The operating system provides a variety of networking services,
including distributed file systems and remote execution. X servers
provide additional networking capabilities, including access to
remote displays and security services.
The desktop layers a user interface on top of these networking
features. The goals of this interface and its underlying architecture
are to make networked systems:
Easier to use. Users
can run applications and access data files without worrying about
where in the network the applications and data are located.
Easier to administer. The desktop provides application
integration tools and networked search paths that make it easier
for systems to locate remote data and applications. In addition
the desktop's file-name mapping process makes it easier to administer
complex networks containing numerous servers.
Flexible. While the administration features of the
desktop have been designed for certain common network situations,
the desktop can accommodate many other customized network configurations.
Types of Networked Desktop
Services |
 |
Networking lets a user sitting at a particular display access
various computing services distributed among other systems, such
as:
The desktop session
and its applications—for example, Workspace Manager and
File Manager
Networking terminology uses the term
server to describe
a system that provides computing services to one or more other systems.
When a system receives services from a server, it is called a
client of that
server.
In a complex network, a system may use services located on
a number of systems throughout the network. Furthermore, a system
may act as a particular type of server (for example, a session server)
and may also be a client (for example, of an application server).
Typical Network Situations |
|
From a desktop perspective, a typical network configuration
may contain some combination of these major components:
One of the most common network configurations involves systems
accessing an application server. Figure 5-1 “Application servers
provide services to the desktop session” illustrates a workstation that
uses an application server. The X server and desktop session are
running on the workstation.
Networks also frequently use file servers to store large amounts
of data. This data may be used by applications running on an application
server, or by the desktop applications (for example, File Manager
needs access to data files to display them in the File Manager window).
X terminals run the X server
and obtain desktop session services from another system.
Other Networking Situations |
|
The desktop is flexible and can support more complex network
configurations. This usually involves making various services, in
addition to file servers, available to application servers.
Summary—Types
of Servers |
|
The network may include additional servers, such as a password
server, mail server, video server, etc.
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