It has been a while since my last post. Part of the reason why is because I am expanding my focus to include the broader spectrum of Sun's virtualization portfolio. Click here for a brief video overview. This blog post relates to the desktop virtualization part of the portfolio.
Sun's desktop virtualization solution breaks down into three layers. The bottom layer is the virtualization layer. This is where your desktop lives. Your desktop may live on a shared server like a Windows Terminal server, a Solaris server, or even a Linux server. Or your desktop may be contained within a virtual machine running on top of a physical server. Or your desktop may just run on a physical blade server, or even just a plain old desktop. Most likely though in order to get the full benefits of the desktop virtualization solution, your desktop will be running within a datacenter.
The next layer is the session management layer. In this layer, we manage your desktop session so that you can access it from just about any device. Session management enables you to go from one device to another and pick up right where you left off on your desktop. This awesome feature is called hotdesking.
The third and last layer is the access layer. This layer represents the thing that you interact with. It could be a thin device like a SunRay, or a browser on your Mac desktop, or even microbrowser in your mobile phone or PDA.
With that brief overview, the real purpose of this blog is to talk about the various wireless options for thin client devices of the access layer of Sun's virtual desktop solution.
Sun's SunRay thin clients do not currently offer native wireless support. However, there are several wireless/Ethernet bridge devices available that you can use to put a SunRay thin client on a wireless network. I did a brief market survey this morning to find out what devices are available for this task. Here are the results of my survey.
| Product | Model | Company | Price |
| Wireless Pocket Router/AP w/ Client Mode | DWL-G730AP | D-Link | $64.99 |
| High Speed Mode Wireless Pocket Access Point | WL-330gE | Asus | $89.76 |
| 5 Port 802.11G Enet Bridge Adptr Poe | WET200 | Linksys | $161.69 |
| Wireless-G Ethernet Bridge | WET54G | Linksys | $120.07 |
The DWL-G730AP and WL-330gE are very compact devices that appear to be great options for demos. The WET200 is nice if you want to connect up to 5 SunRay's through a single wireless device. This might be great for an Internet Cafe that can't or doesn't want to run Ethernet cables through their facility.
If you prefer a notebook form factor, the Tadpole division of General Dynamics offers the Tadpole M1400 Ultra Thin Client. You can either call Sun or General Dynamics for pricing on this thin client device. The only con with this device that I can see is that doesn't offer wireless encryption. If you need wireless security, then consider using one of the Wireless/Ethernet bridges mentioned earlier.
Have a great day!
Brad
