There's got to be an easy way to do this.  

I've got a headless 240, all the X packages are loaded on Sol9. 
Needless to say, no X anything when it boots because there's no video
card.

I want an entire Gnome window manager from this box on my PC, running
Hummingbird.

I've export the display to the pc, and can start xterm etc, but I need
the whole login, window manager.  Any ideas?

Someone suggested I use xvfb, which is very old and is trashed my
install.  Also we cannot use VNC, period.

Thanks -

buckwheat <buckwheat_phd@yahoo.com> wrote:
> There's got to be an easy way to do this.  

> I've got a headless 240, all the X packages are loaded on Sol9. 
> Needless to say, no X anything when it boots because there's no video
> card.

> I want an entire Gnome window manager from this box on my PC, running
> Hummingbird.

> I've export the display to the pc, and can start xterm etc, but I need
> the whole login, window manager.  Any ideas?

once logged in (through ssh or such) with your DISPLAY properly set, try:
/usr/dt/bin/Xsession

buckwheat_phd@yahoo.com (buckwheat) wrote in message news:<4260a1cc.0410141305.5c2d8174@posting.google.com>...
> There's got to be an easy way to do this.  
> 
> I've got a headless 240, all the X packages are loaded on Sol9. 
> Needless to say, no X anything when it boots because there's no video
> card.
> 
> I want an entire Gnome window manager from this box on my PC, running
> Hummingbird.
> 
> I've export the display to the pc, and can start xterm etc, but I need
> the whole login, window manager.  Any ideas?
> 
> Someone suggested I use xvfb, which is very old and is trashed my
> install.  Also we cannot use VNC, period.
> 
> Thanks -

Under Solaris 9, a virtual frame buffer shouldn't be a problem:

http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Software/Solaris_Ref/Solaris_9_12_02_x86/ref.html

Here's the patch:
http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=urn:cds:docid:1-21-113100-01-1

buckwheat_phd@yahoo.com (buckwheat) wrote in message news:<4260a1cc.0410141305.5c2d8174@posting.google.com>...

> There's got to be an easy way to do this.  

There is.

> I've got a headless 240, all the X packages are loaded on Sol9. 
> Needless to say, no X anything when it boots because there's no video
> card.

You should be perfectly able to run {xdm,dtlogin,gdm,whatever} even
without a X server, real or virtual, on the local host.  What's
stopping you?


-- 
Atro Tossavainen (Mr.)               / The Institute of Biotechnology at
Systems Analyst, Techno-Amish &     / the University of Helsinki, Finland,
+358-9-19158939  UNIX Dinosaur     / employs me, but my opinions are my own.
< URL : http : / / www . helsinki . fi / %7E atossava / > NO FILE ATTACHMENTS

Yes, that works handily indeed.  But here's the trick - I need a
session originated from ANY server (pc), and MULTIPLE
x-sessions/servers into the one host at any given time.

If I set a global env variable to display=soandso, it'll only direct X
traffic to that endpoint.  Which works great for one PC.  Thing is, I
need ANY PC (xserver) to start the query/broadcast via XDMCP - then
have the host dish out a session to WHATEVER pc made the request.

This is what I know - if a video head is in the solaris box, then it
will start X via an RC at boot time.  Right?  That running X
environment will then LISTEN for any XDMCP request and it makes it
very easy for any pc to start a session.  What is it that listens for
these requests?

Now on the other hand, if you do NOT have a video head the host will
NOT start the X world, will not listen for a session, and we're
limited to display=soandso for the only server that can attach.  Just
one. <-- and that's the problem

So am I right in assuming we must do something like Xvfb virtual frame
buffers to spoof solaris at startup that video exists, and let it
start a local phantom Xsession?  Do I have to have this session alive
to attach multiple PC's (servers)?

Thanks for all the input!  



Atro Tossavainen <Atro.Tossavainen+news@helsinki.finland.invalid> wrote in message news:<pgzhdowfqyf.fsf@kruuna.Helsinki.FI>...
> buckwheat_phd@yahoo.com (buckwheat) wrote in message news:<4260a1cc.0410141305.5c2d8174@posting.google.com>...
> 
> > There's got to be an easy way to do this.  
> 
> There is.
> 
> > I've got a headless 240, all the X packages are loaded on Sol9. 
> > Needless to say, no X anything when it boots because there's no video
> > card.
> 
> You should be perfectly able to run {xdm,dtlogin,gdm,whatever} even
> without a X server, real or virtual, on the local host.  What's
> stopping you?

