Canon Marketing Japan Co., Ltd. ESET SPECIAL SITE Canon MJ Security Information for Safe Digital Utilization Cyber Security Information Bureau ESET Synchritant terminal is effective as security measures?

The start of the thin client terminal was about 25 years ago

In the transition to remote work, which received the corona, many companies have become a challenge.While ensuring security, trial and error have been repeated to whether employees can achieve efficient business execution.One of the measures in such a movement was the use of the synchrement terminal.Although it has already been introduced by large companies and government offices, there should be many small and medium -sized enterprises that have taken this opportunity.

In the first place, the idea of a thin client itself has not recently appeared, and its history dates back more than 20 years.At that time, the appearance of Windows 95 became popular, but the price was a bottleneck.With the aim of eliminating these barriers, Oracle announced an architecture called "Network Computer".In addition, with the appearance of San Microsystems' Java Station, which was announced shortly after Network Computer, the concept of "synchrement" was widely recognized in the world.However, after all, these two products did not make a major market share.The major reason was that Microsoft's business -related software, which was rapidly spreading at the time, was not adopted.

Later, Microsoft announced "Windows Bass Terminal" against two companies.However, as the price of the computer itself increased, the price advantage of "Windows Based Terminal" has diminished, and as a result, the synchronous terminal was not widespread.

Introduction of synchrement clients to strengthen security

At the time when the concept of synchritors spread, it was mainly priced advantage.With the decline in the price of personal computers, the thin client seemed to have lost its superiority and lost its presence, but it has attracted attention again from the viewpoint of security.

In the 2000s, the rapid spread of personal computers made the terminal management complicated.Furthermore, as the use of laptops expanded, the loss and the risk of theft could not be ignored.Therefore, the structure of the thin client will attract attention again.In the middle of the 2000s, the introduction of thin clients began to be a large company.

A mechanism that supports the synchritors

Since the 2000s, many companies have been used in many companies on a daily basis, and the introduction of thin clients has been introduced to enhance security.In the first place, "Shin", a thin client terminal, means "Thin (thin, slender)".When using a synchritant terminal, the server is responsible for a lot of processing, so it is equipped with the minimum required memory or CPU in the terminal, and in principle, data is not stored in the storage inside the terminal.。

There are two ways to implement a synchronous client: a network boot system and a screen transfer method, and the screen transfer method is divided into three types: server -based, blade PC type, and VDI type.It is also important to note that the processing of the work is different for each implementation method.

Figure 1: Differences in implementation method and processing of thin clients

This is a method that provides a thin client environment by booting an image file stored on the server in advance from the terminal.Usually, it is premised to share the same image file with multiple people, so it is necessary to develop a unified personal computer environment with a small number of administrators, and is often adopted by educational institutions.

A method that allows multiple employees to work on applications that operate on the server.The advantage is that the burden on the terminal side is small because the application is processed on the server side.However, the disadvantage is that the use is limited to the operating application on the server side.

A method of preparing blade PCs for each employee on the server side and accessing from the thin client terminal.Each employee can occupy blade PCs, so they have a high degree of freedom and are not much different from ordinary personal computers.However, blade PCs are more expensive than normal personal computers, and also depends on the traffic capacity of the network.

A method of preparing a virtual desktop environment for each employee on the server and accessing it from a thin client terminal.Like a blade computer type, you can prepare an independent environment for each employee.It is also an advantage that a limited hardware resource can be used effectively because the server can share hardware resources among employees.In the screen transfer method, there is a disadvantage of relying on the network band environment in general, but the VDI type is no exception.

Advantages and disadvantages of introducing a synchritant device

Although it is a thin client with multiple implementation methods, the introduction has the following advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage of introducing a synchritant device is a great improvement in security levels.In principle, since data is not left on the terminal side, the risk of leakage in the case of loss or theft can be reduced.

If it is a server -based, blade PC type, or VDI type that is a screen transfer method, the client terminal side can be used with a minimum configuration.For this reason, compared to a regular PC called a fat client, the terminal itself is often lightweight and low -priced, and it is not equipped with a breakdown storage for a long time, so it can be used for a long time.In addition, the fat client can be used as a sign client terminal as it is.It is also possible to examine an operation method that allows personal computers and tablets to be accessed to internal systems as BYOD.

In terms of management, the benefits of the thin client terminal are great.Once set on the server side, there is almost no need to set on the terminal side.If it is a thin client device that does not have a storage, there is little failure.In this way, the thin client terminal is extremely effective in realizing security requirements in remote work and other operations.

A typical disadvantage of introducing a synchritant device is the burden of initial investment.In VDI methods, etc., we must introduce high -performance servers and software that realize virtualization.Since the processing is not performed on the terminal side, it is necessary to prepare sufficient processing skills on the server side.In addition, a network environment is essential to use a thin client terminal.For this reason, it must be kept offline and depends on the communication status of the network band.

How to realize remote work other than the introduction of Synch clients

As we have seen so far, there is a small cost burden on the introduction of the thin client.Therefore, it can be said that the barrier to the introduction is high except for companies that are in a attitude that emphasizes compliance in view of the balance with cost burden, except for large companies with many employees.Therefore, in order to realize remote work, we will introduce the following methods other than the thin client.

A remote desktop is a method of operating a remote PC on hand at hand.In the Windows environment, RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) can easily operate a PC from remotely.To operate a remote computer, you can operate with a tablet if it supports the RDP protocol.Recently, software that can safely use remote desktops has been provided.

Using a remote desktop technology, installing software on both hand and remote terminals, the use of a Singh Telework System that can easily and safely realize a remote desktop is also expanding.If it is a remote desktop, there is no need for a dedicated terminal, so the great advantage is that you can reduce investment costs and introduce them.

A secure business environment can be provided by using a VDI method that virtually built a desktop on the server and accessed from an employee's terminal and a VPN that virtually builds a dedicated network.In this case, it is possible to use an employee's personal device, and it is possible to carry out business as a so -called BYOD.

However, in the case of this method, the processing of the terminal depends on the server processing capacity and the network band.Due to the corona evil, traffic increased in condominiums in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and network delays occurred frequently.In such a case, the work efficiency may be reduced.In addition, it can be said that the cost of VDI and VPN costs costs.

In recent years, the progress of cloud technology has increased the number of business software that can be completed on the cloud.Office suits such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace and cloud services specializing in specialized tasks are also becoming popular.By uploading a file to a cloud storage by utilizing these, the work can be completed on the cloud.However, if you are using a traditional core system, it may be difficult to complete on the cloud.

The introduction of the thin client is a balance between availability and safety

In Japan, some companies have reduced the ratio of remote work, as the corona has calmed down.However, it must be remembered that the background of the spread of remote work is not only infected, but also has a large tide of change due to work style reforms before that.

Flexible working styles that use remote work are steadily penetrating as new options.In fact, before the Corona evil, IT engineers have become popular in remote work.Many say that the remote work in the corona evil has realized the benefits.In the future, it has been pointed out that whether or not to adopt a work style of remote work will lead to human recruitment.

Now that creativity has changed to an era when creativity is questioned, it is important to adopt a work style of remote work with flexible ideas.I guess that decision is in an era where corporate management is also required.

And the development of a remote work environment cannot be separated from security measures.As a way to realize remote work according to your environment and business conditions, we would like you to consider and practice various options, including the introduction of thin clients.