Linux Server Hacks, Volume Two

Hack #23. Centralize X Window System Font Resources

Setting up a central X Window System font server simplifies font distribution and reduces clutter and resource use on X-based desktop systems.

The X Window System is the underpinning of most of the graphical desktops and window managers used on Linux and Unix systems today. While alternatives are under development and many people complain about the CPU impact of the X Window System's constant polling for keyboard and mouse events, it's hard to argue with success—the X Window System already works and is therefore used almost everywhere. Also, the demands it puts on modern systems with beefy processors are much less significant than they were on old workstations or systems running at 300 MHz. As an inherently network-aware client/server graphics system, X has a lot going for it in terms of usability and portability, as well as ubiquity, since it's available and supported on almost every system with graphical capabilities. Still, there are some aspects of X that can be optimized—specifically, its font handling. This hack explores how you can set up a central font server to offload local font requirements to a central resource, saving CPU cycles, disk space on your desktop systems, and administrative headaches by ensuring that the same fonts are deployed on all desktop systems that might need them.

Billions and Billions of Fonts…

Obtaining and managing the fonts used by graphical applications has always been a problem, regardless of ...