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Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 17:52:14 +0100
From: Laszlo Nagy <gandalf@designaproduct.biz>
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To: "Daan Vreeken [PA4DAN]" <Danovitsch@vitsch.net>, 
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Subject: Re: skype on diskless machine
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>
> Why not just run skype on the diskless PC and have the user's home directory 
> mountend over NFS?
> That way you can have both things you want.
>
>   
I thought about this, but the users are never logged into the diskless 
machine. (They do not even have a home directory there. The diskless 
machine has a special rc script that executes "X -query 
<address_of_appserver>" in an infinite loop, so users are not able to 
access anything on the diskless machine.)

You are right, it would be possible to do this with NFS, but first I 
must write a new service for the diskless clients. That service could be 
asked by the appserver to mount the ~/.Skype directory of the given user 
into the home directory of the user who happens to run the X server on 
the diskless machine, and then start skype.

This new service must be called from /etc/Xclients or ~/.xinitrc on the 
appserver. At that time the username and the address of the diskless 
machine will be known.
I imagine this /etc/Xclients:

<snip>
# Allow the diskless machine to display skype on our screen
xhost +  <address_of_the_actual_diskless_machine_used>
# Ask the diskless machine to mount our .Skype directory and launch 
sykpe_bin
send_skype_start_request <address_of_the_actual_diskless_machine_used> 
<username>
# Start the wm
exec gnome-session
</snip>

Well, this is the theory. But I would not like to write a new service 
program if possible. But yes, this would work. Is this the only way?

Best,

  Laszlo