Sun Ray Thin-Client and Smart Cards: An Old Concept With New Muscle

The purpose of this paper is to discuss security in thin-client technology with a focus on Sun Ray(TM) thin-client systems from Sun Microsystems. Sun Ray(TM) thin-client differentiates itself from other systems by incorporating the use of a smart card as an additional authentication token to a conventional login and password. In the following sections, a brief introduction to the history and inherent security benefits of thin-clients and smart cards is presented. Next, the paper describes Sun Ray(TM) thinclient's hardware and software architectures and lists businesses that will benefit from implementing the Sun Ray(TM) system. Finally, the author identifies and presents Sun Ray(TM) system's security, interoperability, scalability, and performance concerns along with the respective solutions.