Chapter 1. Sun Ray Software Overview

Table 1.1, “Sun Ray Software Management Areas” provides a brief introduction to all the areas in the Sun Ray Software that require management and administration. Every item on this list has a corresponding chapter that provides detailed information.

Table 1.1. Sun Ray Software Management Areas

Management Area

Description

CLI and Admin GUI

Sun Ray Software has both a command-line interface (CLI) and an Admin GUI for administrative functions. The GUI presents a clear view of administrative functions, with a tab-based navigational model and context-sensitive help.

Sun Ray Server

The Sun Ray server runs the Sun Ray Software and provides sessions to clients.

Failover Group

A failover group consists of two or more servers that provide users with a high level of availability in case one server becomes unavailable.

Hotdesking

Hotdesking, or session mobility, is the ability for a user to remove a smart card, insert it into any other client within a failover group, and have the user's session "follow" the user, thus allowing the user to have instantaneous access to the user's windowing environment and current applications from multiple clients. Hotdesking can be implemented without smart cards through the non-smart card session mobility (NSCM) feature.

Regional hotdesking promotes hotdesking among server groups, letting users access their sessions across a wider domain.

Kiosk Mode

A way to provide an unlimited variety of desktops or applications to users, even though the actual desktop or application may be running elsewhere. Kiosk mode bypasses the normal authentication methods of the platform and runs anything that the administrator defines. It is the primary way to provide user's access to the Windows connector or VMware View Manager connector sessions without the user ever seeing the default Sun Ray client desktop.

Security

Sun Ray Software provides the ability to manage the security and authentication policies of Sun Ray Client sessions.

Multiple Monitor Configurations

Sun Ray Software enables you to merge and control multiple Sun Ray Client screens or heads, using a single keyboard and mouse attached to a primary client. This functionality is important for users who need to monitor many applications or systems simultaneously or to accommodate a single application, such as a large spreadsheet, across multiple screens. To use multiple screens, the administrator sets up multihead groups, consisting of two or more clients.

There is also multi-monitor support to provide a single desktop for Sun Ray Clients with dual video connectors.

Sun Ray Clients

A Sun Ray Client is a hardware unit that can potentially exceed the full functionality of a desktop computer, but with less administrative and environmental costs.

Sun Ray Client Firmware

A small firmware module in each Sun Ray Client is managed from the Sun Ray server. The firmware module checks the hardware with a power-on self test (POST) and initializes the client. Maintaining the latest firmware on Sun Ray Clients is an important part of administering the Sun Ray environment. If the GUI mode is enabled on the firmware, the user can also modify a Sun Ray Client's local configuration through a tool called the Configuration GUI.

Oracle Virtual Desktop Clients

An Oracle Virtual Desktop Client is a software application that runs on a common client operating system and provides the ability to connect to a desktop session running on a Sun Ray server, just like a physical Sun Ray Client.

Windows Connector

Sun Ray Clients can access a Windows session from a Windows system. Windows support on a Sun Ray Client includes video acceleration and access to USB devices.

VMware View Connector

Sun Ray Clients can access Windows virtual machines through the VMware View Manager.