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OpenBSD General Other questions regarding OpenBSD which do not fit in any of the categories below. |
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Remote desktop & terminal independence
Hi.
I am a Unix newbie and I need your help for a pet project. I would appreciate if you could help. I currently have one OpenBSD server at home that runs 4.6 stable. The machine has 80GB hard disk space. I have user accounts for my family members on that machine. I want to know as to how I can operate this machine without working on the console. (i.e) I want a terminal in the living room and a terminal each in the kid's rooms. They would access the Unix box remotely. I do not have any spare machines/ laptops. I cannot run wires and hence am looking for a wireless option. I do not want to buy a laptop and then wipe it for BSD. Can I buy some diskless units and connect to my "server"? This is the setup I am imagining. I have a Keyboard+mouse+monitor+speakers+microphone unit in the living room. I turn it on and the machine asks me for my login id & password. I type those in and I get a graphical desktop. I create my documents and save it. Then I log out. The files that I created are on the "central server" and I can access them from the console or from the kid's rooms. I do not want to store any of my files on the local "terminal" for I would have to "hunt" for my files in each of the workstations I use. With this arrangement, I do not have to share my desktop/console with anybody. The kids can be in their room, listen to music, browse the net while claiming they are doing homework etc. The advantages to me are: a) OS patching and upgrade are at one place and easy to accomplish. b) Software package install & upgrade is easy c) Virus scans easy. (I use F-prot) d) Files are in one place and hence easy to find. e) I can make enhancements to improve security without affecting end user experience. eg. router config, firewall config, proxy setup etc. My questions are: a) Is this dream reasonable? b) What do I need to buy as terminals? c) How do I "boot" my terminals? Is this where PXE comes? d) What do I need to do to OpenBSD setup to accomplish this? Thanks in advance. -gm |
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Option A: General diskless operation; take a look at diskless(8)
Option B: Remote login; make sure you understand SSH and running remote X sessions (can be done easily over SSH).
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OpenBSD's documentation is some of the best out there. Studying the entirety of the FAQ now, as a newbie, will save you a lot of future grief & frustration. Basically, what you are envisioning is quite possible, but you are also implicitly putting yourself into the role of administrating & supporting such a configuration. To do this effectively, you will be learning the skill set needed by good sysadmin's. Learning to do the necessary research upfront is a necessary first step. |
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TerryP & ocicat,
Thanks for your replies and encouragement. When I picturized this setup, I did not fathom the complexity involved. In your feedback, you have shown a method as to how I can go about solving this. I will follow your suggestions. Thanks for your input. I wish you a Merry Christmas & Happy New year! Thanks. -gm |
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I have a little howto from a ways back that involves setting up a server within a server thats boots via PXE, not sure if you can boot that over WiFi NIC. It is quite easy to setup and boots anywhere on your network that will PXE, no hard disks required in the terminals.
This howto is a FULLY working install that boots over PXE and allows full access, installing applications, everything you can do normally from OpenBSD, you can even use different window managers fine. If this sounds like something that may help PM me and i can send you the info i have, if you want anymore details i would be glad to share what I know. P.S. I have NOT tried this over a wireless connection, PXE support on the NIC aside? i am not certian if the throughput rates will create a smooth user experience, hard wire would be a better choice if at all possible.
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The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know .... Last edited by There0; 18th December 2009 at 11:01 PM. |
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Very good point!
A quick search through the misc@ archives didn't reveal anything salient. Searching through Google shows some interest in the Linux world, but I found no mention of any wireless cards being capable of PXE. The OP will want to renegotiate this requirement with the chairperson of the house. |
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Wireless devices are very complex, much more so then Ethernet controllers.
A PXE rom contains basic chipset initialization and just enough support for communicating over the wire with a tftp/dhcp server.. AFAIK there are also architectural constraints on x86 Option ROM sizes, but I cannot find a definitive answer (..64K?). Such a ROM for Wireless devices would need to fully implement an 802.11 stack (..with error handling), and the ability to decrypt WEP/WPA frames. Instead of trying to network boot these systems, it would perhaps be a better idea to use xdm(1) with XDMCP.. not known for security, but you could tunnel it over SSH or use IPsec. Would that be possible? Last edited by BSDfan666; 19th December 2009 at 03:22 AM. |
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Yes security, even locally i agree completely, i encrypt EVERYTHING i can inside and out, good to get used to the practice of doing so.
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Sorry to hijack your thread but I have to ask...
Do they have network interface monitors that do not require a desktop computer (only the central server that runs PXE)? |
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It was once quite common to have a centralized server with a variety of external terminals.. that's a concept that is still a criticial part of Unix systems.
Traditionally people interfaced with a Unix server over a serial link, directly over modems.. if you look into the history of X, you'll see it's heavily based on a server-client architecture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_terminal Many thin-client systems have existed over the years, but it soon became quicker and more affordable to use dedicated workstations with their own local hard disks and graphics cards. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_client |
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MMMM yes serial connections to a mainframe and dummy terminals ..... god how i do not miss those, haven't worked on anything to that nature for over 6 years
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