1-Box to serve them all (NewsForge) [LWN.net]

Not really an OpenSource system anymore

Posted Oct 29, 2004 6:29 UTC (Fri) by alexs (guest, #13637) [Link]

The article is pretty unclear
that it talks about a pairing of hardware
and software, and then labelling it with
the name of the software.
I have to assume that the mentioned pricing
is purely for the software.
So its a server running an open source OS
but will be only runable with a closed source
add-on with a server alike per-seat fee.
Needless to say that such licensing will be
impose some limitations to a system admin
compared to the usage of a full scale
open source/free software solution.

-Alex.

1-Box to serve them all (NewsForge)

Posted Oct 29, 2004 16:42 UTC (Fri) by jwb (guest, #15467) [Link]

You can't, normally, just attach a bunch of keyboards and monitors to a Linux box and have it work. There's a problem with the assignment of the terminal and the input device. The kernel.org kernel is incapable of running two active VTs at once, so while you can have as many X11 servers up and running as you like, only one of them can get user input. So this 1-Box is either using a modified kernel (possibly Ruby Backstreet patch which fixes this problem), or they have cooked up a userspace input daemon that fixes things.

But the article is unclear and to call it a review is too generous. I wonder how they manage the assignment of the keyboard to the VT. Does a dialog come up at config time asking you to press a key on the keyboard that corresponds to a given screen? How do you prevent one user from seeing another user's keyboard input (usually if you have access to one USB device you have access to all of them)? And the claim to work with "all Linux applications" is clearly bogus. I'm sure that if you sauntered up to the machine and plugged in a USB camera, things would get confused. Also there's no mention of audio capabilities, which eliminates an entire class of application.

From the screenshots you can see it's GDM with a custom theme, GNOME 2, and some custom GTK programs for administration. There's value in a packaged solution like this, but I'd like to know more details.

1-Box to serve them all (NewsForge)

Posted Oct 29, 2004 20:08 UTC (Fri) by hamjudo (subscriber, #363) [Link]

I don't know how 1-box does it, but if I were to configure such a system, I would use a variation on your second option "cooked up a userspace input daemon that fixes things". I would put a USB hub at each monitor, and have a userspace USB manager that managed USB device access based on which hub the devices were plugged into.

The administrator will have to initially tell the system which hub is associated with each monitor. Assuming no one is logged into a particular monitor, the USB manager could automaticly regenerate xorg.conf files as mice and/or keyboards are plugged into hubs. The xorg.conf file would associate the appropriate mice and keyboards with each display and restart kdm, gdm or xdm as appropriate. When a camera, audio or storage device is plugged in and someone is logged in, the USB manager could chown the /dev entry. Well at least for those devices where it understands /dev entry naming.

Since I don't know how to handle the security issues of a USB device that might possibly be left open across logins, the USB manager could put up a display that says something like "There is still something plugged into the hub! Did you forget your camera?" and not restart kdm, until all of the last user's hardware has been unplugged.

I'm envisioning public access systems in libraries. Library patrons could choose keyboards for their language and/or pointer devices that are appropriate for their disability. Students could keep their home directories on a USB key fob.

1-Box to serve them all (NewsForge)

Posted Oct 29, 2004 18:50 UTC (Fri) by peace (guest, #10016) [Link]

This looks a lot less flexible then something like LTSP (www.ltsp.org). I think it is very cool, just not as practical as some other options, namely thin clients and native X support for them. Computers that make good terminals are basicaly free, especialy for non-profits and libraries who can appeal for donations.

With this setup, terminals would need to be clusterd close to the server. With thin clients, have cat5, will travel. Plus thin clients can use their own USB, sound, floppies and CD's.

This is a testament to the flexability of GNU/Linux, and the power of Open SOurce in allowing people to hack these types products up.

Kind Regards