9.1. Multi-monitor

This section describes the multi-monitor support for the Sun Ray 2FS and Sun Ray 3 Plus Clients with dual video connectors. Figure 9.1, “Multi-monitor Example” shows a Sun Ray 3 Plus Client using the multi-monitor feature and the Windows connector.

Figure 9.1. Multi-monitor Example

A figure showing a Sun Ray 3 Plus Client and two monitors showing the multi-monitor feature.

The multi-monitor support 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:

The RandR 1.2 support is provided with the default Xserver, Xnewt, which is automatically installed and configured with the Sun Ray Software. The most 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.

You can use the xrandr command to specifically configure a client's multi-monitor configuration.

Note

To use the enhanced multi-monitor support on Sun Ray 2FS and Sun Ray 3 Plus Clients running Linux, you must install RandR 1.2 on the Linux Sun Ray server. See the Installation and Configuration Guide for details.

9.1.1. Hotdesking

The multi-monitor configuration is preserved with hotdesking. If the new client's monitor configuration or resolution is different, the previous configuration is used as best as possible. You must use the xrandr command in a terminal window to change the multi-monitor configuration to reflect the new client. Using the -auto option to the xrandr command will automatically adjust the configuration of the particular Outputs to their preferred sizing.

The gnome-display-properties GUI monitor configuration tool should not be used on Solaris or Oracle Linux. Using this tool may adversely affect the client's RandR 1.2 configuration.

9.1.2. Example xrandr Commands

This section describes a scenario about hotdesking a session from one Sun Ray client with a single monitor to another client with dual monitors. This example shows how to use the xrandr command to view and manage a multi-monitor configuration. For more details, refer to the xrandr man page.

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:

% 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       0.0*+
   3840x2400       0.0
   3200x2400       0.0
   2560x2048       0.0
   2560x1600       0.0
   2560x1440       0.0
   2048x1536       0.0
   2048x1152       0.0
   1920x1200       0.0
   1920x1080       0.0
   1680x1050       0.0
   1600x1200       0.0
   1600x1024       0.0
   1600x900        0.0
   1440x900        0.0
   1400x1050       0.0
   1368x768        0.0
   1280x960        0.0
   1280x800        0.0
   1280x720        0.0
   1152x900        0.0
   1024x768        0.0
   800x600         0.0
   640x480         0.0

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 dimensions available for this Output are listed, although many of them may not be possible on this particular monitor. The current mode is indicated by a '*' and the preferred 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 preferred modes. For example, hotdesking to a client with 1600x1200 and 1920x1200 monitors would show the following xrandr output:

% 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       0.0 +
   3840x2400       0.0
   3200x2400       0.0
   2560x2048       0.0
   2560x1600       0.0
   2560x1440       0.0
   2048x1536       0.0
   2048x1152       0.0
   1920x1200       0.0
   1920x1080       0.0
   1680x1050       0.0
   1600x1024       0.0
   1600x900        0.0
   1440x900        0.0
   1400x1050       0.0
   1368x768        0.0
   1280x1024       0.0*
   1280x960        0.0
   1280x800        0.0
   1280x720        0.0
   1152x900        0.0
   1024x768        0.0
   800x600         0.0
   640x480         0.0
DVI2 connected (normal left inverted right)
   1920x1200       0.0 +
   3840x2400       0.0
   3200x2400       0.0
   2560x2048       0.0
   2560x1600       0.0
   2560x1440       0.0
   2048x1536       0.0
   2048x1152       0.0
   1920x1080       0.0
   1680x1050       0.0
   1600x1200       0.0
   1600x1024       0.0
   1600x900        0.0
   1440x900        0.0
   1400x1050       0.0
   1368x768        0.0
   1280x1024       0.0
   1280x960        0.0
   1280x800        0.0
   1280x720        0.0
   1152x900        0.0
   1024x768        0.0
   800x600         0.0
   640x480         0.0

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 preferred modes indicated with a '+', but DVI1 still has 1280x1024 as its current mode.

To reconfigure this Screen with the preferred modes for both DVI1 and DVI2, and to preserve the contiguous left to right positioning that the client uses, you could use the following xrandr command:

% xrandr --mode DVI1 --auto --output DVI2 --auto --right-of DVI1

Here is the new multi-monitor configuration, with DVI1 at 1600x1200 resolution, DVI2 at 1920x1200 resolution, and DVI2 starting at 1600,0 on the screen:

% xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 640 x 480, current 3520 x 1200, maximum 10240 x 10240
DVI1 connected 16xxx1200+0+0 (normal left inverted right) 451mm x 338mm
   1600x1200       0.0*+
   3840x2400       0.0
   3200x2400       0.0
   2560x2048       0.0
   2560x1600       0.0
   2560x1440       0.0
   2048x1536       0.0
   2048x1152       0.0
   1920x1200       0.0
   1920x1080       0.0
   1680x1050       0.0
   1600x1024       0.0
   1600x900        0.0
   1440x900        0.0
   1400x1050       0.0
   1368x768        0.0
   1280x1024       0.0
   1280x960        0.0
   1280x800        0.0
   1280x720        0.0
   1152x900        0.0
   1024x768        0.0
   800x600         0.0
   640x480         0.0
DVI2 connected 1920x1200+1600+0 (normal left inverted right) 541mm x 338mm
   1920x1200       0.0*+
   3840x2400       0.0
   3200x2400       0.0
   2560x2048       0.0
   2560x1600       0.0
   2560x1440       0.0
   2048x1536       0.0
   2048x1152       0.0
   1920x1080       0.0
   1680x1050       0.0
   1600x1200       0.0
   1600x1024       0.0
   1600x900        0.0
   1440x900        0.0
   1400x1050       0.0
   1368x768        0.0
   1280x1024       0.0
   1280x960        0.0
   1280x800        0.0
   1280x720        0.0
   1152x900        0.0
   1024x768        0.0
   800x600         0.0
   640x480         0.0