We are the defender of client-server architecture, and installing dedicated servers under Unix is our way of attacking the mainframe,' he said.

The upgraded systems, known as the PowerEdge series, represent a new approach for Dell, which focused on simplifying the task of installing and managing servers, not just selling them.

A less-centralised approach involves installing servers at local broadcast station sites which may be controlled either locally or remotely.

Ms. Kennedy said that the company can install servers that store Web pages and hold e-mail for transmission when the Internet connection returns, making the user unaware of the service gap.

Often it's about backwards compatibility; i.e. install servers now with 10g cards in them, and swap out the switches to 10G when your network guys do their next refresh.

It had, I mean, little command dialogue boxes were popping up, and then it was installing servers.

Tom Gillis, vice president for marketing at iBeam, said his company was also installing servers at POP's.

Typically, phone carriers have installed dedicated servers at or near the switches, which can isolate conversations from a specific phone number and send them to police agencies in a standardized format.

Technically, the network boot and install servers can be separate functions, but they are typically the same system.

Regular PC users can install and use this type of product without having to install servers, or know how to manage complicated, server based computing or server based virtualization products.