Workstation

Workstation as a component of a LAN

As the most common component, a workstation is an individual single-user microcomputer with communications capabilities added. The term includes in the microcomputer itself as well as all its attached bits and pieces-memory cards, CRT, floppy disk drives, hard disks and printers. A workstation is distinguished from a personal computer by the network operating system software that controls what the workstations can and cannot do and by a network interface unit that supplies the communications capabilities.

Every workstation will run memory resident software, called Workstation Shell, which is the software interface between file server and workstation. This will filter local and network requests/commands.

A workstation can send or receive messages to or from other workstation or file server. For some LANs, the connection to a workstation can be made with a serial port. In that case, the LAN interface-unit is not a plug-in board internal to the computer but an external component.

Workstations may have one to several floppy-disk drives and hard-disk drives. Workstations may be divided into two classes: users and servers, User Work stations are microcomputers on the network which have a primary responsibility to an individual user. Server workstations perform a service to other workstation on the network. All workstations on the network communicate and cooperate with one another. The primary difference between server and user workstations is directly attached resources and programs which they run.

User workstations normally do not and cannot fulfill request from other workstations.
Resources attached to a user workstation, such as floppy disk drives, can only be accessed by the user of that workstation.

More than one server may be attached to a network, with each server providing a different function or one server fulfilling several roles.

Server workstations are of two kinds:

• Dedicated: The microcomputer is restricted to network function and often incorporates more powerful capabilities than user workstations do. It can support more features, such as electronic mail service or multiple hard disks and provides faster system response. Larger networks usually require dedicated servers.
• Non-dedicated: The microcomputer can act as an individual workstation even while it controls the network. Additional memory is required for all but the simplest tasks. Under light load, performance of a non-dedicated server may be slightly less than that of a workstation; under heavy processing demand, the individual user of the server may find work impossible.

Some network servers are capable of operating in both dedicated and non-dedicated mode, depending on the user's selection.