-- Main.ctucker - 17 Nov 2005

Usage of Neoware Eon 4000 and E100 Terminals

The Neoware Eon 4000 terminal is a natural extension of the thin client capabilities of an ordinary X terminal. It is extended because it provides the user with a choice of hosts to which the terminal may connect. This differs from many X terminals which have a single automatic host connection. However, in addition to being an x11 server for UNIX hosts, the Eon terminal also possesses a built-in RDP client (Remote Desktop Protocol - Microsoft RDP 5.0) for connections to Microsoft Windows based Terminal Servers - a type Windows based host. You may also maintain more than one active session though a single terminal. Thus the Eon is more versatile and has access to a much greater variety of computing environments than a typical X terminal.

Power

The terminal power toggle is located at the front of the Eon. The terminal's OS (Neoware Linux) is quite robust. There is no risk of damage to the terminal through a simple power down; even when a session is in progress - although you will be disconnected from your session.

Terminal Menu and Starting a Session

Upon startup of the terminal the user is offered a list of hosts for which the terminal is permitted to connect. Each host in this menu is designated with a connection type - X or RDP. Simply click on the host name you wish to use. The terminal will attempt to connect to the host. If successful, you will be presented with a typical login prompt for a username and password. Enter these in the usual fashion. Your session begins.

Returning to the Terminal Menu During a Session

If at any time you wish to return to the terminal menu you may do so by using the CTRL-ALT-END key sequence. This will return you to the terminal menu without sacrificing your existing session. Here you may wish to activate a second connection to a different host or return to your original session.

Switching from One Session to Another

If you are running multiple sessions on your Eon, the CTRL-ALT-UP_ARROW and CTRL-ALT-DOWN_ARROW keys have been configured to transfer control from one session to another. This mechanism is similar to the CTRL-ALT-END key sequence which brings you to the terminal menu. As such, it also does not sacrifice any existing sessions which you have already started.

Adding Connections to Your Menu

Lab terminals definitely DO NOT permit additional menu items to be added by the user! Having said that, some office Eon terminals (particularly in CS) are configured to allow a user to add his own custom connections to the Eon menu. This is useful for connecting to group UNIX or Linux hosts or to a home/office Windows XP computer remotely. If it is present at the top of the connection manager, click the ADD button. A drop down menu will allow you to specify the type of connection your wish to create. The most common choices are Neoware RDP Connection for connections to Microsoft Windows XP computers or Terminal Servers or X Windows Connection for connections to X hosts like UNIX or Linux. Once the connection type is specified, follow the subsequent connection wizard to enter all the requisite connection specifications. At the end of the process, click on the Finish button and the new connection will appear in the terminal menu. Highlight any custom connection and click the Edit button to modify the connection's characteristics. NOTE: Permanent menu items managed by MFCF or CSCF cannot be modified by the user.

Before Leaving Your Terminal

When leaving your terminal for an extended period of time, check the terminal menu and make sure that no menu items are listed as Active. If there are active sessions, you should return to them and logout or at least use the End button on the terminal menu to disconnect them. Otherwise another person could assume your active session and access your personal accounts.

DO NOT Spoof Eon IP Addresses

It is a violation of University policy to use the IP address of any University equipment in any machine other than the one to which it has been assigned by IST. Therefore it is not permitted for a user to disconnect an Eon (or any other thin client) terminal and use its designated IP address in another device such as a personal or laptop computer. Such an action can lead to the disabling of the network connection where the offense took place.

Known Problems

• The mouse and keyboard must be connected at boot time otherwise neither will function when reconnected to an operational terminal.
• If you use a USB mouse for your terminal then you must also use a USB keyboard (or visa-versa).
• Keep NUM LOCK off while in an X session. We have attempted to ensure that the terminal NUM LOCK is off by default when the Eon is booted. However, the Eon appears to reset the NUM LOCK to on when an X session is requested. The X client on local UNIX hosts cannot interpret the NUM LOCK from an Eon keyboard. If the NUM LOCK is on then applications like netscape may produce asterisks when the right SHIFT key is pressed and other applications like mwm and ghostview may not work at all.
• Keypad keystrokes appear as X's in X Windows sessions. Again, local UNIX hosts cannot interpret the keypad signals from your Eon keyboard.
• You cannot cut and paste between independent sessions. This is a design limitation of the existing Neoware RDP client and the Neoware Connection Manager.
  If you need to cut and paste between a remote Windows session and an X Windows desktop, we recommend using the rdesktop RDP client for Solaris or Linux. This client is available on several CPU servers and front ends. It's short coming is a slower desktop interface for an rdesktop session than an Eon's local RDP client. The Eon RDP client provides a direct connection to the remote Windows computer, whereas the rdesktop client maintains an X connection to your terminal and an RDP connection to the remote Windows server.