Glossary

An alias token enables a card owner to access the same Sun Ray session with more than one physical token. This setup can be useful, for example, when a user needs a duplicate smart card.

The Sun Appliance Link Protocol, a suite of network protocols that enable communication between Sun Ray servers and Sun Ray Clients.

Automatic Multigroup Hotdesking. See regional hotdesking.

The Authentication Manager, using the selected authentication modules, decides what tokens are valid and which users, as token owners, have access to the system and sessions.

Although all tokens are used by the Authentication Manager to grant or deny access to Sun Ray sessions, this term usually refers to a user's smart card token. See token.

Sometimes also referred to as switch fabric. A switch's backplane is the pipe through which data flows from an input port to an output port. Backplane bandwidth usually refers to the aggregate bandwidth available amongst all ports within a switch.

To prevent clients from downloading firmware that is older than the firmware they already have, the administrator can set a barrier mechanism. The barrier mechanism symbol BarrierLevel is defined by default in the DHCP table of Sun Ray servers.

Bits per pixel.

Controlled Access Mode, was renamed to kiosk mode.

See token reader.

See desktop client.

The unique identifier for a client. For Sun Ray Clients, it is the client's MAC address. For Oracle Virtual Desktop Clients, it is an MD5 hash of the client key. Client ID is also referred to as CID, terminal CID, client identifier, or desktop ID.

An automatically generated public-private key pair that represents a Sun Ray Client or an Oracle Virtual Desktop Client. A client key is used to authenticate the device when it connects to a server.

A common way to describe network services and the user processes (programs) of those services.

A device or program capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream or signal.

See restart.

A tool to modify a Sun Ray Client's local configuration for initialization and booting.

In Sun Ray Software documentation, used to refer to both a Sun Ray Client or Oracle Virtual Desktop Client. The abbreviated term client is also used.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, which is a means of distributing IP addresses and initial parameters to the clients.

One or more screens from a single Sun Ray session.

See Sun Ray Client.

A feature that allows the remote desktop to be resized automatically to fit the optimized size of your local desktop client session. When you hotdesk to a session from a different device, or use a client device like a tablet, which can be rotated, the new screen configuration is detected and the session screen dimensions are adapted accordingly.

The process of transferring processes from a failed Sun Ray server to a functional Sun Ray server.

Two or more Sun Ray servers configured to provide continuity of service in the event of a network or system failure. Sometimes abbreviated as FOG or HA (for high availability). The term high availability refers to the benefit of this type of configuration; the term failover group refers to the functionality.

A small piece of software residing on Sun Ray Clients that handles power-on self test (POST), client initialization, authentication, and low-level input an output. See Sun Ray Operating Software.

See barrier mechanism.

See failover group.

Frames per second.

Video output device that drives the video display. See virtual frame buffer.

Across a failover group.

High availability. See failover group.

A Sun Ray Client, with one or two monitors, used in a multihead group.

See failover group.

A predefined key that causes an activity to occur. For example, a hot key is used to display the Settings screen on the Sun Ray Client.

A property of a hardware component that can be inserted into or removed from a system that is powered on. USB devices connected to Sun Ray Clients are hot-pluggable.

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.

A session that is running on a Sun Ray server but to which no user (identified by a smart card token or a pseudo-token) is logged in.

A number representing a specific USB keyboard map that can be set in the Sun Ray client firmware to provide better Non-US keyboard support. This code is used if the keyboard returns a country code of 0.

A facility to deliver an almost 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. Kiosk sessions are configured through a Kiosk session type.

A user session running in kiosk mode. Also called kiosk mode session.

A set of scripts and configuration files, which are described by a kiosk session descriptor file. A kiosk session type defines the kind of user session that will run in kiosk mode. A session type is sometimes referred to as a session configuration.

If mobile sessions are enabled, a user can log into an existing session from different locations without a smart card, in which case the user name is associated with the session. This type of pseudo-token is called a mobile token.

