Re: Thin-X-Client-Laptop
On Wed, Jul 11, 2001 at 05:01:36PM -0300, Peter Cordes wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 11, 2001 at 12:27:05PM +0200, Schoppitsch Dieter wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I want to run X-Applications on my (old) laptop (486; Debian 2.0) while connected (via PLIP) to the Server (Pentium, Suse 7.1).
> >
> > On the laptop I installed the X-server - that means - I am able to move the mouse-cursor on the screen only (no menues, no window).
> > On the server I installed the whole X-stuff (KDE, applications).
>
> You might want a less graphics-heavy window manager, since KDE makes
> the X server work harder than e.g. WindowMaker or AfterStep. I use
> uwm or fvwm2 myself.
I second that. Gnome and KDE made my OB800 (P166, 48MB RAM)
run like a dog, but it is slick under blackbox or flwm.
I've also found the vncserver/vncviewer combo to be very useful
in this context: even the window manager runs on the server,
so the laptop load is very thin indeed. And it protects you
from laptop glitches (have to reboot that old laptop, no
problem; just reconnect to the vnc session after. The other
day I started an email (in mutt) in a vnc session on my
fiance's computer, then had to go eat, then came back and
continued it on my laptop in my7 living room, and finished
it off the next day from the office. That's cool. And one
of the machines was a Windoze box! (The debian package is
made from the AT&T sources BTW, and doesn't include the
tightvnc.org patch, so it is kind of slow over ssh over
DSL/cable modem but is fine over 10M or 100Mbps ethernet.
> > In textmode I am able to ping and telnet the server.
>
> Use ssh. It's a good idea to get in the habit of _always_ using ssh
> instead of telnet, even when the extra security isn't needed. A 486
> is fast enough for login sessions, if not file copying and forwarding
> X connections over ssh.
Again, second that. I use ssh with -c blowfish and it is
plenty fast on even my old P166. And I transfer files with
rsync -e ssh instead of ftp.
> > What do I have to do now? - as I am a beginner in Linux please send me 'foolproof`' instructions and hints.
Easier said than done ;) Sorry to say it, but you gotta
read a lot to get all this stuff figgered out and treat all
the "foolproof" instructions people give you with a certain
amount of skepticism. After all, we are all learning and we
all tend to forget certain details (they become assumptions)
as we move on. Try the howtos (e.g. /usr/doc/HOWTO/ if you
have them installed or http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/ -
they've been through a peer review process that's a lot more
thorough than what you get on a mailling list).
> Log in to the fast machine, and run
> DISPLAY=laptop:0 xterm &
Uh, I don't think this will work. You need some kind of X magic
authorization cookie or something. IIRC you can maybe
transfer the ~/.Xauthority file or use xauth so the other
machine/user has permission to use your X display. Suggest
you check man xauth and/or XFree86-HOWTO and/or Thinclient-HOWTO .
Good luck,
--
Tony
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