and the Enterprise User Brian Nitz Software Engineer - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Brian Nitz Software Engineer brian.nitz@sun.com

and the Enterprise User

GNOME and the Enterprise User

Who uses GNOME?

• Scientific
• Medical
• Education
• Enterprise
• Developers
• Sun

Sun's GNOME based products

• GNOME 1.4 Preview on Solaris
• GNOME 2.0 on Solaris
• GNOME 2.2 on JDS (linux)
• GNOME 2.6 (beta starting)

K e y c

• m

p

• n

e n ts g ra p h ic

Java Desktop Client Components

Java Desktop System r.2 Java GAIM + Java System IM StarOffice Evolution GNOME Mozilla Browser + Flash,Acrobat,Real plugins Office Productivity Suite Email, Directory and Calendar client Instant Messaging clients Desktop Environment Development Platform Linux OS

Enterprise user must haves:

• Stability
• Performance
• Usability
• Interoperability
• Scalability
• Manageability
• Security

Stability

• Often low expectations
• The “reinstall/reboot fix”
• GNOME is competitive
• Total UI lockups and crashes are rare

Performance

• Keypress and mouse movement must generate

immediate response

• Obvious launch and activity throbbers
• No noticible window size/drag delays
• Allow reuse of older PCs

Usability

• Consistency
• Task Focus
• Appropriate access to desktop properties
• Personal preferences
• Simplicity

Simplicity

Why doesn't it say “Start?”

Consistency

• Window decorations
• Keyboard navigation

<Control-T> in Mozilla opens new tab and in gnome-terminal

• Mouse movements/clicks
• Instant apply properties

Interoperability

• Network
• Application
• Data type

Network Interoperability

• Nautilus

Samba (authentication) NFS (locking) WebDav

Application Interoperability

• Win32 ABI

✔ WINE ✔ Terminal services on native server ✔ Port it

• Terminal Interface

✔ Gnome-terminal ✔ Web-based terminal emulators (HP,TN3270...)

• Java
• Plugins

Communication applications

• Email and chat clients

Evolution, Mozilla, GAIM, GnomeMeeting

• Browser

Mozilla 1.4.1

• Office Suite

StarOffice 7

• Multimedia

Totem, Java Media Player, RealPlayer

Data Interoperability

• New document interoperability is easy

OpenOffice.org and StarOffice export natively in XML European Union adopted this format Optional exports in HTML, PDF, DOC

Legacy doc interoperability

• More difficult
• Helper Applications

✔ OpenOffice.org/StarOffice[tm] ✔ Adobe Acrobat[tm] ✔ Flash[tm] ✔ RealPlayer[tm]

• License issues
• Other Issues

Wrappers such as MS/TNEF or BinHex Incorrect MIME hints & sniffing

Roadblocks

• License issues
• Open content authoring (e.g. DVD)

Scalability Issues

• Nautilus

Deep Networks Trash, thumbnails, hang on stale mounts...

Be Nice!!!

• clock-applet
• gtik2-applet2
• Screensavers
• Themes
• pixmaps

A case study

SunRay[tm] a quick overview 10 CPU, 32 Gigabyte, ~170 user system in Denver Too many cross calls are hurting

• performance. What is causing this?

Detective work with dtrace.

Gnome-terminal 0.93% Dsdm 5.59% Gnome-smproxy 5.62% Metacity 6.26% Gnome-panel 6.30% gtik2_applet2 73.41%

Who tells Xserver to create/destroy pixmaps? dtrace on GNOME 2.0 in SunRay environment

Fish-applet2 Galf-server Nautilus Mozilla-bin Xsun Dtwm Netscape Xscreensaver Gedit soffice.bin Netscape-bin Gnome-terminal Dsdm Gnome-smproxy Metacity Gnome-panel gtik2_applet2

Who is abusing the Xserver?

Fish-applet2 1 Galf-server 4 Nautilus 7 Mozilla-bin 8 Xsun 10 Dtwm 15 Netscape 20 Xscreensaver 23 Gedit 25 soffice.bin 26 Netscape-bin 26 Gnome-terminal 81 Dsdm 487 Gnome-smproxy 490 Metacity 546 Gnome-panel 549 gtik2_applet2 6399

The Culprit

Each instance of gtik2_applet2 created and destroyed an X graphics context every 10 milliseconds.

Stopping 6 gtik2 applets on a 10 CPU, 32 Gigabyte, ~170 user system:

• Decreased cross-calls by 64%
• Decreased involuntary context switches by 35%
• Decreased system time 27%
• Decreased user time 37%
• Increased idle time 15%

Thin Clients/Multiuser

• Proper use of /tmp

Generate process specific unique temporary file names. Clean them up (PIDs aren't unique across reboots!)

• Display variables

Applications shouldn't hard code or modify $DISPLAY Don't assume :0.0 Don't hard code audio, use $AUDIODEV

• IP address assumptions

Applications should not assume unique IP addresses per user (e.g. license server) Applications should not assume that services are bound to a particular IP address (e.g. NFS cluster lock)

Shared Preferences

• GNOME 2.0, 2.2, 2.6... may share

the same home directory

Manageability

• Gconf provides the capability in GNOME
• APOC provides a common interface for

selective gconf-keys and for non-gconf applications (StarOffice/Mozilla)

• APOC allows manageability across an
• rganization

Desktop Configuration Manager

Fine-grained control

• Delivers application-level

(StarOffice, GNOME, Mozilla, Evolution, etc.) Configuration and Policy Management to the Java Desktop System.

• Centrally/remotely manage the

“options” and “preferences” of core software components (GNOME, StarOffice, Mozilla, Evolution,)

• Desktop “lockdown” functionality allow/disallow end users the

ability to reconfigure their centrally configured applications based

• n roles and organizations.

Sun Control Station 2.1

Desktop Management

• Manage a set of desktop images

for rapid setup to multiple desktops simultaneously

• Automatically deploy a JDS

desktop environment from a former Windows environment

• Dependency checking to insure

correct patches/packages installed

• Software Repository and SW / Hardware inventory management
• Health and Performance Monitoring

Remote Desktop Takeover

• View and interact with

user desktop display to help, guide and trouble shoot

• Provide remote access to

a users Desktop for help desk and remote access capabilities

• Speeds problem

resolution for standard help desk calls

Security

• Desktop configurability
• Desktop lockdown features
• Immunity from common malware

The Future

• Accessibility
• Usability
• Configurability
• Interoperability
• Applications

✔ Project Management ✔ Multimedia ✔ Authoring ✔ Collaboration