For the purposes of the Sun Ray Software, the property of a session that allows it to follow a user from one client to another within a server group. On the Sun Ray system, mobility requires the use of a smart card or other identifying mechanism.

The physical monitor connected to a client.

Maximum Transmission Unit, used to specify the number of bytes in the largest packet a network can transmit.

A type of multiple monitor configuration that supports multiple monitors connected to the dual video connectors on a Sun Ray 2FS or Sun Ray 3 Plus Client. By using RandR 1.2, the multiple monitors are managed as one screen.

The process of enabling communication between Sun Ray servers over their Sun Ray network interfaces in a failover environment.

A type of multiple monitor configuration that enables you to merge and control multiple Sun Ray Clients, referred to in this context as heads, and their screens using a single keyboard and mouse attached to a primary client.

The time delay associated with moving information through a network. Interactive applications such as voice, video displays and multimedia applications are sensitive to these delays.

NSCM. A mobile session on a Sun Ray Client that does not rely on a smart card. NSCM requires a policy that allows pseudo-token.

See non-smart card mobility.

A specific mode for a server in a failover group, which means the server does not participate in load balancing any more (the load balancing algorithm does not select this server for new sessions). New sessions can still be manually created on it.

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. It is a software version of a Sun Ray Client. The desktop running the application is also referred to as an Oracle Virtual Desktop Client in this document.

On-screen display. The Sun Ray Client uses OSD icons to alert the user about potential start-up or connectivity problems.

A single instance of a physical monitor. Each output has a physical video connector.

Pluggable Authentication Module. A set of dynamically loadable objects that gives system administrators the flexibility of choosing among available user authentication services.

A single PAM handle and runtime state associated with all PAM items, data, and the like.

See authentication policy.

See configuration GUI.

Using the power cord to restart a client.

A network configuration where Sun Ray Clients are directly connected to the Sun Ray server, that is, the server has a network interface connected to the subnet and the server is devoted entirely to carrying Sun Ray traffic. Also known as directly-connected dedicated interconnect or private interconnect.

A Sun Ray session associated with a pseudo-token rather than a smart card token.

A user accessing a Sun Ray session without a smart card is identified by the client's built-in type and MAC address, known as a pseudo-token. See token.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol.

Remote Desktop Services. Formally known as Terminal Services. See Windows Terminal Services.

Enables users to access their sessions across wider domains and greater physical distances. You can enable this feature by defining how user sessions are mapped to an expanded list of servers in multiple failover groups. Originally known as Automatic Multigroup Hotdesking (AMGH).

Sun Ray services can be restarted either from the utstart command or with the Warm Restart or Cold Restart buttons through the Admin GUI. A cold restart terminates all Sun Ray sessions; a warm restart does not.

Remote Hotdesk Authentication, a security enhancement that requires Sun Ray Software authentication before users can reconnect to an existing session. RHA does not apply to kiosk sessions, which are designed for anonymous access without authentication. RHA policy can be administered either through the Admin GUI or with the utpolicy command.

A monitor or group of monitors that show a single desktop to a user. A screen can be provided by a single monitor or by multiple monitors on a Sun Ray Client with dual video connectors, such as the Sun Ray 3 Plus Client. A multihead group can also show a single desktop when using Xinerama.

The ability to pan to individual screens that were originally created by a multihead group on a client with a single head.

For the purposes of Sun Ray Software, any application that can directly connect to the Sun Ray Client. It can include audio, video, X servers, access to other machines, and device control of the client.

A group of services or applications associated with an authentication token. Desktop sessions reside on a Sun Ray server and can be directed to any Sun Ray Client or Oracle Virtual Desktop Client. From a user's perspective, a desktop session is usually an instance of an OS desktop. A session may be associated with a token embedded on a smart card. Also known as desktop session or Sun Ray session. See token.

See mobility.

