Re: Newbie Question Xing to SuSE Linux System Thanks!
Re: Newbie Question Xing to SuSE Linux System Thanks!
- Subject: Re: Newbie Question Xing to SuSE Linux System Thanks!
- From: Mike Blonder <email@hidden>
- Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 13:29:54 -0400
Wow.
The KDE Desktop came up, though the mouse and keyboard did NOT work
from the Mac. I had to terminate the X11 Session prior to logging out
of the system. Any ideas as to how to get the keyboard and mouse to
work?
Thanks
Mike
On May 13, 2004, at 12:32 PM, Don MacQueen wrote:
You can. It may or may not be difficult, depending on how the Linux
systems are configured.
First, it will help if you get acquainted with some terminology. It
can seem a little convoluted, even backwards, at first.
What you're asking about using is most accurately know as "X Windows".
That's the general term.
A system using X windows has these software components:
1) X windows server
2) A "window manager"
3) X windows clients
The distinction between them becomes important especially when you're
trying to connect to remote machines.
On your powerbook, when you double click on the "X11" icon, you are
starting up all three. X11 itself is the X windows server. It starts
up first. Next comes the window manager. This is named "QuartzWM" and
you don't normally notice it as a separate component, but it is there.
Finally, with a default installation, you get a single X windows
client--this is the little window with the unix prompt. It is actually
a program known as xterm. xterm is terminal emulation software, much
like Apple's "Terminal" application, except that xterm works with X
Windows, whereas Terminal basically doesn't. If, for example, you type
"xclock" in the xterm that comes up, you should see a little clock
appear. xclock is another X windows client. (type control-c to kill
it)
In order to connect to a remote host, you *must* have (1) and (2)
running on your local machine. But, (1) and (2) do not need to be
running on the remote machine. In other words, the remote machine may
be a "server" in other senses of the word, but it is not a "X11
Server" or an "X Windows Server". The X windows server software
actually runs on your local machine. It's called a server because it
provides services to software of type (3), i.e., X windows client
software. X windows clients are the applications you use to do
whatever it is you actually want to do, i.e., your job!
So, what you do is this:
1) start X windows server and window manager software on your local
machine
2) tell your local machine's X windows server that it will be ok for
the remote machine to display on the local machine
3) somehow connect to the remote machine
4) tell the remote machine's X windows client software applications
that they should display on your local machine
5) start up the X windows client software on the remote machine
Connecting to the remote machine is often done typing "ssh -X" in the
xterm window that is running on your local machine. If "ssh -X"
succeeds, then steps 2 and 4 are done automatically. If they are not
done automatically (which would be the case if you connect using
rlogin), then you have to do them manually by
step 2: issue the command "xhost + remotemachinename" on your local
machine
step 4: setting the DISPLAY environment variable after logging in
to the remote host.
More briefly: start up X11 on your powerbook. Use the xterm window to
login to the linux box. On the linux box start up whatever X win
client software it is that you need to use. If everything is set up
right, that client software, running on the remote machine, will have
whatever windows it creates displayed on your local machine.
The X server on your local machine provides the services that the
remote X windows client software uses to display on your local
machine. That's why it seems backwards: the server is local, and the
client is remote! But, the terms server and client are in the X
Windows context, and refer to software, not to machines. This is
different from the more familiar context of, say, file servers, in
which the remote machine is the server and the local machine is the
client.
Under no circumstances should you use "xhost +" without naming the
remote machine. This opens up a serious security breach. Use "xhost +
remotemachinename".
When you tried to use "rlogin" and got "Connection was refused", that
probably means that the linux boxes have been configured to deny any
connections using rlogin. This would be because your password is not
encrypted if you use rlogin.
I can't help much with the error messages you got when you tried "ssh
-x", but it should have been a capital X.
Hope this helps.
-Don
Hi.
We have two Linux systems running. Can I use the Apple X11
Application from my Mac PowerBook G4 as a remote client for the X11
Server residing on the SuSE Linux System(s)? If so, then how
difficult is the configuration?
Thanks
Mike
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--
--------------------------------------
Don MacQueen
Environmental Protection Department
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Livermore, CA, USA
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