Thin client user guide

Introduction

A thin client is a device with minimal functionality of its own, whose main purpose is to connect the user to services on the network. In ESSC's case these remote services provide Linux and Windows desktops and applications, replacing the traditional software deployment model involving separate installations on personal computers. There are two types of thin client at ESSC at the moment: Sunray terminals in the computer lab and HP thin clients in the offices. These are described more fully in the sections below.

Sunray terminals

There is very good documentation about these on the Meteorology department IT web site, here. The Sunray server at ESSC is called saturn. There are some minor differences between saturn and the Sunray servers in Meteorology, as described below.

• There is no sound capability
• Windows sessions (on prufrock) launched from the main menu are shown in full screen mode. To exit from full screen mode without logging out of prufrock use the key combination CTRL-ALT-ENTER, ie. hold all three of those keys down at the same time. To launch a Windows session without full screen mode use the command "windows". For information about command line options do "windows --help".
• KDE is available as an alternative to the GNOME desktop environment. To use KDE instead of GNOME, click on "Sessions" in the bottom left of the login screen and select "KDE" from the list.

Please remember to log out of a Sunray terminal when you have finished using it, otherwise the terminal will be locked by you and nobody else will be able to use it. Terminals remain locked to a single user's session even if they are switched off and back on again.

HP thin clients

The HP t5565 is used in ESSC's offices. They have support for a number of virtual desktop intrastructures (VDI) including NoMachine NX and Windows RDP. NX is used to connect to ESSC's Linux desktop servers jupiter and saturn, and RDP is used to connect to Meteorology's Windows desktop server prufrock. There is also a built in web browser, text editor (Mousepad) and terminal emulator (xterm), for use when servers are not available. The thin clients have dual monitor support for extended Windows or Linux desktops, and have two spare USB2.0 ports for flash memory devices and external hard drives.

When the thin clients boot up the " ThinPro Control Centre" application starts automatically, but if it is ever closed by mistake it can be restarted using the "HP" menu in the bottom left of the screen. The ThinPro Control Centre has two sections relevant to users, "Connections" and "Control Panel", which can be selected using the buttons in the left side bar. The Control Panel is where the xterm and Mousepad text editor launch icons are found, along with various utilities for changing user preferences such as screen unlocking password, keyboard layout and display properties. These configurable options are likely to be reset from time to time during system updates, which usually involve installing the ESSC standard operating system image.

Users are not prompted for a password when the thin client starts, or when the screensaver activates automatically. This allows other people to use the thin client when the main user is away from their office. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that your personal passwords are not saved by the NX Client and web browser. The only situation in which a password is required is when the screen has been explicitly locked using the "Lock screen" option in the "HP" menu. The default password is "password", and this can be changed to the user's own secret password using the "Security" utility in the ThinPro Control Centre Control Panel. Remember that the password will be reset to the default value occasionally as a result of operating system re-imaging.

The "Connections" section of the ThinPro Control Centre has the following applicationsm, which can also be launched using the icons on the thin client desktop.

• NX Client, for remote Linux desktop sessions on jupiter or saturn. Use your ESSC username and password to log in to jupiter and saturn.
• NX Connection Wizard, for configuring new NX connections to different servers.
• Web browser
• The rdesktop utility, for Windows remote deskop connections to prufrock via RDP. Use your university username and password to log in to prufrock. Windows sessions are started in full screen mode by default. To switch between Windows and other applications use the key combination CTRL-ALT-END, ie. hold all three of those keys down at the same time. To stop Windows sessions from starting in full screen mode, right click on the "Windows" icon in the ThinPro Control Centre Connections section and select the "Edit" option. The window size options can be found in the "Window" section.

Flash memory devices and USB hard drives are mounted automatically when connected to one of the USB2.0 ports. To find out where a USB storage device has been mounted, start an xterm using the ThinPro Control Centre Control Panel, then enter the following command.

mount

/dev/sdb1 on /tmp/tmpfs/media/KingstonDataTraveler_sdb1 type vfat

In this example a Kingston Data Traveler memory stick was mounted in path /tmp/tmpfs/media/KingstonDataTraveler_sdb1. To access the files simply "cd" to the mount point. To open the files in Windows or Linux applications they must first be transferred to your home directory, or another storage volume, via scp or sftp to jupiter, saturn or another Linux server. Once the files you need have been transferred you can un-mount the storage device using the following Ubuntu style command, after first navigating away from the mount point with "cd".

sudo umount <DEVICE_ID>

For example, to un-mount the memory stick in the example above the following command would be used.

sudo umount /dev/sdb1

Always remember to un-mount a USB storage device before disconnecting it from the thin client.

-- DanBretherton - 20 Dec 2011