Generically, a plastic card containing a microprocessor capable of making calculations. Smart cards that can be used to initiate or connect to Sun Ray sessions contain identifiers such as the card type and ID. Smart card tokens may also be registered in the Sun Ray data store, either by the Sun Ray administrator or, if the administrator chooses, by the user.

Using a smart card to authenticate a card holder based on credentials supplied by the card and authentication information from the card holder, such as a PIN or biometric data.

Using a smart card to provide a unique token ID and token type that enables Sun Ray Software to locate the card holder's session. In some cases, card holders might be required to authenticate themselves using smart card-based authentication.

An authentication token contained on a smart card. See token.

A hardware client that obtains a desktop session from a Sun Ray server. The software client counterpart is called an Oracle Virtual Desktop Client. Previously referred to as Sun Ray thin clients, Sun Ray virtual display terminals, and Sun Ray DTUs (Desktop Terminal Units).

The name of the Sun Ray Client firmware. See firmware.

The Sun Ray system consists of Sun Ray Clients, servers, server software, and the physical networks that connect them.

Thin clients remotely access some resources of a computer server such as compute power and large memory capacity. The Sun Ray Clients rely on the server for all computing power and storage.

The Sun Ray system requires each user to present a token that the Authentication Manager uses to allow or deny access to the system and to sessions. A token consists of a type and an ID. If the user uses a smart card, the smart card's type and ID are used as the token. If the user is not using a smart card, the client's built-in type and ID (the unit's Ethernet, or MAC, address) are used instead as a pseudo-token. If mobile sessions are enabled, a user can log into an existing session from different locations without a smart card, in which case the user name is associated with the session. A pseudo-token used for mobile sessions is called a mobile token. Alias tokens can also be created to enable users to access the same session with more than one physical token.

A Sun Ray Client that is dedicated to reading smart cards and returning their identifiers, which can be associated with card owners (that is, with users).

Servers in the same failover group that "trust" one another through a common group signature.

A Sun Ray Software feature that enables users to access USB devices connected to a Sun Ray Client from their Windows sessions, provided that the appropriate device drivers are installed on the Windows system.

A session that is running on a Sun Ray server and to which a user, identified by a smart card token or a pseudo toke, is logged in.

A feature provided in the Windows connector to improve video playback performance, which consists of the multimedia redirection and Adobe Flash acceleration components.

A virtual machine containing a desktop instance that is executed and managed within the virtual desktop infrastructure, usually a Windows desktop accessed through RDP.

A region of memory on the Sun Ray server that contains the current state of a user's display.

Enables Sun Ray Client users to connect to Windows virtual machines through the VMware View Manager.

See restart.

A Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) client that enables Sun Ray users to access applications running on remote Microsoft Windows systems.

A generic term used throughout the Sun Ray Software documentation to indicate a remote desktop server running the Windows OS that can be accessed remotely from a Sun Ray Client using the Windows connector. See Windows Terminal Services for the different ways a remote desktop is provided based on the Windows OS.

A Microsoft Windows component that makes Windows applications and desktops accessible to remote users and clients. Depending on the Windows release, this feature may be called Terminal Services, Remote Desktop Services, or Remote Desktop Connection.

A process that controls a bitmap display device in an X Window System. It performs operations on request from client applications. Sun Ray Software contains two X servers: Xsun, which was the default Xserver in previous versions of Sun Ray Software on Oracle Solaris 10, and Xnewt, which is the default Xserver for Sun Ray Software on all platforms. Xnewt enables the latest multimedia capabilities.

An extension to the X Window System that enables the use of two or more monitors as one large virtual display. Xinerama mode allows the display of a single desktop across multiple monitors.

The default X server for Sun Ray Software on Oracle Solaris.

The X Resize, Rotate and Reflect extension to the X Window System, which enables clients to resize, rotate, and change screen resolution settings dynamically. For Sun Ray Software, this extension is especially useful when a user hotdesks to Sun Ray Clients that use monitors of different sizes or resolutions than the one where a given session began.