...making Linux just a little more fun!
Amber Sanford [amber at modernspaces.com]
Thu, 17 Aug 2006 11:41:25 -0700
Non-linux machines: any recommendations for this set-up though running on Windows XP?
Amber Sanford
Benjamin A. Okopnik [ben at linuxgazette.net]
Fri, 18 Aug 2006 17:07:44 -0400
On Thu, Aug 17, 2006 at 11:41:25AM -0700, Amber Sanford wrote:
> > Non-linux machines: any recommendations for this set-up though running > on Windows XP?
You bet: switch to Linux. 
Amber, I'm not the world's top expert when it comes to Windows, but I've got quite a lot of experience and expertise with it under my belt. Speaking from that perspective and to the best of my knowledge, there are a few minor things that you can do in this direction - i.e., a pair of video cards and even multiple keyboards attached to a single CPU - but all of this hardware is still tied to one session, i.e. one person using all of it. There are some uses for this type of configuration, but it's a completely different kettle of fish.
As far as creating a robust, serious piece of software that will do this under Windows, or even a project toward that end, it's simply not going to happen: Microsoft would need to open-source their OS, and that's not in the cards. This is one of the many reasons that so many people and so many companies are switching to Linux: in the world of Open Source, if you have this kind of a requirement, you can either find someone somewhere who has already done it (and perhaps fund them to tweak it to your exact specs) - or you can do it yourself (perhaps by hiring a little programming muscle if the capability does not exist in-house.) It's a different - and we believe, better - approach to computing.
Best of luck in your search, and we'll be happy to hear from you if you decide to make the switch at some point in the future.
* Ben Okopnik * Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette * http://linuxgazette.net *
Peter Bloodsworth [peter at bloodsworth.eclipse.co.uk]
Thu, 05 Oct 2006 17:50:09 +0100
Hi, great article a couple of questions:
1) Is six the limit on X-windows sessions or can it be more - if so how?
2) Can you have multi-seat without the graphic cards, keyboards etc? Essentially having six or more insulated virtual sessions running at the same time. I ask because I have some software that can only run one instance per session - if I could get several sessions running on one server then this would speed up things nicely - ideally the more the merrier and would save me a fortune in servers!
Thanks,
Peter
Benjamin A. Okopnik [ben at linuxgazette.net]
Thu, 5 Oct 2006 13:02:11 -0400
On Thu, Oct 05, 2006 at 05:50:09PM +0100, Peter Bloodsworth wrote:
> Hi, great article a couple of questions: > > 1) Is six the limit on X-windows sessions or can it be more - if so how? > 2) Can you have multi-seat without the graphic cards, keyboards etc? > Essentially having six or more insulated virtual sessions running at the > same time. I ask because I have some software that can only run one > instance per session - if I could get several sessions running on one > server then this would speed up things nicely - ideally the more the > merrier and would save me a fortune in servers!
Have you considered launching multiple sessions? Linux is a
multi-tasking environment, y'know. Whether it's multiple consoles,
multiple X sessions, multiple chrooted sessions, or multiple virtual
machines (via, say, Xen), there are lots of options. Bob's solution is
important and valuable because it focuses on serving multiple users,
but there's no reason to use extra hardware if you don't need it.
* Ben Okopnik * Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette * http://LinuxGazette.NET *
David Richardson [dsrich at ieee.org]
Thu, 5 Oct 2006 17:19:46 -0400
On Thu, Oct 05, 2006 at 05:50:09PM +0100, Peter Bloodsworth wrote:
> Hi, great article a couple of questions: > > 1) Is six the limit on X-windows sessions or can it be more - if so how? > 2) Can you have multi-seat without the graphic cards, keyboards etc? > Essentially having six or more insulated virtual sessions running at the > same time. I ask because I have some software that can only run one > instance per session - if I could get several sessions running on one > server then this would speed up things nicely - ideally the more the > merrier and would save me a fortune in servers!
For just starting multiple sessions you can use Xvnc, which does not require any video hardware at all - you control the virtual screen parameters (size, color depth, etc.) It can start as many independent X sessions as you care to generate within the limits of your machine.
There are bunches of VNC clients out there for many different operating systems, so you can access these X sessions from almost any computer you have.
-- David \ Richardson \ Imagine whirled peas..... dsrich at ieee.org \ The above is my own opinion - nobody else wants it!
bsmith [bsmith at linuxtoys.org]
Thu, 05 Oct 2006 11:25:39 -0700
> 1) Is six the limit on X-windows sessions or can it be more - if so how?
The limit should be the number of VGA connectors you can get on the box. It is easy to find a AGP video card with two independent VGA outputs. Matrox used to make a PCI card with dual VGA outputs. The commercial multi-seat vendor, Userful, supports up to ten seats.
> 2) Can you have multi-seat without the graphic cards, keyboards etc? > Essentially having six or more insulated virtual sessions running at the > same time. I ask because I have some software that can only run one > instance per session - if I could get several sessions running on one > server then this would speed up things nicely - ideally the more the > merrier and would save me a fortune in servers!
If I understand your question correctly, then, yes, you can have multiple virtual servers with one box, keyboard and video card. Look at VMWare or Xen for a way to make one server look like several.
BTW: I started this project to help a computer school in Kibre Mengist, Ethiopia. The head of the school had said he wanted to stay with Windows, and at that time the nVidia drivers were locking up my six-seat system, so I stopped working on the project. Recently the head of the school has said that Linux would be OK if we can get multiple users on a PC. I've sent him two books on Ubuntu and I'm restarting work on the project.
Bob