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SunRay 3, use as Thin Client? Feasible or pointless?
I’ve posted this in hardware but it’s mainly a software solution I’m looking for. Please move as appropriate.
Hi, I volunteer at a charity which refurbishes and repurposes old computer kit before donating it to charities at home and abroad for use by school kids who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access remote education facilities. We’ve had a donation of “never been used” SunRay 3 clients which, if it were possible, would be ideal to set up multiple clients run from a laptop “server”. I’m thinking remote display, keyboard and mouse with user accounts on the server. I’ve previously played with Sun Xterminals (microSparc processor) using a program called SLXT 0.7a way back in 2001 which did the job back then. What I’ve found out so far… The SunRay 3 has a Mips RMI Alchemy Au1550 processor, production was discontinued in 2014. Needed Oracle’s SRSS (SunRay Software Server) software which is/was proprietary, though free. A $100.00 licence per client was required. The last version was 5.4.5 which requires a “My Oracle Support” account. I’ve managed to download version 4.2. It runs on SuSE (SLES 10) or Red Hat RHEL AS 5) Looking at Admin PDFs I think it’s far more complicated than is needed. The install scripts need tweaking; e.g. for “ print” read “echo” being the easiest. They just get more complicated! I’m hardware not software! Also, I’m using Fedora 37 as the host OS instead of Red Hat which further complicates matters. Other “solutions”: jOpenRay (also kOpenRay). Java based with the code released in 2010. Only works with VNC (Virtual Network Computing) or RFB (Remote Frame Buffer_ Display, written for SunRay 2 devices, probably doesn’t work with SunRay 3. Software discontinued in 2014 along with the hardware. Problems as Apache Ant needs to be built and installed. Aaaarrgghh! LTSP (Linux Terminal Server Project) Nearly ideal but uses up to 10 clients with i3-6100 processors and 4Gb Ram. No Mips alternative. Has anybody worked on anything like this using SunRay 3s or is it a pointless task? If we could get somewhere, deploying Internet in a Box would also be worthwhile. Thanks for reading this far without falling asleep! Play Bonny! :hattip: |
Soadyheid,
Is it worth sending an email to DTU Compute asking for help/advice? https://itswiki.compute.dtu.dk/index...y_thin_clients https://itswiki.compute.dtu.dk/index...erminal_Server https://www.compute.dtu.dk/ Also, have a look at this video from 17.00: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMaSR2B06xM clabretro videos: https://www.youtube.com/@clabretro |
Cheers beachboy2! Might well be worth an email. :D
Thanks for the info! Play Bonny! :hattip: |
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I assume they pxe boot over network. I tend to spin up a Knoppix dvd and start it's terminal server.
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Soadyheid,
Some used Sun Ray 3 thin clients on ebay at £49.99: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305256914673 The vendor also has the Solaris 9 x86 Operating System Software: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304358657...wAAOSw3I1iC80c Solaris 9: https://www.oracle.com/solaris/techn...ingsystem.html |
@beachboy2
As originally posted, Quote:
The "Internet in a Box" project runs on Raspberry Pi OS, Ubuntu 22.4+, Mint 21+ and Debian 12+ Thanks for the thought though. :) @jefro I'll check out your Knoppix suggestion but as the SunRay 3 has a Mips processor rather than X86 or ARM, not sure... Play Bonny! :hattip: |
Ok, the computers sound like crap, but that's all that's needed really, isn't it? It gets libreoffice and a browser running. through some server.
That's a Mips cpu? I'd approach that by getting any pre-compiled linux OS for Mips. From the RPi experience, I know that code written & tested on x86 (as glibc was) doesn't necessarily compile painlessly on any other cpu. The software will be frozen in time, as there's no updates. Have you got one up and running? mips.com & linux-mips.org are two useful sites for you, I imagine. PXE mightn't be practical in all circumstances. Disk images would do if you had a live cd/dvd/usb. I'd make that my first goal. Plans come later. EDIT: For sure, gentoo did a mips version. Might still do. |
It's worth noting that the SunRay series of thin clients require a proprietary back end or server side software suite. This suite is quite expensive and uses expensive to implement and maintain.
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Soadyheid,
You misunderstand me. Perhaps I should have been clearer. If all else fails, SELL some of the Sun Ray 3s to get some funds for the charity and buy some more suitable hardware. Good luck. |
@niceflipper8827
as I mentioned in my original post: Quote:
The SunRay 3 is effectively a sealed box, no disk, no memory, nothing worth trying to open the case for. Whatever it uses is in the internal firmware. All the heavy lifting is done on the server via the SRSS software or hopefully some open source hack which is why I was asking. Not looking good though. @beachboy2 Sorry, you meant sell them. We've actually been using some as packing items (instead of styrofoam pellets) in pallets of HP all in ones being sent abroad, but selling is a thought. I'll check with the boss. Hmmm... Why would anyone want to buy one for £50 if they're so hard to stage now? Play Bonny! :hattip: |
Soadyheid,
DTU Compute may take a few off your hands, but probably not 2000! They may know of other organisations who may be interested in the Sun Rays. clabretro was planning to make a fourth video about the Sun Ray 3. It might be useful to contact him and ask if he has made any progress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMaSR2B06xM https://www.youtube.com/@clabretro |
Soadyheid,
Worth a look. Victor Bart-RETRO Machines: https://www.youtube.com/@victorbart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dfK0RS6wN4 |
Cheers beachboy2, Most of the content you've highlighted is Sun Microsystems related (I used to maintain a whole lot of their Sparc based Enterprise servers and Ultra boxes, even installing Gentoo on an Ultra 2 which was fun!)
Unfortunately... Internet-in-a-Box runs on Debian Based Linux. I've tried installing it on a couple of laptops, one worked but no WiFi hotspot, the other fails and gives a "403 Forbidden" error. (The install/upgrade didn't work properly though.) Oracle's SRSS SunRay software runs on Red Hat or SuSE Linux, not Debian, so that's a problem. I may have to revisit the kOpenRay solution which is Java based so should be OS agnostic. It has a lot fewer bells and whistles, i.e. the USB connections on the SunRay 3 won't work. Play Bonny! and thanks again. :hattip: |
Just a word, Soadyheid:
I lost interest in this over the memory situation. You won't be able to give kids the PC experience, or even play games with each other. The longer this goes on, the more danger there is of this becoming a time trap for you - something that guzzles your time without positive results or feedback. You'd be better off with RazPis |
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