SunRay 3
Gallery
Image of OSfOM.org Collection's SunRay 3.
Technical Specifications
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| Processor: Math Copro: |
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The Apex of Stateless Computing: The Story of the Sun Ray 3
Sun Microsystems began releasing the Sun Ray 3 series of thin clients in 2009, shortly before Oracle acquired the company. It was the final hardware generation in the Sun Ray product line.
The series included the standard Sun Ray 3, the Sun Ray 3 Plus, the Sun Ray 3C, and the Sun Ray 3i. The units retained Sun's "zero client" design, using no internal hard drives and running no local operating system. Instead, desktop sessions and applications ran entirely on central servers running Solaris, with later support for Linux and Windows through extensions. A built-in smart card reader supported Sun's "Follow-Me-Desktop" model, allowing users to log into active sessions from any terminal.
Hardware updates focused on display support, peripheral connectivity, and power consumption:
- Display connections: Units included DVI and DisplayPort outputs. The Sun Ray 3 Plus featured multiple DisplayPort outputs that supported dual monitors at resolutions up to 2560×1600 per screen, while the Sun Ray 3i integrated the client hardware directly into a monitor.
- Multimedia and I/O: Updated internal processors and revisions to the Appliance Link Protocol (ALP) handled full-motion video and media playback. The units also added more USB 2.0 ports for connecting peripherals such as flash drives, webcams, printers, and scanners.
- Networking and power: Systems included multiple Gigabit Ethernet ports for server connectivity and were designed with lower power draw than previous generations.
Organizations deployed Sun Ray 3 terminals in several environments:
- Financial trading floors requiring multi-monitor setups
- Government and defense offices with centralized data-security policies
- Corporate call centers, shared desks, and software development workstations
- Healthcare facilities for clinical workstation access
Oracle continued to sell and support Sun Ray products for several years following the acquisition before ending development of dedicated thin client hardware.