Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!wugate!uunet!lupine!klein
From: klein@lupine.UUCP (Doug Klein )
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Xdm and NCD X-terminal
Summary: clarification on XDM and NCD
Message-ID: <605@lupine.UUCP>
Date: 31 Aug 89 16:58:04 GMT
References: <303@ccu.UManitoba.CA> <239@lib.tmc.edu>
Organization: Network Computing Devices, Palo Alto, CA
Lines: 63

In article <239@lib.tmc.edu>, klong@wilkins.bcm.tmc.edu (Kevin Long) writes:
> InArticle <303@ccu.UManitoba.CA> andchan@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Andrew Chan)writes:
> >Greetings:
> >
> >I am using a NCD X-terminal...
> >...if I switch off the X terminal and then back on, xdm fails
> >to provide me with a login prompt.
> 
> If I may speak on NCD's behalf, this is a known problem with the NCD box.  

To be more precise, this is a "known problem", not a "known problem with the
NCD box". The model presented by the sample XDM daemon with R3 does not take 
into account the possibility that the server may "go away". I.e., the typical
scenario we hear about is as follows:

- user adds NCD to the list of "known" servers
- user kicks master xdm in head with a kill -1, resulting in login window, as 
  desired.
- user logs in, runs his session, then logs out.
- xdm puts up another login window.
- user turns off the NCD, (or any other server!) and goes home.

==> problem occurs here <==

- xdm has *no way* of knowing that the server is "gone", and when the user
  comes back and turns on his server, xdm has *no way* of knowing that the
  server came back! 


The best solution to this is to fix xdm, and this is being done as a joint 
effort between NCD and the X Consortium. The fix involves changes both to the
server and the xdm daemon, and will be included with Release 4 from MIT. It 
will then be a standard, supported, login mechanism available to all vendors,
(much nicer than local hacks or proprietary solutions).


> As NCD's recent newsletter, the "NCD Xtra" reports, a fix that will let
> XDM work is coming.  I'm not sure if it's a fix to xdm or a fix to the
> NCD's boot software, but I suppose it really doesn't make any difference.
> I asked their support people for a release date, but all I heard (as I
> recall) was that it was planned for the 2.1 boot tape release... that
> should be several months, I should think, considering they're on 1.6.2
> right now.


As a matter of policy I would not normally comment on internal release 
information, but for the sake of public clarity I will confirm that our 2.1
release is scheduled for the December time-frame, and will include the R4 
xdmcp implementation. This may or may not coincide with the "official" MIT
R4 release (that is for MIT to say, not me), but the NCD implementation will
follow the MIT version if further changes are necessary beyond our 2.1 
release.

For further clarification on NCD issues, or general questions, we maintain
a mailbox "support@ncd.com". 

Doug Klein
klein@ncd.com
-- 

Doug Klein
Network Computing Devices
uunet!lupine!klein