x11 too slow

[abhishekit]

hi guys
i hv got x11 workin now...i m connecting with my ibook to a linux machine using ssh...
but the prob is that when i am running a gui based app like MATLAB its too slow....
linux machine has 1 gb ram...my ibook has 256 mb....will upgrading to 512 make it workably fast???
wat do u guys think

 

[bousozoku]

I think that 512MB is the minimum you should have for either 10.2 or 10.3 to run smoothly.

 

[tagy]

if you are connecting over the internet i think it is always going to be slow, no matter what computer you have.

I have never tried it over a LAN so i don't know, what that will be like.

 

[notkevin]

As a rule, remote X11 apps are slow, esp if the app has lots of widgets. If you are doing it on anything less then a LAN connection, then there is nothing you can do about it. But I would still suggest you get the RAM, 256megs is probably only going to set you back $50 and it will speed OSX up a lot.

 

[visor]

Hard to tell.

first you need to have a fast network connection. Airport is out of the question for that. I use x11 the same way you do, but unfortunately dont have matlab to test performance. The ol Gimp is acceptably quick, and open office is still usable.
what you'll want to check is your ibook system and the linux system's usage.
checkout
xosview &
at the linux server to see what it does,

try my favorite little system indicator iPulse for the ibook (you can also use the activity monitor of course )

 

[saabmp3]

I've found that I can use non-graphic intensive apps like emacs and nedit over a WAN inet connection, but for anything else you've got to be on a LAN. Especially a program like Matlab, you'll prolly need to be on the LAN.

BEN

 

[AmigoMac]

Matlab runs fine..

I have a PB 12" rev A. with 384 MB ram and x11 apps are more than great, ok the interface is not, but the performance... I'm still thinking about 640 MB ram, but not specially for X11

 

[abhishekit]

well i use airport extreme ...so that may be one reason to be slow...actually... it takes 2-3 minutes to open the gui of matlab...afterwards, running the programs is k...then it takes time to exit...
i tried runing emacs on the linux machine...it was not too bad...
thanks for the helpful responses...

 

[daveL]

ssh?

Why would you impose the overhead of ssh if the two machines are on airport extreme? Maybe I misunderstood?

 

[abhishekit]

Re: ssh?

Originally posted by daveL
Why would you impose the overhead of ssh if the two machines are on airport extreme? Maybe I misunderstood?

nah..the linux machine is a desktop..its on the lan of my school...actually when i am in school it works fast...but when i use my home network its a bit slow

 

[kaosfere]

Re: Re: ssh?

Originally posted by abhishekit
nah..the linux machine is a desktop..its on the lan of my school...actually when i am in school it works fast...but when i use my home network its a bit slow

Remote X sessions over a non-local network are generally slow and painful. I would recommend that you make sure that you're using full compression on that ssh link and/or use an accelerating proxy like lbx.

It's still going to be slow, but it might make it a little more usable.

 

[abhishekit]

Re: Re: Re: ssh?

Originally posted by kaosfere
Remote X sessions over a non-local network are generally slow and painful. I would recommend that you make sure that you're using full compression on that ssh link and/or use an accelerating proxy like lbx.

It's still going to be slow, but it might make it a little more usable.

i think lbx can only speedup things if u r using a dial up connection. i hv heard that if u use it over a fast connection( i use a cable modem)..although it does introduce some caching and compression...it takes up memory and cpu,...and overall slows it down a bit...
is this true??

 

[kaosfere]

Re: Re: Re: Re: ssh?

Originally posted by abhishekit
i think lbx can only speedup things if u r using a dial up connection. i hv heard that if u use it over a fast connection( i use a cable modem)..although it does introduce some caching and compression...it takes up memory and cpu,...and overall slows it down a bit...
is this true??

As with most things, it depends.

The simple problem is that the X drawing protocol is *extremely* primitive and low-level, and the application and server have to have an extremely verbose conversation to get anything done. lbx will be most helpful, yes, on an already (relatively) slow link -- but it will show benefit on any connection it's used on. The increase in processor load between running lbx over a dialup connection and over a T3 is really minimal, I would think -- on a per-application basis -- compared to the overhead of simply doing the work in the first place.

Personally, I can't wait until Berlin -- excuse me, Fresco -- is primetime.

 

[abhishekit]

well i will give it a shot...
do u know if lbxproxy is built in panther..
i tried using xdpyinfo but it showz so much that i cant see whats at the beginning...

anyways to start up i wrote
lbxproxy -display LOCAL:0 :1 &

on my xterm( i have x11 )..but it didnt work...said no command lbxproxy..

and i dont know anything bout lbxproxy..so if u can tell me how to set it up..i will really appreciate it