Th Sun Ray was introduced by Sun Microsystems 1999 as a thin client (client side OS). Sun Ray clients are connected via an ethernet network to the Sun Ray Server. Sun Ray Server software is available for Sun’s solaris operating system and also for linux.

Sun’s Sun Ray thin-client platform is unlike any other, offering native Unix connectivity on the Solaris and Linux platforms, as well as providing SmartCard secondary security measures and the ability to move seamlessly between clients while maintaining active sessions. The management tools are rather sparse, however. It’s certainly a different breed, but it works quite well.

The Sun Ray thin-client computing platform is actually a combination of hardware and software. At the hardware end, there are two new clients available. The modest Sun Ray 2 offers 10/100 Ethernet, sound, and USB support. The Sun Ray 2FS is larger but adds 100FX support for greater security at the transport level, as well as the ability to run dual monitors. Both clients are outfitted with SmartCard readers to support two-factor authentication.

On the software end, the clients require the Sun Ray Software package. This includes all the server-side components that deliver a desktop to the client devices. A rather rudimentary Web management UI that can display connected clients, users, and SmartCard information is also included.

Hot Desking is one of the major features the Sun Ray provides, and it works very well. In the middle of a user session, removing the SmartCard from the front of the client will revert the client back to a log-in window. Placing the card into another client will bring up a log-in window, and with a valid password, the user’s entire session appears exactly as it was on the original client. This is similar to session disconnects on Windows Terminal Services or Citrix but with the additional security measure and ease provided by the SmartCard.

To reach the Windows market, Sun has released the Sun Ray Connector for Windows, which essentially runs a full-screen Windows Remote Desktop client on the Sun Ray client. This approach may seem like the long way around to those with a history of Windows-based thin-client implementations, but it does work.

If you are going for secure, manageable Solaris or Windows desktop is the goal, the new Sun Ray solution is worth a look. The bells and whistles are not just fluff when you need to deploy dual-monitor support or have a highly secure fiber network.