FreeNX: Linux “Terminal Server” Technology

Way back in “the day” I used Xwindows (X11) on both UNIX and VMS operating systems on “high end” (for the time) workstations and servers. It was a very cool client/server technology that displayed screens of sessions from one system on the screen of another. Though, for those of you that actually worked with it… do you remember that the “Client” and the “Server” seemed logically reversed? Yep. Got a grin out of you! Anyway, it was also SLOW. Very cool, but slow! X11 technology has been around for many years. However, now there is a “New X,” called, interestingly enough, “NX.”

The NX Protocol and Linux Terminal Server

“NX is a new technology that allows one to run remote X11 sessions across slow or low-bandwidth network connections. User experience with NX is one of excellent responsiveness. Users with previous remote X11 session experience are stunned by NX’s speed and its snappy application interaction. Moreover, NX also can connect to remote RDP and VNC sessions and offer big performance wins over TightVNC and rdesktop remote access. NX can do all of this from Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris and Windows workstations as well as from some types of PDA gadgets.”

Very small packets, very fast displays. It sounds like the IGA protocol and Citrix, doesn’t it? I am a Citrix Administrator and consultant, and I can tell you, it is a VERY HOT technology! So… what if you could have an Open Source version (FreeNX), and a fully supported commercial version, by a company that does BOTH? Well, here you go!

NoMachine.com: Commercial, Supported NX

“NoMachine NX is a Terminal Server and Remote Access solution based on a comprising set of enterprise class open source technologies. Thanks to the outstanding compression, session resilience and resource management developed on top of the X-Window system, and the integration with the powerful audio, printing and resource sharing capabilities of the Unix world, NoMachine NX makes it possible to run any graphical application on any operating system across any network connection as if you were sitting in front of your computer.”

Keep an eye on this one! It looks VERY COOL!