[desktop-discuss] X11 proxy in BrandZ

[Mario Goebbels]

Here's an idea that is worth to be considered and realized:

Implementing the necessary code infrastructure to enable sort of an X
server proxy, that more or less allows applications inside the (branded)
zone to use the X server in the global zone directly (UNIX sockets,
mmaps or whatever else is actually used), without DISPLAY or forwarding
over ssh which sends data over via TCP across CrossBow (rather expensive).

Reasons for this are performance related. If application developers are
going to jump (back) onto the *nix bandwagon, which the signs slowly
start looking like, they're going to be targeting Linux first, and only
maybe Solaris depending on its success with Indiana and/or based on how
much Sun pays them.

If the amount of commercial Linux applications will be growing, it'll
becomes expensive for Sun to sponsor ports, too. It would cost less to
pay developers to implement the necessary infrastructure. In an
optimistic view, Solaris would get access to a whole lot of more of
applications, again helping the popularity of Solaris as a platform for
commercial packages (initially with BrandZ crutches). And if that
happens, developers might consider the idea of doing direct ports,
either because they can (I suppose at some point, Solaris will be up to
the point, where it is equivalent to Linux on library level, so that
things can just compile) or to use specific Solaris functionality.

Applications in question are the types that need high bandwidth, e.g.
OpenGL applications (that includes games), video applications (sending
uncompressed video frames over ssh), image editors (Photoshop Linux?
Like ever :), to name a few examples.

This would also allow sandboxing graphics heavy application into zones,
for whatever reason this might be necessary. Thing that would come into
my mind would be application mobility using zones.

-mg

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