Kerberos: The Definitive Guide

Reflection X

Reflection X is an X11 server package published by WRQ, Inc. Reflection X allows users on Windows platforms to access X11 applications on Unix hosts. While there are many such packages available, Reflection X has decent Kerberos functionality provided as part of the Security Components. By using the Reflection Security Components, you can set up a cross-platform single-sign-on infrastructure between Windows clients, Windows servers, and Unix servers.

The latest version is WRQ Reflection X 10, and includes support for the latest industry standard X11R6.6 protocol as well as traditional, character-based terminal emulation protocols. For more information on the X server support and terminal emulation features provided by the Reflection X package, visit the WRQ home page at http://www.wrq.com/.

To start X11 applications on a Unix server, the X server software running on the Windows host must have a remote login client built in to log into the Unix host, redirect the X11 display to the Windows machine’s IP, and then start the X11 application. A diagram of this process is shown in Figure 7-2.

Figure 7-2. Logging into Unix host, redirecting display, and starting application

Most X11 servers for Windows use telnet or rlogin for this process. The downside of using telnet or rlogin to start these X11 applications, of course, is that plain text passwords are sent over the network ...