[LUNI] New to Linux

[David Ehle]

--SNIP--
>
> For Novell and Microsoft our product is installed on a file server with
> workstations executing the application.  Of course in the case of UNIX, the
> applicaton executes on the server with dumb terminals or PCs running
> terminal emulation for the human interface.
>
> Can someone give me a very broad overview about the way a Linux server
> would handle this?  I imagine Linux would handle it like UNIX.  That leads me
> to ask, how do the Linux workstations handle the application on the server?
>  Is it using some sort of terminal emulation?  Can dumb terminals still be
> used?  Is there a way of using Windows for the workstations?
>
--SNIP--
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Rick

As the previous poster said, you have a lot of options.

If you want to go with a centralized model - BIG server to run many
instances of the app and lots of smaller machines to act as clients you
can either go with actual dumb terminals, or with cheap, low power, fully
independent linux workstations.  You then set up accounts on the primary
system, have clients ssh (think telnet but better) to the main system and
run the application.  If it has graphics display/GUI the magic of ssh's X
forwarding will display it on the users desktop.

Another options would be to buy a low/middling power system as the Main
server and buy workstations able to run your app locally, then make the
file available to the workstations via nfs, samba, sfs, rsync or whatever
your favorite method of distributing a file system is.

Finally if you want is to port it to Linux but give windows clients
access you can do that too.  If it is non gui, they can just ssh over with
something like puTTY or other SSH client for windows and run it on the
command line.  If you need to export the graphics to their workstation
then you will need a X server for windows.  High quality free/open ones
are few and far between.  Debatably the best is the one put out by
Hummingbird, but it is not inexpensive to licence.  The only free/open one
I can think of is to use some form of Cygwin.  Not quite the same, but you
could also use VNC to run the apps on the server, and use VNCserver to
make the server desktops available to client machines running VNCclient.

Alot of your choices will depend on how intensive your app is on what
resources.  Also, are your clients single function devices or is this
going to be implemented in situations where it will be another feature on
a users normal desktop.

David.