The SGD Client needs to be configured so that it can connect to an SGD server. The connection settings for the SGD Client are defined in a client profile. The client profile is stored on the client device.

The client profile controls things such as the URL that the SGD Client connects to when it starts, and the operating mode of the SGD Client.

See Section 6.2, “Client Profiles” for more information about how SGD uses client profiles and the settings you can configure for a client profile.

When using a browser with Java technology enabled, the SGD Client is supported by the SGD Client Helper.

The SGD Client Helper is a Java applet that performs the following functions:

Use of the SGD Client Helper is optional. See Section 6.1.3.1, “Using and Configuring Java Web Start” if your browser does not use Java Plug-in software, or Section 6.1.7.1, “How to Use the SGD Client Without Java Technology” if you do not want to use Java technology on the client device.

Java Web Start software is an Oracle technology for delivering Java applications to clients without using applets or browser plug-in software. See https://www.java.com/en/download/faq/java_webstart.xml for more information.

Java Web Start provides an alternative to the usual method of installing the SGD Client automatically, where a Java applet is downloaded and installed using Java Plug-in software running in a browser. Using Java Web Start means that automatic installation can still be used, even if the browser does not support Java Plug-in software.

To use Java Web Start, Java software must be installed on the client device. Some browsers or client devices may need additional configuration to use Java Web Start.

If Java software is installed on the client device, Java Web Start is used automatically for browsers where Java Plug-in software is not installed or is disabled.

Timeout Configuration for Java Web Start

To avoid timeout problems when using Java Web Start over a slow connection, Administrators can increase the time allowed for downloading of the SGD Client binary.

Add a MAX_TCCCHECK_TIMEOUT context parameter setting in the following file: /opt/tarantella/webserver/tomcat/tomcat-version/webapps/sgd/WEB-INF/web.xml.

The default value for this setting is 180000 milliseconds (3 minutes). Configure a higher value, for example:

<context-param>
   <param-name>MAX_TCCCHECK_TIMEOUT</param-name>
   <param-value>360000</param-value>
</context-param>

In some SGD deployments you may want to disable automatic installation using Java Plug-in software for specific browsers, or for all browsers. SGD then does not attempt to use Java Plug-in software to download and install the SGD Client automatically, even if Java Plug-in software is enabled on the client browser.

Add a disallowjavauseragentmatch context parameter setting in the following file: /opt/tarantella/webserver/tomcat/tomcat-version/webapps/sgd/WEB-INF/web.xml.

The value of disallowjavauseragentmatch is a regular expression that matches the User-Agent header of the browser used on the client device.

For example, to disable automatic installation using Java Plug-in software for all browsers, use the following setting:

<context-param>
     <param-name>disallowjavauseragentmatch</param-name>
     <param-value>.*</param-value>
</context-param>

For example, to disable automatic installation using Java Plug-in software for all Firefox browsers, use the following setting:

<context-param>
     <param-name>disallowjavauseragentmatch</param-name>
     <param-value>.*firefox.*</param-value>
</context-param>

Restart the SGD web server after making changes to the web.xml file.

For a user-specific installation, the user must have permissions to write to the install location.

The default locations for a user-specific installation are as follows:

This installation method can be used on a shared file system.

The default locations for a system-wide installation are as follows:

With manual installation, you can install the SGD Client in a non-default location.

When you are connecting to an SGD server using a browser with Java technology enabled, the SGD Client Helper looks for the SGD Client on the client device. To enable this, SGD maintains a record of the location of all SGD Clients installed manually on the client device.

SGD Client locations are recorded on the client device as follows:

Before attempting to download the SGD Client from an SGD server, the SGD Client Helper checks the above locations to see if the same version of the SGD Client is already installed on the client device.

The above locations are also searched if the SGD Client Helper is unable to download and install the SGD Client automatically. For example, if there is a network problem. In this case, the SGD Client Helper checks if there is a compatible version of the SGD Client already installed on the client device, by looking in one of the locations shown.

The command line for the SGD Client can be used to create your own shortcuts and shell scripts.

The following are some examples of running the SGD Client from the command line.

$ ttatcc

$ ttatcc -profile server.example.com::Default

$ tcc -loginurl url

The SGD Client also supports the following command-line arguments. These arguments are useful only when developing applications with SGD web services.

This procedure does not apply when using a tablet device.