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James Miller wrote:
>
> On Thu, 24 Jul 2003, Jhommer Oblego wrote:
> 
> > Hi, I need  to your help on setting up a x terminal
> > using BL1 or BL2 (which one is better?). I going to use
> > a AMD 500Mhz as server and 3 486 machines as client

I recommend you use the same version of BasicLinux on all the 
clients (although the server can run a different version of
Linux).  If any of the clients have less than 16mb RAM, you 
should use BL1.  If any of them are slower than 40 MHz, you 
should use BL1.  BL1 performs better than BL2 on marginal
hardware.     

> > What are the procedure and setup for the server and client?
> >
> Just set up X as you normally would on the clients.  Most 
> important thing is to get a satisfactorily working X display 
> on the clients.

I agree with James, first get X working well on the clients.
Replace the generic VGA Xserver with a higher-resolution one
(if your card/monitor are capable).  Install additional font 
packages (f100 and fscl).  That will give you a nicer display.

> Of course, you'll need a working display on the server as well.  

Not necessarily.  Many servers run head-less, without a display.
However, if you want a fourth terminal (in addition to the three
clients) you can do a full X installation on the server.

> Then, from the command line on the client issue the command
> ----------------------
> X -query 192.168.x.x
> ----------------------

There are other ways of doing this, but that method is probably
the simplest.  However, it will only work if a display manager
is running on the server.

> You may need to do some editing on the server to enable it to 
> export its display.  

You export the display by executing xdm or kdm (in KDE) or gdm
(in Gnome) on the server.  Then the clients will be able to do
the X -query.  If the display manager does not let the clients
login, you will probably need to edit the configuration file 
to permit access.  For xdm, the file is called Xaccess and is 
normally found in /var/X11R6/lib/xdm or in /etc/X11/xdm.

> I never tried setting up a BL machine as a terminal server.  
> Steven should have some input on that, though.  

All that is necessary is the normal X installation (no fonts
and no Xserver if you are going head-less).  Install the shadow 
package (BL2) and create some accounts for users.  Execute xdm.

> I think it probably wouldn't matter much,  unless you have 
> hardware issues on the clients that would keep  you from 
> running BL2 (like, if you have 486SX's or less than 8Mb RAM.

It is not worthwhile with less than 8mb RAM.  An Xterminal needs
at least 8mb RAM.  

Cheers,
Steven