Everybody needs to know about Sun Ray thin clients!
The Sun Ray thin clients provide access to all computing resources in the College of Engineering, regardless of operating system. Even better, they provide a mobile desktop – all your stuff can be accessed from just about anywhere via your ID card.
Students who learn to use the Sun Rays early on find themselves way ahead of their peers in computing expertise and software knowledge. Get acquainted with them here and use them as soon as you arrive on campus!
What’s a Sun Ray?
It’s a networked device that contains just a video board and a network card. It displays and manages a mobile desktop served up by the Sun Ray server. For those interested in the techie details, see this Sun Ray technical page.
Getting started:
- Logging on
- Using Linux
- Using UNIX (Solaris)
- Using Microsoft Windows™: Just click on the Microsoft icon in the task bar. A Citrix windows will appear and then the standard Windows login screen.
Mobile sessions and your SmartChip CSU ID Card
With your CSU ID card you can keep your login session active and take it with you to any other Sun Ray (see the list of computer labs for Sun Ray locations). Insert your ID card before logging on and the session number is associated with your card. When you’re done, just pull the card out! Insert it in any other Sun Ray when you need your session back and all you need is your password. Your session (regardless of what kind of software was running on what OS) will be right where you left it.
When is a Sun Ray not the appropriate tool?
When software requires large graphical manipulations, the Sun Ray environment is not what you want. For example, a simple Pro/E drawing works fine on a Sun Ray, but a multiple layered and rendered project in Pro/E will be painful to access on the Sun Ray. When high-end graphics are required, use the desktop computers in the computer labs (see the list of computer labs to find desktop computers).