In
computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, ...
, LBX, or Low Bandwidth X, is a protocol to use the
X Window System
The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems.
X provides the basic framework for a GUI environment: drawing and moving windows on the display device and interacting ...
over
network links with low
bandwidth and high
latency. It was introduced in X11R6.3 ("Broadway") in 1996, but never achieved wide use. It was disabled by default as of
X.Org Server 7.1, and was removed for version 7.2.
X was originally implemented for use with the
server and
client
Client(s) or The Client may refer to:
* Client (business)
* Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer
* Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuabl ...
on the same machine or the same
local area network
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building. By contrast, a wide area network (WAN) not only covers a larger ...
. By 1996, the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...
was becoming popular, and X's performance over narrow, slow links was problematic.
LBX ran as a
proxy server
In computer networking, a proxy server is a server application that acts as an intermediary between a client requesting a resource and the server providing that resource.
Instead of connecting directly to a server that can fulfill a requ ...
({{mono, lbxproxy). It cached commonly used information — connection setup, large window properties, font metrics, keymaps and so on — and
compressed data transmission over the network link.
LBX was never widely deployed as it did not offer significant speed improvements. The slow links it was introduced to help were typically insecure, and
RFB
RFB or RfB may refer to:
* Radio Free Brooklyn, a community freeform Internet radio station in Brooklyn, NY
* Redox Flow battery, a kind of battery that uses a liquid electrolyte that flows through tanks, unlike Dry Cells with solid electrolytes, ...
(
VNC) over a
secure shell
The Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol for operating network services securely over an unsecured network. Its most notable applications are remote login and command-line execution.
SSH applications are based ...
connection — which includes compression — proved faster than LBX, and also provided session resumption.
Finally, it was shown that greater speed improvements to X could be obtained for ''all'' networked environments with replacement of X's antiquated font system as part of the new composited graphics system, along with care and attention to application and
widget toolkit
A widget toolkit, widget library, GUI toolkit, or UX library is a library or a collection of libraries containing a set of graphical control elements (called ''widgets'') used to construct the graphical user interface (GUI) of programs.
Most wid ...
design, particularly care to avoid network
round trips and hence
latency.
See also
*
Virtual Network Computing
Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a graphical desktop-sharing system that uses the Remote Frame Buffer protocol (RFB) to remotely control another computer. It transmits the keyboard and mouse input from one computer to another, relaying the ...
(VNC)
*
xmove - a tool allows you to move programs between X Window System displays
*
xpra - a more recent tool which is similar to xmove
*
NX technology
NX technology, commonly known as ''NX'' or NoMachine, is a proprietary cross-platform software application for remote access, desktop sharing, virtual desktop (on Linux only) and file transfer between computers. It is developed by the Luxembou ...
, an X acceleration system
References
lbxproxy(1)(
man page
A man page (short for manual page) is a form of software documentation usually found on a Unix or Unix-like operating system. Topics covered include computer programs (including library and system calls), formal standards and conventions, and ev ...
)
Design and Implementation of LBX: An Experiment Based Standard(.
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscosity, viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic matter, organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. ...
.
gz archive file) (
Keith Packard
Keith Packard (born April 16, 1963) is a software developer, best known for his work on the X Window System.
Packard is responsible for many X extensions and technical papers on X. He has been heavily involved in the development of X since the l ...
, Eighth Annual X Technical Conference, ''The X Resource'' no. 9, O'Reilly & Associates, 1994)
Broadway/Xweb FAQ(broadwayinfo.com)
(Paul D. Smith, 11 December 1997)
(Keith Packard)
X Window System Network Performance(Keith Packard and Jim Gettys, 2003)
Design and Implementation of the X Rendering Extension(Keith Packard, 2001
History of software
X Window System
Proxy servers
X servers
Remote desktop