[FreeNX-kNX] Sound only as root

Tue Mar 27 04:17:12 UTC 2007

Perhaps your SuperMicro boxes include on-board sound, but not a single
Dell, HP, or IBM server purchased for the State of RI in the last year
have had one.   We have 65 servers at the data center I'm stationed at
(a lot of them VMware) and not one has sound.

When you're using esd, no data is actually ever sent to a sound card nor
the sound card's driver - so you shouldn't need one.  Before (pretty
much) all distributions started using devfs with 2.6, you could just
create /dev/dsp and be done with it, probably.

I haven't been able to devote any time to this in the last few days, so
as soon as I can I'll let you know how I make out.

As a curious footnote, Windows terminal servers can do remote sound just
fine without soundcards.

-----Original Message-----
From: Gregory Carter [mailto:gcarter at aesgi.com] 
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2007 12:11 PM
To: User Support for FreeNX Server and kNX Client
Subject: Re: [FreeNX-kNX] Sound only as root

Joseph Jamieson wrote:
> I don't believe that to be true - perhaps if you can just load the
core
> OSS audio modules it would be created.   Since no sound is being
output
> from the server, surely you're not expected to insert a SoundBlaster
> card into a rack mount box.
>
>   
Well, most 1U severs today come with AC'97 audio onboard.   At least all

of my SuperMicro boxes do have AC'97 audio chips.

No need for SoundBlaster card.
> /dev/dsp gets "hooked" or intercepted by esd when an app is run under
> it.
>   
You mean, sort of like treating a sound card like a remote printer?

MMMmm.  Sounds possible.
(Pun there...if you didn't catch it, you really need to take off early 
because it is one of my better ones.)

> Otherwise, if you have esd aware apps it technically should work
without
> /dev/dsp.   Getting that to work at all seems hit or miss.
>
>   
Has anyone on the list tried to redirect sound to a ALSA or ESD server 
from a machine that is playing the sound app remotely to your local 
desktop with no sound hardware on the server?

I have never thought of attempting such a dastardly deed, depriving my 
server vendor of the profits from a sound card sold with every server I 
purchased so far.

But I could always put the money in my lunch jar and have a pizza or 
something I suppose!

Looking at my invoice, the last system I purchased the motherboard diff 
between a AC97 and without is like $14 dollars.

Baaaarely enough for dinner out!

> I wonder what NoMachine support would have to say about this one.  I'd
> imagine that pre-sales support could explain how this is done.  After
> all, they sell a commercial product and I'd imagine that this question
> has popped up.
>
>
>   

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gregory Carter [mailto:gcarter at aesgi.com] 
> Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2007 2:58 PM
> To: User Support for FreeNX Server and kNX Client
> Subject: Re: [FreeNX-kNX] Sound only as root
>
> Well, obviously I think if you are logging into this server and
running 
> programs on it via remote NX client access, then yes, you need to have
a
>
> sound card on the server otherwise there is no sound output to
redirect.
>
> -gc
>
> Paul van der Vlis wrote:
>   
>> Gregory Carter schreef:
>>   
>>     
>>> Who owns /dev/dsp?
>>>
>>> I am not sure what version of Linux Distro your using, but typically
>>>       
> you 
>   
>>> have to have permission to open the device.
>>>
>>> Normally for example:
>>>
>>> ls -l /dev/dsp
>>>
>>> crw------- 1 gcarter root 14, 3 Mar 20 09:04 /dev/dsp
>>>
>>> I have writes to read/write on my personal system, but nobody else
>>>       
> has.
>   
>>>     
>>>       
>> On the server, there is no soundcard and no /dev/dsp...
>> Maybe this is the problem.
>>
>> But the thinclient has a soundcard and a /dev/dsp. The user works on
>>     
> the
>   
>> client as root (this is normal on this type of thinclient), so I
don't
>> think there is a problem on the client.
>>
>> Do I need a soundcard or a /dev/dsp on the server?
>>
>> With regards,
>> Paul van der Vlis.
>> ________________________________________________________________
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