Configuring Base Operating System Networking for the Desktop

The desktop requires the following base networking configuration:

• Users must have a login account on the session server and on each system providing desktop services to the session server. The user must have the same user ID and group ID on all client and server systems.

• Systems must have access to remote file systems containing data used by the session and other applications.

• The lp print spooler must be configured to access remote printers.

• sendmail must be configured for email services.

• X authorization must be set up.

Providing Login Accounts to Users

This section describes the login account requirements for desktop networking.

Providing Login Accounts

Users must have a login account on:

• All systems providing services to the desktop, including application servers, file servers, and systems providing networked printers.

• All session servers the user may access. Usually, session servers are used with X terminals.

Providing Consistent User and Group IDs

UNIX users are identified by a login name and a numeric user ID (UID). In a desktop network, the user should have the same login name and UID on all client and server systems.

UNIX users are also assigned to one or more login groups. Each group has a group name and a numeric group ID (GID). In a desktop network, all systems should use consistent group names and group IDs.

For more information, see the id(1) or id(1M) man page.

Configuring Distributed File System Access

The desktop uses NFS for sharing files between systems. You must identify all the file systems in your network that contain shared files and ensure that they are correctly mounted on all appropriate systems.

Typically, you must provide the following remote file access:

• The user's home directory must be shared by all desktop client and server systems. This is necessary because:

  • The home directory contains data files that must be accessed by applications on remote systems. For example, applications using data files frequently use the home directory as the default data file location.

  • The home directory is the default dtspcd authentication directory. For more information about the dtspcd, see Configuring the Subprocess Control Daemon.

• If users require access to data files that are not in their home directory, these data files must be shared by all the desktop client and server systems that operate on the data files.

• The desktop installation and configuration directories (/usr/dt and /etc/dt) must be shared by all the desktop client and server systems so that all of the user's applications access the same desktop configuration files.

Providing a Networked Home Directory

A desktop network works most effectively when users have a single home directory that is shared among all client and server systems on the network.

A networked home directory enables users to use different systems in the network without losing personal customizations and configurations. This is because personal customizations and the information required to restore the previous session are saved in subdirectories of the home directory.

A common home directory is also required by:

• The default X authorization mechanism (see Configuring X Authorization).

• The desktop subprocess control daemon. This daemon is involved in launching remote applications and must be able to write to the user's home directory.

File-Name Consistency

You should configure the network so that users can access their data files from all systems using the same name. This is known as providing file-name consistency, and is usually accomplished by creating appropriate symbolic links. For example you can configure every system so that each user's home directory is available as /users/login_name by creating a symbolic link to the actual mount location of the directory.

Configuring Access to Remote Printers

The desktop uses the lp print spooler for accessing local or remote printers. See the lpadmin(1M) man page for information on configuring the lp spooler.

Before attempting to print using the desktop graphical interface, you should test that you can correctly print to all printers using the lp command.

Be sure to use consistent printer device names. For example, if a particular printer is known as Postscript1 on the system to which it is directly connected, all other systems accessing the printer remotely should also use the name Postscript1.

Configuring Electronic Mail

The desktop mailer uses sendmail for delivering mail between systems. See the sendmail(1M) man page for more information on how to configure email connectivity.

Before attempting to send or receive mail from the desktop, you should test that you can correctly send and receive mail using the mailx command.

Configuring X Authorization

The desktop uses the default X mechanism for authorizing remote applications (X clients) to access a local display. The easiest way to configure this is to provide a networked home directory for each user. This ensures that the following requirements are met:

• The user must have read and write permission to the file HomeDirectory/.Xauthority.

• The .Xauthority file on an application server must contain the “magic cookie” for the display on which the application will run.

  For more information, see the X(1) or xauth(1) man pages.