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<TITLE>The Answer Guy 37: X Windows Over a Serial Line (Null Modem)</TITLE>
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<H4>"The Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"</H4>
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<H4>By James T. Dennis,
<a href="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com">linux-questions-only@ssc.com</a><BR>
Starshine Technical Services,
<A HREF="http://www.starshine.org/">http://www.starshine.org/</A>
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<H3 align="left"><img src="../../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>X Windows Over a Serial Line (Null Modem)</H3>
<p><strong>From farquhar on Sun, 27 Dec 1998
</strong></p>
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X Windows Over a Serial Line (Null Modem)
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<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
I'm a new Linux user and I've found your column (and The Linux Gazette)
immensely helpful. Thanks.
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Here's a question I haven't found an answer to, however. Thanks to The
Linux Gazette, I know it's possible to connect 386/486 PCs to a LAN
containing newer PCs and run them as X Terminals. I also know it's
possible to set up text-mode terminals via null-modem using getty. But
is there any way to run an X Terminal off another PC via a null-modem
link? (This would be great for two-node LANs like you might find in many
homes -- a null-modem cable is much less expensive than two NICs and a
cable to connect them.)
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
Thanks.
Dave Farquhar
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Is is certainly possible to do this. You have to run a
PPP or SLIP (some sort of TCP/IP networking connection) over
the serial line to do it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
However I'll warn that X Windows on a typical 386 or 486
--- especially over a serial line --- would be essentially
unusable.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Actually the quality of your video card matters a little
more than the CPU. My 386/33 running X on a 2Mb STB
Powergraph is more usable than an old 486DX2/66 that my
father used to use with a cheap 1Mb or 512K VESA VLB
video card. However, neither of them was acceptable
--- even when running the apps remotely (the server still
has to work locally).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
So I wouldn't do it except at the lower resolutions (640x480
and 800x600). X is simply not tolerable at those
resolutions. Of course MS Windows was pretty useless on
those old boxes too.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Anyway --- look at the PPP HOWTO and see if you can get your
TCP/IP running over the null modem. Then running X over
that should be just like running it over any other network
connection.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
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<H5 align="center"><a href="http://www.linuxgazette.com/copying.html"
>Copyright &copy;</a> 1999, James T. Dennis
<BR>Published in <I>The Linux Gazette</I> Issue 37 February 1999</H5>
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