Windows terminal server 2003 is designed to let so called thin clients connect to one central server. The idea behind a terminal server / thin client setup is that all applications run on the central terminal server. The clients have got a tiny operating system, which does nothing more than connect to the terminal server. Network booting (PXE booting) allows for diskless clients. The whole process is completely hidden from the user, who is presented with a normal desktop. There are several big advantages of a thin client setup:

• There is only one installation of an operating system, the one on the server. This makes maintenance a lot easier
• The clients can be cheap low cost computers. They only have to have network boot capabilities, something which all modern computers have nowadays.