Re: [edlug] X Question - running on different machine

[Andrew Aylett <andrew@xxx.xxx.xxx>]

michael calwell <michael.calwell@xxx.xxx.xxx> writes:

> Steve Kemp wrote:
>
>>On Thu, Apr 08, 2004 at 01:05:04PM +0100, michael calwell wrote:
>>
>>>I have 2 machines, let's call them machine A and machine B.
>>>On Machine A, I run an X Server. It uses GDM to run X.
>>>
>>> I want to run the window manager, plus the desktop on machine B,
>>> using the X server on machine A.
>>>
>>
>>  Well you will need an X server on machine B to do the displaying
>> so I'm not sure if I'm understanding you correctly.
>>
>
> I'm probably not explaining myself well enough!
>
> I don't need any X stuff running on machine B -  ( I could give you a ps
> listing but it would be long and boring - but I can assure you that
> there's no X stuff running on it.
>
> I can simply telnet to the box, export the display to be
> DISPLAY=machinea:1, and then kick off an x app from that telnet session,
> which then appears on my  box.
>
> Instead of running simple apps, I want to run the whole window
> manager. But I can't do that unless I go to Display 1, start a WM and
> permit connections to that WM. But then if I try to run a WM, well, lo
> and behold, there's already a WM running on Display1, it's the one I had
> to start to run xauth!
>
> Ultimately, I want to be able to go Shift+F7 to get machine A up, and
> Shift+F8 to get machine B up, etc.

You want to use XDMCP.  Run a copy of (G|K|X)DM on B, with no screens
defined (so it doesn't try to create a display locally) and set it to
allow XDMCP.  Then run an `X :1 -query B` on A, and it'll connect to B's
GDM and let you log in.

Make sure you're well firewalled off from the internet before doing any
of this -- XDMCP isn't secure and it doesn't use ssh.

If you don't want to use XDMCP, you could just fire up an X server on A
with `X :1` then do a `DISPLAY=:1 ssh -X B (startkde|fvwm|sawfish)` or
similar, and all should work.

OK,
-- 
Andrew Aylett | www.aylett.co.uk | 1.79 x 10^12 furlongs per fortnight...
andrew@xxx.xxx.xxx | answer==42 |  -- it's not just a good idea, it's the law!

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