A computer workstation, often colloquially referred to as workstation, is a high-end general-purpose microcomputer designed to be used by one person at a time and which offers higher performance than normally found in a personal computer, especially with respect to graphics, processing power and the ability to carry out several tasks at the same time. The 3Station by 3Com was a typical early example. When comparing with some of the old definitions of computing power, some people may consider a workstation to be the equivalent of a one-person minicomputer.
Workstations tend to be very expensive, typically several times the cost of a standard PC and sometimes costing as much as a new car. The high expense usually comes from using costlier components that (one hopes) run faster than those found at the local computer store. Manufacturers try to take a "balanced" approach to system design, making certain that data can flow unimpeded between the many different subsystems within a computer. Additionally, workstation makers tend to push to sell systems at higher prices in order to maintain somewhat larger profit margins than the commodity-driven PC manufacturers.
The systems that come out of workstation companies often feature SCSI or Fibre Channel disk storage systems, high-end 3D accelerators, single or multiple 64-bitprocessors, large amounts of RAM, and well-designed cooling. Additionally, the companies that make the products tend to have very good repair/replacement plans. However, the line between workstation and PC is increasingly becoming blurred as trends toward consolidation and cost-cutting have caused workstation manufacturers to use "off the shelf" PC components and graphics solutions as opposed to proprietary in-house developed technology. Some attempts have been made to produce low-cost workstations (which are still expensive by PC standards), but they have often had lackluster performance.
The fact that consumer products of PCs and game consoles are now themselves at the cutting edge of technology makes deciding whether or not to purchase a workstation very difficult for many organizations. Sometimes, these systems are still required, but many places opt for the less-expensive, if more fault-prone, PC-level hardware.
Other researchers have access to at least one research workstation in each library that is open to the general public.
When demand for research workstations exceeds supply, other researchers are asked to limit their use of library workstations to those designated as "general use" and "Orbis-only." In addition, priority in the use of library workstations is given to those accessing Orbis and resources that can only be accessed on library research workstations.
The use of library research workstations is subject to the same policies governing the use of other Yale University facilities, including all applicable state and federal laws, copyright restrictions, and license agreements.
Workstations generally come with a large, high-resolution graphics screen, at least 64 MB (megabytes) of RAM, built-in network support, and a graphical user interface.
Most workstations also have a mass storage device such as a disk drive, but a special type of workstation, called a diskless workstation, comes without a disk drive.
In terms of computing power, workstations lie between personal computers and minicomputers, although the line is fuzzy on both ends.
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