On Sat, 16 Oct 2004 09:28:26 -0700, buckwheat wrote:

> This is what I know - if a video head is in the solaris box, then it
> will start X via an RC at boot time.  Right?

Wrong.  X will start only if a keyboard and mouse are connected too.  It
matters not whether a display monitor is connected or not.

> That running X
> environment will then LISTEN for any XDMCP request and it makes it
> very easy for any pc to start a session.

Wrong again.

> What is it that listens for
> these requests?

dtlogin, port 177 UDP.

> Now on the other hand, if you do NOT have a video head the host will
> NOT start the X world, will not listen for a session, and we're
> limited to display=soandso for the only server that can attach.  Just
> one. <-- and that's the problem

Wrong.  *Nothing* related to Xsun on the Solaris system save for dtlogin
needs to be running.  Your Xserver exists on your desktop machine and if
you were running Solaris, BSD or Linux there you could understand it more
readily.

> So am I right in assuming we must do something like Xvfb virtual frame
> buffers to spoof solaris at startup that video exists, and let it
> start a local phantom Xsession?  Do I have to have this session alive
> to attach multiple PC's (servers)?

All you need do is to not change /etc/rc2.d/S99dtlogin.

From my desktop Linux system to a Sun Ultra-1E running Solaris 9

$ X :1 -query willy &

And magically the dtgreet screen appears on my Linux display.  Yet X is
still not running on the Solaris system:

[duhring]$ ps -ef | grep X
    root   379   348  0 12:30:02 pts/1    0:00 grep X
[duhring]$ 

Dave Uhring wrote:
> On Sat, 16 Oct 2004 09:28:26 -0700, buckwheat wrote:
> 
> 
>>This is what I know - if a video head is in the solaris box, then it
>>will start X via an RC at boot time.  Right?
> 
> 
> Wrong.  X will start only if a keyboard and mouse are connected too.  It
> matters not whether a display monitor is connected or not.
> 
> 
>>That running X
>>environment will then LISTEN for any XDMCP request and it makes it
>>very easy for any pc to start a session.
> 
> 
> Wrong again.
> 
> 
>>What is it that listens for
>>these requests?
> 
> 
> dtlogin, port 177 UDP.
> 
> 
>>Now on the other hand, if you do NOT have a video head the host will
>>NOT start the X world, will not listen for a session, and we're
>>limited to display=soandso for the only server that can attach.  Just
>>one. <-- and that's the problem
> 
> 
> Wrong.  *Nothing* related to Xsun on the Solaris system save for dtlogin
> needs to be running.  Your Xserver exists on your desktop machine and if
> you were running Solaris, BSD or Linux there you could understand it more
> readily.
> 
> 
>>So am I right in assuming we must do something like Xvfb virtual frame
>>buffers to spoof solaris at startup that video exists, and let it
>>start a local phantom Xsession?  Do I have to have this session alive
>>to attach multiple PC's (servers)?
> 
> 
> All you need do is to not change /etc/rc2.d/S99dtlogin.
> 
> From my desktop Linux system to a Sun Ultra-1E running Solaris 9
> 
> $ X :1 -query willy &
> 
> And magically the dtgreet screen appears on my Linux display.  Yet X is
> still not running on the Solaris system:
> 
> [duhring]$ ps -ef | grep X
>     root   379   348  0 12:30:02 pts/1    0:00 grep X
> [duhring]$ 
> 

This, for me, is the "Solaris tip" of the year.  I recall reading once 
that if you did not have a graphics card, you could not run a X-windows 
session (I read that "somewhere" in 1998)

I just picked up a Netra T1-105 last week and now am running a Blackbox 
session on the Netra, displayed on my linux box. I DONT NEED THE GUI, it 
just makes using the box more enjoyable.

Thanks Dave!

"chris berg" <cberg2@spaceball1.wharton.upenn.edu> wrote in message
news:ckmrgm$2kbg$1@netnews.upenn.edu...
> buckwheat <buckwheat_phd@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > There's got to be an easy way to do this.
>
> > I've got a headless 240, all the X packages are loaded on Sol9.
> > Needless to say, no X anything when it boots because there's no video
> > card.
>
> > I want an entire Gnome window manager from this box on my PC, running
> > Hummingbird.
>
> > I've export the display to the pc, and can start xterm etc, but I need
> > the whole login, window manager.  Any ideas?
>
> once logged in (through ssh or such) with your DISPLAY properly set, try:
> /usr/dt/bin/Xsession
>
>

Oh my, that was beautiful, a whole CDE right on my PC.

