Silk Test Workbench consists of two distinct software components that execute in separate processes:
The Silk Test Workbench host software is the component you use to develop, edit, compile, run and debug your scripts and visual tests. The machine that runs this program is often referred to as the host machine.
The Silk Test agent is the component of Silk Test Workbench that interacts with the GUI of your application. The agent translates the commands in your tests into GUI specific commands, driving and monitoring the application you are testing. The agent can be run locally on the same machine on which the host is running or, in a networked environment, any number of agents can be run on remote machines. The machine that runs the agent is often referred to as the remote machine.