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

Working with 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.

The Secure Global Desktop Client can operate in either of the following modes:

Webtop mode - uses a web browser to display a special web page, called a webtop, that lists the applications a user can run through Secure Global Desktop and provides controls for managing application sessions and printing. This is the default mode.
Integrated mode - the list of applications that a user can run through Secure Global Desktop displays in the desktop Start Menu on the client device. This allows users to run remote applications in the same way as local applications. Depending on other configuration factors, there may be no need to use a web browser.

Note You cannot use the Secure Global Desktop Client with the classic webtop.

Depending on the client platform, users see an icon in the System tray or Workspace switcher when the Secure Global Desktop Client is running.

The Secure Global Desktop Client performs the following functions:

Gets information about the client device, such as the operating system, local printers and client drives.
Manages the display of applications that are not configured to display in a web browser window (out-of-place applications).
Maintains a communication connection (using the AIP protocol) with the Secure Global Desktop server.
Receives and acts on events from the Secure Global Desktop server, for example the arrival of a print job.

Installing the Secure Global Desktop Client

The Secure Global Desktop Client can be installed automatically or manually.

Automatic installation

If you have a web browser with Java™ technology enabled, the Secure Global Desktop Client is installed automatically when you visit the http://server.example.com/sgd URL.

With automatic installation, different versions of the Secure Global Desktop Client are installed in separate directories. This means:

Users only have to log in to an upgraded Secure Global Desktop server in order to upgrade the Secure Global Desktop Client.
Users who log in to different Secure Global Desktop servers always run the correct Secure Global Desktop Client for the version of Secure Global Desktop.

The Secure Global Desktop Client is installed in the following directories:

On Microsoft Windows client devices, in a user-specific writeable directory, for example:
C:\Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings\Temp\tcc\version

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

$HOME/.tarantella/tcc/version

If you want to use automatic installation and have more control over where the Secure Global Desktop Client is installed, you can develop your own web application for installing the Secure Global Desktop Client and use Secure Global Desktop web services to specify the installation location.

Manual installation

With manual installation, you have full control over where the Secure Global Desktop Client is installed. You download and install the Secure Global Desktop Client from the Secure Global Desktop Web Server home page, http://server.example.com. Click the Install the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client link. The Sun Secure Global Desktop Client download page has instructions for downloading and installing the Secure Global Desktop Client.

On Microsoft Windows client devices, the default installation directory is: C:\Program Files\Sun\Secure Global Desktop Client. A shortcut for the Secure Global Desktop Client is also added to the Windows Start Menu.

Note Manual installation is not available for all supported client platforms.

Configuring the Secure Global Desktop Client

The Secure Global Desktop Client needs to be configured so that it can connect to a Secure Global Desktop server. The connection settings are defined in a client profile that is stored on the client device. The profile controls:

The URL the Secure Global Desktop Client connects to when it starts, usually this is the URL used to log in to Secure Global Desktop.
The operating mode of the Secure Global Desktop Client whether the applications a user can run display on a webtop or the user's desktop Start Menu.
Whether or not the user is logged in automatically when the Secure Global Desktop Client starts.
Whether or not the Secure Global Desktop Client starts automatically when the user logs in to their desktop system.
Proxy server configuration, whether the settings are manually configured in the profile or determined from the web browser.

Note The Secure Global Desktop Client can only connect to a Secure Global Desktop server if they both have the same major/patch (4.xx) version number.

There is one profile for each Secure Global Desktop server that the user connects to. The profile is downloaded when the user connects to a Secure Global Desktop server. If the Secure Global Desktop Client has been installed manually, the user is prompted for initial connection information the first time the Secure Global Desktop Client is started.

Running the Secure Global Desktop Client from the command line

Typically users log in to Secure Global Desktop by starting a web browser and visiting the http://server.example.com/sgd URL. Connecting to Secure Global Desktop in this way, automatically downloads and starts the Secure Global Desktop Client. However, you can also start the Secure Global Desktop Client from the command line and connect to a Secure Global Desktop server. You can run the Secure Global Desktop Client in either Webtop mode and Integrated mode in this way.

You start the Secure Global Desktop Client with the tcc command on Microsoft Windows client platforms or the ttatcc command on UNIX/Linux/Mac OS X client platforms, as follows:

tcc
  [ -application appname ]
  [ -loginurl url ]
  [ -preferredlanguage lang ]
  [ -profile profile ]

Argument	Description
`-application appname`	The name of an application to run. This does not have to be a TFN name. Note If the application is not on the user's webtop, they cannot launch the application.
`‑preferredlanguage lang`	The language to use in any dialogs and messages displayed by the Secure Global Desktop Client. This overrides the language defined in the profile. The following are the supported languages: `en` for English `fr` for French `ja` for Japanese `ko` for Korean `zh_CN` for Simplified Chinese `zh_TW` for Traditional Chinese
`-profile profile`	The name of the profile to use when starting the Secure Global Desktop Client. Currently there is only one profile for each Secure Global Desktop server, called Default. To specify the profile for a particular server, use `-profile server.example.com::Default` Note Profile names are case sensitive.
`-loginurl URL`	The login URL. This overrides the URL defined in the profile.

