README for XFree86 on OS/2
: Remarks on the Network Configuration
: Dynamic IP Considerations
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Next: Configuring X for Your Hardware
10.1. Dynamic IP ConsiderationsGenerally, the whole stuff works best, if your machine has a fixed IP address.
The localhost address, and also fixed (non-routable) local addresses
(10.x.x.x, 192.168.x.x, 172.16.x.x-172.31.x.x) work fine. A problem occurs
on both sides of such an X connection if there are dynamic IP addresses
involved, for instance in case of a PPP line to an ISP. Unfortunately, the
XFree86/OS2 net community hasn't come up with a set of helpful scripts yet
(which I would integrate), so there are here only some hints what the problem
really is: The X server listens for X protocol packets on some defined host/port socket. It gets the information about the socket from either the
command line or the resolved hostname (which it gets from the HOSTS
file
or the DNS server). Here the HOSTNAME
variable comes into play. Once the
server is running, a change in the IP/HOSTNAME configuration won't be
recognized any more. Thus, the general approach for X over a dynamic IP line
is: build the connection to the ISP first, then start the server. The
relevant script that is responsible for starting the server is the startx.cmd
script which executes (indirectly) the \XFree86\lib\X11\xinit\xinitrc.cmd
script. You have to modify these scripts in order to set the HOSTNAME
and
DISPLAY
variables correctly and start the server with the right IP address.
The X server log shows, right to the beginning, at which IP address it is
listening, for debug purposes.
- 10.1.1.1. Running X
README for XFree86 on OS/2
: Remarks on the Network Configuration
: Dynamic IP Considerations
Previous: Remarks on the Network Configuration
Next: Configuring X for Your Hardware