Small 128GB or 256GB SSDs can't hold multiple teaching, training, or production environments? vDisk supports three boot modes: semi-cached, fully cached, and network disk. Images and data are stored on the server and stream-loaded on demand, requiring minimal or even no local terminal storage. Capacity is expanded centrally on the server side—small-drive terminals can still run large images and heavy software without needing to replace drives one by one.
Capacity shortfalls appearing across dozens or hundreds of terminals cannot be fixed by patching each one individually — the correct approach is to centralize capacity at the server.
Within the same platform, settings can be configured per computer lab, matched to network conditions and terminal hard disk size.
| Comparison Dimensions | Network disk | Half cache | Full cache |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal local occupancy | ≈0, almost no local disk usage | Only cache frequently used data blocks; 128GB is sufficient | For the image to be fully deployed locally, sufficient local disk space is required |
| Network requirements | Relies on LAN, Gigabit minimum | Standard network is sufficient, with low bandwidth dependency. | Only uses network during updates |
| Network outage behavior | Dependent on server being online | Frequently used data is already local, daily use is unaffected | Equivalent to local disk, completely seamless |
| Suitable scenarios | Good network, very small terminal disk | The balanced choice for most teaching/training/office computer rooms | Scenarios with the highest demands, such as graphics workstations |
Multiple environments, large images, data security — one solution for three typical scenarios.
Multiple course images are all stored on the server and automatically switched according to the timetable. The exam environment is activated with one click and restored immediately after the exam. Small terminal drives no longer limit the number of courses; old computer labs can still offer new classes.
One classroom cycles through multiple environments: office software during the day, design classes at night, programming classes on weekends—changing classes means switching images. A 128GB small SSD runs all courses, eliminating the need to prepare a batch of machines for each environment.
Standardized workstation environment images are uniformly deployed; business data does not reside on terminals but is centrally stored on the server; thin clients, small-drive industrial PCs directly connect; if one fails, replace it, and logging in restores the work environment.
Apply for a free trial: Test the loading speed, offline performance, and restoration effect of network disks and semi-caching with your existing small-disk terminals, then decide whether to spend on disk replacement.