Note The arguments are case-sensitive.

The command line does not allow you to supply a username and password. However, the Secure Global Desktop Client can be configured to log a user in automatically.

Examples

The command line for the Secure Global Desktop Client can be used to create your own shortcuts and shell scripts. The following are some example commands:

Note If either the Connect on System Login or the Add applications to Start Menu options are enabled in a user's profile, the Secure Global Desktop Client automatically adds shortcuts for itself in the user's desktop Start Menu. The Sun Secure Global Desktop Software Release Notes has details of which desktop systems are supported.

Example 1: Starting without any arguments

ttatcc

The Secure Global Desktop Client starts using the settings defined in the Default profile, available from the user's profile cache.
If there is no profile or it does not contain a login URL, the Secure Global Desktop Client starts but it cannot connect to a Secure Global Desktop server.
If the user has previously connected to more than one Secure Global Desktop server, the Secure Global Desktop Client connects to the last Secure Global Desktop server the user connected to using the profile for that server.
Example use: to start the Secure Global Desktop Client when the user always connects to the same Secure Global Desktop server.

Example 2: Connecting to a particular Secure Global Desktop server

ttatcc -profile server.example.com::Default

The Secure Global Desktop Client starts using the settings defined in the profile for server.example.com, available from the user's profile cache.
If there is no profile in the cache for server.example.com, the Secure Global Desktop Client starts and connects to the last Secure Global Desktop server the user connected to using the profile for that server.
Example use: to start the Secure Global Desktop Client when the user may connect to different Secure Global Desktop servers.

Example 3: Overriding the login URL

tcc -loginurl URL

The Secure Global Desktop Client starts using the settings defined in the Default profile, available from the user's profile cache, but connects to the specified URL.
Depending on the URL, this could be used to launch an application.
Example use: to start the Secure Global Desktop Client and connect to a single Secure Global Desktop server, but connect to different web applications on that server.

Example 4: Running a single application

ttatcc -application Write-O-Win

The Secure Global Desktop Client starts using the settings defined in the Default profile and starts the specified application.
If the Secure Global Desktop Client is in webtop mode or the user does not have an authentication token, the login URL defined in the profile is loaded into the user's default web browser.
Example use: to start the Secure Global Desktop Client and connect to a single Secure Global Desktop server, but only run a single application.

Compatability with previous versions

The Secure Global Desktop Client also supports the command line arguments available in versions 4.2x or earlier of Secure Global Desktop:

ttatcc
    -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 Secure Global Desktop Client is to connect to.
`-port tcp`	The port on which the Secure Global Desktop Client is to connect to the Secure Global Desktop server. Usually this is port 5307/tcp when the user has a secure connection to Secure Global Desktop, otherwise port 3144/tcp is used.
`-startimmediate`	Starts the Secure Global Desktop Client immediately and loads the URL specified by the `-loginurl` option in the user's default web browser. Note From version 4.3, the Secure Global Desktop Client always starts immediately, whether this argument is used or not.
`-secure`	Create a secure connection to the Secure Global Desktop server.
`-baseroute`	The base network route the Secure Global Desktop 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. Note Because of security changes in version 4.3, you no longer need to use this argument.

Note The arguments are case-sensitive.

The Sun Secure Global Desktop Client Helper

When using a web browser with Java technology enabled, the Secure Global Desktop Client is supported by the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client Helper, which is a Java applet.

The Sun Secure Global Desktop Client Helper performs the following functions:

Downloads and installs the Secure Global Desktop Client. This only applies if automatic installation is used.
Obtains proxy server settings from the web browser and sends them to the Secure Global Desktop Client. This depends on the settings in the user's profile.
Starts the Secure Global Desktop Client. This only happens when a user starts a web browser and goes to the login URL.
Manages the display of applications that are configured to display on the webtop or in a new browser window (in-place applications).
Responds to instructions received from the 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 technology? for details.

Related topics
Introducing Sun Secure Global Desktop Software Integrating Secure Global Desktop with the desktop Start Menu Profiles and the Sun Secure Global Desktop Client Using Secure Global Desktop with proxy servers Securing client connections with Secure Global Desktop security services