On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 16:55:41 +0000, Another Tom wrote:

> I just picked up a Netra T1-105 last week and now am running a Blackbox 
> session on the Netra, displayed on my linux box. I DONT NEED THE GUI, it 
> just makes using the box more enjoyable.

If you have more headless servers you can use :2, :3, etc, as the
arguments to X.  On my Slackware box, Ctrl-Alt-F7 gives me display :0, the
native Linux display.  Ctrl-Alt-F8 is :1, Ctrl-Alt-F9 is :2.  Each session
can be killed in the usual way with Ctrl-Alt-Backspace.

Dave Uhring wrote:
> On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 16:55:41 +0000, Another Tom wrote:
> 
> 
>>I just picked up a Netra T1-105 last week and now am running a Blackbox 
>>session on the Netra, displayed on my linux box. I DONT NEED THE GUI, it 
>>just makes using the box more enjoyable.
> 
> 
> If you have more headless servers you can use :2, :3, etc, as the
> arguments to X.  On my Slackware box, Ctrl-Alt-F7 gives me display :0, the
> native Linux display.  Ctrl-Alt-F8 is :1, Ctrl-Alt-F9 is :2.  Each session
> can be killed in the usual way with Ctrl-Alt-Backspace.
> 

With these tidbits, I guess I can pitch, err recycle, the 19" Sun 
Monitor sitting on top of my Ultra 2x200.  I don't think this 4 port 
linksys is going to cut it anymore.

On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 18:10:04 +0000, Another Tom wrote:

> With these tidbits, I guess I can pitch, err recycle, the 19" Sun 
> Monitor sitting on top of my Ultra 2x200.  I don't think this 4 port 
> linksys is going to cut it anymore.

I prefer the Type 5C keyboard and Sun GDM-17E20 monitor to the POS PC
keyboard and Compaq monitor but everyone's taste is different :-)

Dave Uhring wrote:
> On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 18:10:04 +0000, Another Tom wrote:
> 
> 
>>With these tidbits, I guess I can pitch, err recycle, the 19" Sun 
>>Monitor sitting on top of my Ultra 2x200.  I don't think this 4 port 
>>linksys is going to cut it anymore.
> 
> 
> I prefer the Type 5C keyboard and Sun GDM-17E20 monitor to the POS PC
> keyboard and Compaq monitor but everyone's taste is different :-)
> 

As is their house size.

a.villy@unsw.edu.au (Adrian Villy) wrote in message news:<e94c8796.0410142209.3ae4efb9@posting.google.com>...
> buckwheat_phd@yahoo.com (buckwheat) wrote in message news:<4260a1cc.0410141305.5c2d8174@posting.google.com>...
> > There's got to be an easy way to do this.  
> > 
> > I've got a headless 240, all the X packages are loaded on Sol9. 
> > Needless to say, no X anything when it boots because there's no video
> > card.
> > 
> > I want an entire Gnome window manager from this box on my PC, running
> > Hummingbird.
> > 
> > I've export the display to the pc, and can start xterm etc, but I need
> > the whole login, window manager.  Any ideas?
> > 
> > Someone suggested I use xvfb, which is very old and is trashed my
> > install.  Also we cannot use VNC, period.
> > 
> > Thanks -
> 
Under Solaris 9, a virtual framebuffer shouldn't be a problem:
 
 http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Software/Solaris_Ref/Solaris_9_12_02_x86/ref.html
 
Here's the patch:
 http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=urn:cds:docid:1-21-113100-01-1

I was having similiar problems until I put the patch on.

