Problem 1: Identifying the server to the thin client
The first problem to overcome is how to get the SunRay to figure
out about the server. With the
SunRay having not only overcome a NAT but also being considerable hops away
from the server, the standard bootp/discovery option was just plain out. Hence, I would need to set up a DHCP server
to fan out the SunRay options correctly.
Unfortunately, the SunRay server manual is a bit less than
clear on how to do this. It lists
the options but basically states in a nutshell that ÒEncapsulated options
are hard, good luck. For my case
where I only admin my own cluster of boxes in my lab, this left quite a bit
to be desired.
After a bit of searching, I finally located an example
dhcpd.conf that would properly distribute the SunRay client info. While the firmware revision is of course
off, this is a huge step in the right direction, leaving me only to fill in
my server IP address.
======= Example dhcpd.conf for SunRay client ========
ddns-update-style
ad-hoc;
deny unknown-clients;
allow
bootp;
subnet
192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
authoritative;
host SunRay-NDSS-2 {
hardware ethernet XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX;
fixed-address 192.168.1.180;
netmask 255.255.0.0;
}
}
option
space SUNW-NewT;
option
SUNW-NewT.AuthSrvr code 21 = ip-address;
option
SUNW-NewT.AuthPort code 22 = unsigned integer 16;
option
SUNW-NewT.NewTVer code 23 = text;
option
SUNW-NewT.LogHost code 24 = ip-address;
option
SUNW-NewT.LogKern code 25 = unsigned integer 8;
option
SUNW-NewT.LogNet code 26 = unsigned integer 8;
option
SUNW-NewT.LogUSB code 27 = unsigned integer 8;
option
SUNW-NewT.LogVid code 28 = unsigned integer 8;
option
SUNW-NewT.LogAppl code 29 = unsigned integer 8;
option
SUNW-NewT.FWSrvr code 31 = ip-address;
option
SUNW-NewT.Intf code 33 = text;
class
"vendor-classes" {
match option vendor-class-identifier;
}
subclass
"vendor-classes" "SUNW.NewT.SUNW" {
vendor-option-space SUNW-NewT;
option SUNW-NewT.AuthSrvr XXX.XX.XX.XXX;
}
The key points that you would need to customize are:
- The
netmask/subnet and the Ethernet address of the client.
- Authoritative
must be present to override any other DHCP clients.
- Change
the AuthSrvr and Routers option appropriately.
To get a DHCP server running, you can choose a couple of
options. I used the stock RedHat
Linux DHCP server for testing:
%dhcpd
-d
The -d flag puts you into debug mode (quite helpful). I also got DHCP running under Cygwin in
Windows [Link]. This is a bit trickier as you need to
apply a patch but this also worked just fine. The key is that the SunRay simply needs to find the server,
once it knows about the server, it will do just fine.
Problem 2: Having the server let you in
The actual process of having the server respond is pretty
easy once you get past the first step.
In order for the server to respond, you will need to add rules in your
firewall (optional) and update the SunRay server response. I am not sure if
this step is mandatory but I did it anyway.
%/opt/SUNWut/sbin/utadm
-A 67.163.4.0
Update: This step is not mandatory after
further testing.
For the firewall, I am using SunScreen 3.2. I simply needed to add a rule to allow
communication from that specific IP address.
%ssadm
edit Initial
> add
address SunRay-Home 67.163.4.225
> add
rule * SunRay-Home self ALLOW COMMENT ÒSunRay traffic from homeÓ
Move the new rule in front of the deny rule.
> move
rule X Y
> ssadm
save
> quit
%ssadm
activate Initial
Voila, the traffic should not reach the server. However, all is not quite well as the
NAT is now our last hurdle to overcome.
Problem 3: Traffic from the client to the server (NAT)
To finish up, place the thin client in the DMZ on the client
and the standard SunRay login screen should pop up.
Performance Issues
- Do not
do anything graphic-intensive. If
you think it is bad on the LAN, the WAN only makes it worse.
Mozilla is barely tolerable running on GNOME 2.0.
- Audio
stream does work but packets are dropped occasionally. I was able to stream an mp3 to the
box without any considerable issues.
Other Notes
After a few more months of operation,
I can add a few more tidbits to this info.