This section describes the multi-monitor support for the Sun Ray 2FS and Sun Ray 3 Plus Clients with dual video connectors. Figure 12.1, “Multi-monitor Example” shows a Sun Ray 3 Plus Client using the multi-monitor feature and the Windows connector.
Multi-monitor support for Sun Ray Clients is provided by the X Resize, Rotate, and Reflect (RandR) 1.2 extension, which provides a way to use the multiple monitors as one screen. Features include:
Configuration changes can be applied dynamically to a session.
Application windows are aware of monitor boundaries to avoid placement issues.
No size restrictions. Hotdesking is supported to other clients with different monitor resolutions, whether they are smaller or larger.
RandR 1.2 support is provided with the default Xserver, Xnewt, which is automatically installed and configured with the Sun Ray Software. The optimal multi-monitor configuration is applied automatically when a Sun Ray Client sessions starts, unless the utxconfig -r command is used to set the DIMENSIONS parameter. In that case, the utxconfig value will be used to size the screen.
A session's multi-monitor configuration is preserved after hotdesking, which means hotdesking between clients with different monitor configurations can produce unacceptable results. The dynamic session resizing feature solves this problem and automatically reconfigures the session's display based on the new screen configuration. See Section 13.1.2, “Dynamic Session Resizing” for details.
If dynamic session resizing is not enabled, then you have two ways to update the new display configuration after hotdesking, either automatically with optimal settings or manually with customized settings. See Section 12.1.1, “How to Set a Sun Ray Client's Multi-Monitor Configuration With Optimal Settings” and Section 12.1.2, “How to Set a Sun Ray Client's Multi-Monitor Configuration With Customized Settings” for details.
The gnome-display-properties GUI monitor configuration tool should not be used on Oracle Solaris or Oracle Linux. Using this tool may adversely affect the client's RandR 1.2 configuration.
The following command sets a Sun Ray Client's multi-monitor configuration using the optimal settings provided by xrandr. This command is not needed if dynamic session resizing is enabled.
/opt/SUNWut/bin/utscreenresize -s all
There may be times when you want to create a specific
multi-monitor configuration for a Sun Ray Client. This example
shows how to use the xrandr command to view
and set a specific multi-monitor configuration. For more
details, refer to the xrandr man page. This
procedure will not work if dynamic session resizing is enabled.
Sun Ray Software provides an updated version of the
xrandr command for Oracle Linux, and it is
installed in the /opt/SUNWut/bin
directory during the installation process. The
/opt/SUNWut/bin/xrandr command provides the
required functionality for the Sun Ray Software environment.
Issuing the xrandr command without any options shows a client's current multi-monitor configuration. For example, here is the xrandr output for a session created on a client with one monitor displaying at 1280x1024 resolution:
(use /opt/SUNWut/bin/xrandr on Oracle Linux)
% xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 640 x 480, current 1280 x 1024, maximum 10240 x 10240
DVI1 connected 1280x1024+0+0 (normal left inverted right) 361mm x 288mm
1280x1024 59.9*+ 74.9 65.9
1152x900 65.8
1024x768 74.9 69.8 59.9
800x600 59.9
640x480 59.4
In this output, the Screen line provides the current overall screen resolution (1280x1024) and the available maximum resolution (10240x10240). There is a single Output named DVI1 that shows a 1280x1024 monitor connected to the client's DVI port (or the first DVI port on a dual-DVI client). All resolutions available for this Output are listed. The current mode is indicated by a '*' and the optimal mode indicated with a '+'.
After hotdesking to a dual-monitor client, the client's Screen configuration does not change, but the RandR information is updated to reflect optimal modes. For example, hotdesking to a client with 1600x1200 and 1920x1200 monitors would show the following xrandr output:
(use /opt/SUNWut/bin/xrandr on Oracle Linux)
% xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 640 x 480, current 1280 x 1024, maximum 10240 x 10240
DVI1 connected 1280x1024+0+0 (normal left inverted right) 451mm x 338mm
1600x1200 59.9 +
1280x1024 74.9* 65.9 59.9
1152x900 75.8 75.0 65.8
1024x768 74.9 59.9
800x600 59.9
640x480 59.4
DVI2 connected (normal left inverted right)
1920x1200 59.9 +
1600x1200 59.9
1280x1024 74.9 65.9 59.9
1152x900 75.8 75.0 65.8
1024x768 74.9 59.9
800x600 59.9
640x480 59.4
For this new client, two Outputs are listed, DVI1 and DVI2. Although DVI2 is "connected," it is not configured with a current mode. Both Outputs have their optimal modes indicated with a '+', but DVI1 still has 1280x1024 as its current mode.
The best way to reconfigure this Screen with the optimal modes
for both DVI1 and DVI2 would be to use the
utscreenresize command described in the
previous section. However, if you wanted to select specific
resolutions for each monitor, you would need to use the
--output option of the
xrandr command. For example, if you wanted
both monitors to use 1600x1200, you would issue the following
xrandr command:
(use /opt/SUNWut/bin/xrandr on Oracle Linux)
% xrandr --output DVI1 --mode 1600x1200 --output DVI2 --mode 1600x1200 --right-of DVI1
Here is the new multi-monitor configuration, with both DVI1 and DVI2 at 1600x1200 resolution and DVI2 starting at 1600,0 on the screen:
(use /opt/SUNWut/bin/xrandr on Oracle Linux)
% xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 640 x 480, current 3200 x 1200, maximum 10240 x 10240
DVI1 connected 1600x1200+0+0 (normal left inverted right) 451mm x 338mm
1600x1200 59.9*+
1280x1024 74.9 65.9 59.9
1152x900 75.8 75.0 65.8
1024x768 74.9 59.9
800x600 59.9
640x480 59.4
DVI2 connected 1600x1200+0+0 (normal left inverted right) 519mm x 324mm
1920x1200 59.9 +
1600x1200 59.9*
1280x1024 74.9 65.9 59.9
1152x900 75.8 75.0 65.8
1024x768 74.9 59.9
800x600 59.9
640x480 59.4
Note that 1920x1200 is still marked as "optimal" for DVI2, but it is currently using 1600x1200.