Cheers

Adrian Villy

Dave Uhring <daveuhring@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<pan.2004.10.16.17.32.04.296331@yahoo.com>...
> On Sat, 16 Oct 2004 09:28:26 -0700, buckwheat wrote:
> 
> > This is what I know - if a video head is in the solaris box, then it
> > will start X via an RC at boot time.  Right?
> 
> Wrong.  X will start only if a keyboard and mouse are connected too.  It
> matters not whether a display monitor is connected or not.
> 
> > That running X
> > environment will then LISTEN for any XDMCP request and it makes it
> > very easy for any pc to start a session.
> 
> Wrong again.
> 
> > What is it that listens for
> > these requests?
> 
> dtlogin, port 177 UDP.
> 
> > Now on the other hand, if you do NOT have a video head the host will
> > NOT start the X world, will not listen for a session, and we're
> > limited to display=soandso for the only server that can attach.  Just
> > one. <-- and that's the problem
> 
> Wrong.  *Nothing* related to Xsun on the Solaris system save for dtlogin
> needs to be running.  Your Xserver exists on your desktop machine and if
> you were running Solaris, BSD or Linux there you could understand it more
> readily.
> 
> > So am I right in assuming we must do something like Xvfb virtual frame
> > buffers to spoof solaris at startup that video exists, and let it
> > start a local phantom Xsession?  Do I have to have this session alive
> > to attach multiple PC's (servers)?
> 
> All you need do is to not change /etc/rc2.d/S99dtlogin.
> 
> From my desktop Linux system to a Sun Ultra-1E running Solaris 9
> 
> $ X :1 -query willy &
> 
> And magically the dtgreet screen appears on my Linux display.  Yet X is
> still not running on the Solaris system:
> 
> [duhring]$ ps -ef | grep X
>     root   379   348  0 12:30:02 pts/1    0:00 grep X
> [duhring]$

Thanks, Dave.  Then I think you've answered the big question - I can
have multiple xservers attached to one host, as long as the one host
has dtlogin listening.  The window environment I'll see on the laptop
(server) is then entirely dependent on however I've setup the display
on the LOCAL server - i.e. my laptop.

So if I want gnome, I'll start off a LOCAL gnome session?  If I want
KDE/or solaris default X then I choose that from my LOCAL server?  Or
is this all configured from rc2.d/s99dtlogin on the host?

And last big nagging question - what good is xvfb?  When/where would I
use it?

Thanks!

buckwheat <buckwheat_phd@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Thanks, Dave.  Then I think you've answered the big question - I can
> have multiple xservers attached to one host, as long as the one host
> has dtlogin listening.

You can have multiple X servers query the central host via XDMCP as long
as it's running dtlogin.  If you don't need XDMCP, you don't need
dtlogin.

> And last big nagging question - what good is xvfb?  When/where would I
> use it?

If you need to run a program that requires an X connection, but you
don't have any X servers.

-- 
Darren Dunham                                           ddunham@taos.com
Senior Technical Consultant         TAOS            http://www.taos.com/
Got some Dr Pepper?                           San Francisco, CA bay area
         < This line left intentionally blank to confuse you. >

On Mon, 18 Oct 2004 11:09:25 -0700, buckwheat wrote:

> Thanks, Dave.  Then I think you've answered the big question - I can
> have multiple xservers attached to one host, as long as the one host
> has dtlogin listening.  The window environment I'll see on the laptop
> (server) is then entirely dependent on however I've setup the display
> on the LOCAL server - i.e. my laptop.

No.  While the Xserver is running on your laptop the windowing or desktop
environment will be the one you choose to run on the Solaris system. 
Execute X with the arguments I provided and you can by default choose
either GNOME or CDE.  Everything runs on Solaris *except* for the Xserver
itself.

> So if I want gnome, I'll start off a LOCAL gnome session?  If I want
> KDE/or solaris default X then I choose that from my LOCAL server?  Or
> is this all configured from rc2.d/s99dtlogin on the host?

1.  You select GNOME or KDE from the Options -> Session menu on the
dtgreet screen.  You do not need to be running any particular window or
desktop environment on your laptop.

In fact, I'm running FVWM2 on my Linux machine's :0 display but I have
GNOME from s10_b63 running on the Linux :1 display and CDE from Solaris 9
running on another Ultra machine and displayed on the Linux :2 display.

2.  That is /etc/rc2.d/S99dtlogin.  If you have a lower case "s" then the
script will not run on boot.

3.  If you have configured xdm and the chooser on your laptop then you
could select the Solaris system at login time.  But you do not even need
to be running X :0 on your laptop.  Just execute
$ X :1 -query server_name &
from the console if you wish.

4.  Just *do* it and most of your questions will be answered.  As far as
any Xservers running on Windoze are concerned I offer no experience
whatever.  I don't do windows.

> And last big nagging question - what good is xvfb?  When/where would I
> use it?

Read the man page, Xvfb(1) or simply google "xvfb".

In article <huxcd.10135$Rf1.1765@newssvr19.news.prodigy.com>,
Another Tom  <thamilt_anda_5@snet.net> wrote:
>
>I just picked up a Netra T1-105 last week and now am running a Blackbox 
>session on the Netra, displayed on my linux box. I DONT NEED THE GUI, it 
>just makes using the box more enjoyable.


	One word: Xnest.

Have fun!
- Matt
-- 
"When in doubt, use brute force."
- Ken Thompson