Deployment
The Rich Client Browser deployment requires that a Java plug-in is installed on each client machine. The Display Viewer Applet is then hosted on an application server to provide visualization to client browsers. This solution can be used either from a standard browser or from a portal environment (see Figure 8).
  Figure 8: Rich Client Browser Deployment Overview

Choose Rich Client Browser Deployment

Thin Client Browser Deployment
The Thin Client Browser deployment involves no installation on the clients. Only a standard browser is necessary on each client. The Display Server must be installed on a server and an application server with a JSP Servlet Container is required to provide visualization to the clients. This solution can be used either from a standard browser or from a portal environment (see Figure 9).
  Figure 9: Thin Client Browser Deployment Overview

Choose Thin Client Browser Deployment