Re: [foxboro] dual-headed Linux box as operator workstation

I missed the original email but, here is our experiences.

The Foxboro display managers will not work at a higher than 8bit (256
colour) depth so the cards must handle 8 bit.
You wouldn't think this was a problem but we just bought some Matrox G450
dual head adapters for a number of Linux boxes.

After much fiddling we could not get the Xserver to run on both heads in 8
bit mode, 16 or greater was fine.
A query to Matrox confirmed that the second head will not work in 8 bit
mode!!!

We found that a couple of cheap SIS PCI cards work just fine.

So the trick is to buy two video cards like NVIDIA or SIS, (one AGP and one
PCI) and you can have a great dual head box. Running RedHat7.0+ with XFree86
V4.x, XFree86 3.3.x does not support multiple heads.

Configuration is easy as well. Connect it to the monitors in question and
run the command
XFree86 -configure 
will create a generic config file for your video cards and monitors (correct
frequencies and all).
Add the font path to the Foxboro fonts, set the display depth to 8bit, and
copy it to /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 and you are away.

Foxboro: Please fix the display managers to work at higher than 256 colours.
It won't be long before you won't be able to buy a PC card that will work
that low.

Regards
Darryl Bond

> ----------
> From:         William C Ricker[SMTP:wcricker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> Reply To:     foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent:         Tuesday, 20 November 2001 19:39
> To:   foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject:      Re: [foxboro] dual-headed Linux box as operator workstation
> 
> 
> OK, then.  May I pass on a little related experience?
> 
> A couple of projects we have done:
> 
> Site 1; Southern US
> 
>    Node 1 ; Includes 1 x AW51B and 1 x WP51B plus
>    6 RedHat Linux based workstations, each w/ 1 screen.
> 
>    These 6 Ops stations were purchased from Foxboro as
>    part of the orig. Spectrum to IA upgrade project for
>    this node. Software was NT with the GoGlobal Fox Remote
>    product.  That was at V 6.1, and FoxView had font and
>    color problems with X-Terminals then.  We swapped the
>    software to Exceed 6 and the problems remained.  We
>    dumped NT and replaced it with Linux and our problems
>    were corrected.  As an added plum, performance improved
>    and configuration tools worked better.
> 
>    With this success, when additional stations were required
>    on their other two nodes, Linux base was used.  Each
>    of the other nodes also has 1 each WP51B and AW51B.
> 
>    By the way, this client still continues to use Exceed in
>    engineering offices for most of their DM Builder, FoxDraw, 
>    and ICC work.  (As they are a process development facility,
>    this configuration work is a constant.)  The choice of 
>    Exceed here is because these are office machines, with 
>    e-mail and office tools common accross many of the companies
>    facilities.
> 
> Site 2; Also Southern US
> 
>    System is mixed AW/WP 51 and WP70 as initially designes.
>    In the beginning we had 10 large, wall mounted screens 
>    driven by 3 NT based systems with Exceed 6.0.  FoxViews
>    were driven by the AW51E.  Video card in each NT was a 
>    Matrox 4 channel device.
> 
>    Exceed 6.0 allows identification of each screen by number,
>    complient with X-Windows addressing.  This meant the host 
>    could individually address the four screens and Exceed 
>    would decide what monitor each would be displayed on.
> 
>    At IA6.0 when this was first implimented, the FoxView/Display 
>    Manager configuration thru 'dmcfg' did not allow specifying
>    particular screens on a host; it would only get as specific
>    as which host would recieve the display.  By customizing
>    the '/usr/fox/wp/data/mk_amdmglbls script we were able to
>    do this screen based addressing.  The same edits were
>    reapplied at upgrades to 6.1 and 6.2.
> 
>    We later removed these from the dedicated NT boxes and AW51,
>    replaced the dual Matrox video cards with quad cards in 5 of 
>    our WP70s, and hooked these screens up there.  That meant the
>    custom edits in the AW51 went away.  Hence, I don't know if
>    the screen addressing limitation still exists in 6.2.x and 6.3.
> 
>    Also on this site, we provide FoxView (view only) to desktop
>    stations all over the building.  Initially we got the GoGlobal,
>    Fox Remote prodict from Foxboro.  That was OK, but we 
>    the GoJoe product by the GoGlobal makers.  This we loaded
>    over GoGlobal to provide FoxView and Sun Desktops as Web Pages.
> 
>    We set up an Apache Web Server on the WP51, (used FoxWatch setups
>    as our guide), and plugged GoJoe into it.  We have configured
>    two levels of user; one gets View Only, the other is a config
>    station with full access to IA config tools and the Sun desktop.
> 
>    No client software is needed except a recent Internet Explorer
>    or Netscape. The View Only has been very popular among the
>    engineers and managers in the plant. The Config is "almost 
>    like being there"
> 
> Conclusions:
> 
>    Linux improves on NT based stuff in performance.
> 
>    This GoJoe thing minimizes the number of places you have custom
>    software or have to keep configuration data, and it is protable 
>    to any Windows/ UNIX etc. client platform.
> 
>    For full X-window operation of the Exceed, GoGlobal or Linux
>    client, custom edits are needed in the server.
> 
> I Think the first question was arounf dual head stuff.  We have
> worked with Matrox 200, 400 and 450 series stuff on NT using
> drivers and desk top 'enhancements' from Matrox.  We have also
> experimented with ColorGraphic cards and software.  All work
> just fine; no problems on NT in use as WP70s nor as X-terminals
> which were not solved fairly quickly.
> 
> We have no experience with Multi Head cards on Linux, but expect
> the situation will be largely that same as NT; no problems which
> can't be solved quickly.
> 
> <Dare I add....  we put a Windows based, Control Configuration >
> <program on the Casandra web site; RCC.  This may also figure  >
> <into determining the utility of such PC based stations.       >
> 
> 
> Have I been too verbose?  Hope this helps.
> 
> W C Ricker
> FeedForward, Inc.
> Marietta GA.
> 770-426-4422
> 
> 
>  
>  
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