Contents

How to: X forwarding

Outline

The best way to get access to fully functional applications and processor-intensive functions on the SIMpad is to use the terminal server system. This is similar to the Remote Desktop system used under CE, allowing the SIMpad user to view and operate applications on a remote system.

Setup steps

You will require some space to install the required packages. You'll probably need to get rid of your home partition.

Angstrom X11 install comes with Dropbear as its standard SSH client. This works fine for terminal access, but it does not include the capability to forward an X session, so it must be replaced with openssh.

Open a terminal on your SIMpad and use ipkg to remove dropbear:

ipkg remove dropbear -force-depends

and then install openssh:

ipkg install openssh

After this you are able to use ssh as you know it from other systems. Mind that you need to set a password for root if you want to use ssh to connect TO your SIMpad. If no password is set, you will not be able to login.

Use
passwd
when loged in as root to set a password.

Usage

Once installed, use the following format to forward an X session from a remote computer to the screen of your SIMpad:

ssh username@servername -X

Then, once logged into the remote machine, simply launch the application you require, e.g.

username@servername:~$ firefox

For convenience you can use an automatic login to the remote computer using the ssh public-key infrastructure (a related howto can be found here.

Possible problems

If you encounter errors such as these:

BadAtom (invalid Atom parameter)

Try adding:

ForwardX11Trusted yes

to the /etc/ssh/ssh_config on the SIMpad, under the hostname or IP of the remote machine.

Like this:

    Host servername
       ForwardX11 yes
       ForwardX11Trusted yes
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