Dear admins,
I still owe you the summary for my question, but I intentionally
waited until I could tell you the "real" outcome.
Joerg Bruehe (= I myself) had asked:
> ((...))
>
> I am searching for a way to operate several workstations
> from a single set of keyboard/video/mouse.
> The machines are IBM AIX (model 25T, ((...)) )
> and DEC/Compaq Alpha Unix ("Tru64")
> (a 2100A 5/250, ((...)) and a DEC 3000, ((...)) ).
> They are used for SW development (text, 'DDD', administration GUI),
> so high-speed graphics are irrelevant, no 3D stuff involved.
>
> I would like to hear opinions / experiences how to combine these.
> My current ideas are
> a) using a KVM switch
> b) using multiple X servers on a local (Linux ?) machine.
> ((...))
I (almost immediately) got two answers:
a) Dr. Tom Blinn warned me
"Your chances of getting any kind of keyboard/mouse/monitor switch
to work with all those different systems, especially with the old
outmoded DEC 3000 system (which does NOT support PC style monitors
or PC style keyboards) is slim to non-existent. ..."
b) Rich Lafferty <rich_at_alcor.concordia.ca> recommended
"Use a single X server on a local machine, or even on an X terminal.
You can start X clients (xterm and friends) from both machines and
have them display on a third one. ..."
I followed the warning, looked around and found an Alpha box
(Alpha Station 200 4/166 with 96 MB RAM) sitting unused in a corner.
I took it and installed Linux (SuSE 6.1) on it, using the original
DEC 21030 TGA graphics card (1024 x 768 on a Digital 17 inch monitor).
As a normal user, I run KDE (the Linux version of CDE) locally
and use 'rlogin' where useful.
However, I also start additional X instances (servers ?) using
other virtual screens with the command (normal user !)
Xwrapper :1 -query other_hostname -once &
(:0 is my local KDE, :1 would be the first remote display, :2 another
one ...)
This is possible because Linux (on both x86 and Alpha) supports
10 virtual screens, typically using 6 for text-mode logins
and 1 for console messages, leaving 3 for graphics.
I have then added lines like
my_pc.my.full.domain:1
(and :2) to '/etc/securettys' on the Tru64 machines so that I can
now login as 'root', getting root's CDE from the Tru64 on my
Linux-attached display.
I will probably replace the graphics card by some other one
which is better supported by Linux (alternative modelines)
and try to get a 19 inch display, but these are minor details.
Till now, experiences are positive.
Regards, Joerg Bruehe
--
Joerg Bruehe, SQL Datenbanksysteme GmbH, Berlin, Germany
(speaking only for himself)
mailto: joerg_at_sql.de
Received on Mon Nov 15 1999 - 14:18:36 NZDT