[ale] Remote XWindows in Linux...

[Steven A DuChene]

> OK - I've got a couple of RedHat 5.1 machines running but I want to have
> one machine act as an X Terminal for another (which doesn't always have
> a monitor/keyboard hooked up to it). Unfortunately, I can't figure out
> how to make this work. I know that this support is built into X (as a
> reverse client-server mechanism) but I can't figure out how to get it
> operational. Can anyone give me some info on how to do this?
> 
> 	thanx & later,
> 
> 		Ben Scherrey
> 

To do this, get the Xserver on the one machine that you want to act
as an xterminal to request a login banner from the second
headless machine. The way to do this is execute the following on the
first machine (the one with the monitor and keyboard):

/usr/X11R6/bin/X -query hostname_or_IP_second_box

This will start the local Xserver and it will issue a request to the
second machine for a login banner. If that second machine has xdm running
it will respond with a login banner sent across the network to the
first machine. You then enter a user name and password into the login banner
that is valid on the remote system and you will get a desktop session
from the remote system. All the local machine will be doing is communicating
with the network and running the Xserver.

One thing you want to make sure of since the remote system does not have
a monitor/keyboard/mouse is that when xdm starts up it doesn't try to start
a local Xserver on that headless system also. There is a Xservers file
in /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xdm/ that should be all comments on a system that
will be acting as a headless network xterminal server.

-- 
Steve DuChene              sad at hpuerca.atl.hp.com               1-800-633-3600

	       The HP North American Response Center, Atlanta
		  X/CDE/Vue/xterminal/graphics support team
    		    I am an employee of Hewlett-Packard.