Secure Global Desktop Administration Guide > Clients and webtops > Using the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client

Using the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client

The Sun Secure Global Desktop Client is the part of Secure Global Desktop that is installed on client devices and is required to run applications. Unlike the classic Secure Global Desktop Java client, the Client is completely independent of the browser and the webtop. If the browser is closed, the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client continues to run.

Note you can only use the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client with the browser-based webtop.

The Client is actually made up of two components: a Helper and the Client.

The Sun Secure Global Desktop Client Helper

The Sun Secure Global Desktop Client Helper is a Java™ applet that is cached or installed in the web browser. It is a lightweight application that supports the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client and is responsible for:

downloading and installing the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client;
starting the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client;
managing the display of applications that display on the webtop or in a new browser window (in-place applications); and
responding to instructions received from the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client, for example prompting the web browser to re-draw the screen.

The Sun Secure Global Desktop Client Helper is optional, see Can I use the browser-based webtop without Java? for details.

The Sun Secure Global Desktop Client

The Sun Secure Global Desktop Client is a small (less that 1.5 Mb) native-code application that is installed on the client device. It is responsible for:

getting information about the client device, such as the operating system, local printers and client drives;
managing the display of applications that do not display in a browser window (out-of-place applications);
communicating with the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client Helper, for example prompting the launch of an in-place application;
maintaining a communication connection (using the AIP protocol) with the Secure Global Desktop server; and
receiving and acting on events from the Secure Global Desktop server, for example the arrival of print jobs.

Installing the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client

The Sun Secure Global Desktop Client is installed automatically the first time you log in to the browser-based webtop. By default, the Client is installed in the following directories:

on Windows client devices, a user-specific writeable directory, for example:

C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Local Settings\Temp\tcc\client_version

The actual location depends on the user's privileges, the operating system and the Java Plug-in (JVM) being used.
on UNIX/Linux/Mac OS X client devices:

$HOME/.tarantella/tcc/client_version

As different versions of the Client are always installed in separate directories, users only have to log in to an upgraded Secure Global Desktop server in order to upgrade their Client. This also means that users who log in to different Secure Global Desktop servers will always run the correct Client for the version of Secure Global Desktop.

If you want more control over where the Client is installed, you have to use Secure Global Desktop web services to specify the installation directory.

Running the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client from the command line

You can start the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client from the command line and connect to a Secure Global Desktop server. Use the tcc command on Windows or the ttatcc command on UNIX/Linux/Mac OS X with the following arguments:

tcc
    -loginurl url
    -server server
    -port tcp
    -startimmediate
  [ -secure ]
  [ -baseroute ]
  [ -firewalltraversal ]
  [ -resource resource ]
  [ -connectioncookie cookie ]
  [ -ca pem_file ]

Argument	Description
`-loginurl` `URL`	The URL that is to be used to log in to Secure Global Desktop.
`-server` `server`	The fully-qualified DNS name of the Secure Global Desktop server the Client is to connect to.
`-port`	The port on which the Client is to connect to the Secure Global Desktop server. Usually this is port 5307/tcp when the Sun Secure Global Desktop Security Pack is used to secure the connection, otherwise it's port 3144/tcp.
`-startimmediate`	Starts the Client immediately and loads the URL specified by the `-loginurl` option in the user's default web browser.
`-secure`	Create a secure connection to the Secure Global Desktop server.
`-baseroute`	The base network route the Client is to use to traverse a SOCKS proxy server.
`-firewalltraversal`	Indicates that the Secure Global Desktop server is using firewall forwarding. Connections to the Secure Global Desktop server and the webtop both use the same port, usually port 443/tcp.
`-resource resource`	For use by web service developers only, specifies the name of a resource file to use for the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client. The resource file is a DLL containing, for example icons and text. This can only be used on Windows client devices.
`-connectioncookie cookie`	For use by web service developers only, supplies the cookie used by the Secure Global Desktop server to identify the webtop session for which the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client is being used.
`-ca pem_file`	Specifies the path to the root certificate (`ca.pem` file) if you are using a custom Certificate Authority. You should not need to use this on Windows client devices. See User prompts and root certificates and How do I add my own flavor of certificate? for more details.

Note The arguments are case-sensitive.

Unlike the Sun Secure Global Desktop Native Client, you can't use the command line for the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client to login and launch a single application. However, for the browser-based webtop you can launch a single application from a URL.

If you want more control over the arguments used when the Client is started when connecting to the browser-based webtop, you have to use Secure Global Desktop web services to override/specify the arguments.

UNIX/Linux/Mac OS X client devices

On UNIX/Linux/Mac OS X client devices, the Client uses settings in the native-preferences file in the user's $HOME/.tarantella directory. This controls things such as proxy server configuration and the location of the root certificate. See User preferences files on UNIX, Linux and Mac OS X client devices for details.

Windows client devices

On Windows client devices, the Client displays an icon in the Windows system tray when it is running. The icon changes depending on whether or not the Client has a connection to the Secure Global Desktop server.

If you right-mouse click on the icon, a pop-up menu displays options for viewing the event log, for displaying information the Client has obtained from the client device and the Secure Global Desktop server and for configuring the Client.

Users can configure the Client by specifying the level of detail that is written to the event log (this is useful for troubleshooting) and whether the Client should attempt to reconnect to the Secure Global Desktop server if a connection is broken.

The event log is written to a text file in the Client's installation directory.

Related topics
User preferences files on UNIX, Linux and Mac OS X client devices