On Thu, 22 Jul 1999, David Burren wrote:

=> I think your fundamental problem is that if you start X from within xdm,
=> xdm expects to be controlling it.  I haven't tried that myself, but I
=> would expect that it would get "upset" at some point...

Thanks for the tips!  I've been messing around some more and I think the
above is largely the root of my problems (i.e., starting X from within
xdm via the Xservers file).

=> Also, xdm will give you a chooser if you send it an indirect or
=> broadcast query.  If you send it a direct query (with "-query") you are
=> asking it for a login prompt, not a chooser.

I mentioned that just to illustrate that no matter whether I use
"-broadcast," "-indirect," or "-query" I get the same net effect (the
session repeatedly resets).

[[config details.]]
=> On your pmax, I would run xdm with a similar (if not identical)
=> configuration to your Alpha.  Don't get it to run X directly, but let it
=> allow logins from the pmax.  It's up to you as to whether you want to
=> allow CHOOSER service on it as well (for convenience, I guess).
=> 
=> Then start up an X server with your favourite command-line options,
=> including something like "-indirect alpha".  You can run this from a
=> shell script.  I tend to run it out of /etc/ttys as though it was
=> another getty (although I haven't done this on a pmax, it should work?).
=> 
=> The Xserver will then fire up and send an indirect query to the Alpha,
=> which will then fire up a chooser window, allowing you to select your
=> login host de jour (including the pmax).

IIRC, I have everything set up (re: config files) as you describe above
*except* for commenting out the local display in Xservers on the pmax as
well, and starting X in /etc/rc.local (or, better yet, via /etc/ttys) on
the pmax.  I'll try that tomorrow, and hopefully it'll solve my
remaining problems.

=> Of course YMMV, but this should get you going.

Thanks again for the help.  Mucking around with various systems today
convinced me that starting X with -indirect via xdm was messing up
things somehow.  Is there an RFC/further documentation on XDMCP?

However, I still don't know why the chooser on the alpha running NetBSD
doesn't produce a valid host list.  (I get a chooser that is empty
except for the single choice "list."  This doesn't happen with choosers
on other systems [I tried Digital Unix 4.0D and AIX 4.2].)  Maybe that
will come out in the wash?

Cheers,

Paul.

e-mail: paul@gromit.dlib.vt.edu

"I don't live today; maybe tomorrow..."
	--- James Marshall Hendrix