Single logical screen display using multiple remote computer systems

• US 6,348,933 B1
• Filed: 07/20/1998
• Issued: 02/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Lukasik, Derek J., Allen, Gregory R., Walls, Jeffrey J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cao H.
• Application Number:
  US09/119,107
• Time in Patent Office: 1,310 Days
• Field of Search: 345/340, 345/970, 345/330, 345/329, 345/1, 345/326, 345/333, 345/334, 345/339, 345/341, 345/342, 345/347, 345/744, 345/762, 345/765, 345/764, 345/781, 345/784, 345/788, 345/808, 709/203, 709/301, 709/302, 707/501, 707/513, 707/516
• US Class Current: 715/744
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

A single logical screen display system includes a client process, a master server process and plural slave server processes. Each of the slave server processes runs on a separate remote computer system. The master server process maintains network connections with the client process and with each of the slave server processes. The client process issues single logical screen window system requests to the master server process. The master server process issues physical screen window system requests to the slave server processes. Each slave server process controls one of a plurality of physical display devices. The plural physical display devices comprise a composite display on which the single logical screen appears.

Claims

1. A single logical screen computer display system, comprising:

a client process;

a master server process, said master server process having a network connection to said client process; and

first and second slave server host computers, said first and second slave server host computers having first and second slave server processes running therein, respectively, said first and second slave server processes each having a network connection to said master server process, and said first and second slave server processes controlling first and second display hardware, respectively, said first and second display hardware having first and second display resolutions, respectively;

wherein said client process is operable to issue logical screen window system requests to said master server process, said logical screen window system requests directed to a single logical screen having a logical screen resolution that is higher than either of said first and second display resolutions; and

wherein said master server process is operable to issue physical screen window system requests to said first and second slave server processes responsive to said logical screen window system requests, said physical screen window system requests for causing said first and second display hardware to display said single logical screen.

2. A single logical screen computer display system according to claim 1, wherein:

said client process is operable to use X protocol to issue said logical screen window system requests to said master server process; and

said master server process is operable to use both X protocol and an extension protocol to issue said physical screen window system requests to said first and second slave server processes.

3. A single logical screen computer display system according to claim 2, wherein:

said master server process includes an X server DIX layer;

said first and second server processes include first and second X server DDX layers, respectively; and

at least one request defined by said extension protocol allows an X server DIX/DDX interface function to be performed between said X server DIX layer in said master server process and said first X server DDX layer in said first slave server process, using said network connection between said master server process and said first slave server process.

4. A modified X Window System server software product stored on computer-readable media and operable, when executed on a computer, to perform method steps comprising:

a) responsive to configuration information, establishing a mode of operation chosen from the group consisting of;

master server mode and slave server mode;

b) if said mode of operation established in step a) is said master server mode;

b1) receiving logical screen window system requests from an X client server process, said logical screen window system requests directed to a single logical screen; and

b2) issuing physical screen window system requests to first and second slave server processes responsive to said logical screen window system requests, said physical screen window system requests for causing said first and second slave server processes to display said single logical screen on first and second display hardware; and

c) if said mode of operation established in step a) is said slave server mode;

c1) receiving physical screen window system requests from a master server process; and

c2) controlling slave display hardware responsive to said physical screen window system requests.

5. A single logical screen computer display system, comprising:

a client process;

a master server process; and

first and second slave server processes operable to control first and second displays, respectively, each of the slave server processes having a device-dependent layer;

wherein the client process communicates with the master server process as though the master server process controlled a single display;

wherein the master server process issues physical screen window system requests to the first and second slave server processes by calling functions within the device-dependent layers of the slave server processes so that the first and second displays cooperatively produce the single display;

wherein the client process communicates with the master server process using X protocol;

wherein the WAL layer presents the appearance of a conventional DDX layer to the DIX layer, but is also operable to communicate with the first and second slave servers using an extension protocol; and

wherein the first and second slave server processes each comprise a conventional X server process and a walX extension, the walX extension enabling the first and second slave server processes to use the extension protocol.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein:

the WAL layer, the extension protocol and the WalX extension enable the DIX layer of the master server process to access DDX-layer functions in each of the first and second slaver server processes.

7. A single logical screen computer display system, comprising:

a client process;

a master server process; and

first and second slave server processes operable to control first and second displays, respectively;

wherein the client process communicates with the master server process as though the master server process controlled a single display;

wherein the master server process issues physical screen window system requests via network connections to the first and second slave server processes so that the first and second displays cooperatively produce the single display; and

wherein the master server process comprises a conventional DIX layer but comprises a WAL layer in lieu of a conventional DDX layer.

8. The system of claim 7:

wherein the WAL layer presents the appearance of a conventional DDX layer to the DIX layer, but is also operable to communicate with the first and second slave servers using an extension protocol.

9. The system of claim 8:

wherein the first and second slave server processes each comprise a conventional X server process and a walX extension, the walX extension enabling the first and second slave server processes to use the extension protocol.

10. The system of claim 9:

wherein the WAL layer, the extension protocol and the walX extension enable the DIX layer of the master server process to access DDX-layer functions in each of the first and second slaver server processes.