OpenView Network Node Manager: Designing and Implementing an Enterprise Solution

Bandwidth and X-Windows

Several myths surround the X-Windows system and one of them concerns the bandwidth requirements. The transmission of bitmaps, mouse movements, and lack of compression are often cited.

X-Windows does not generally transmit bitmap graphics unless the application specifically requires it. For example, the small bitmaps inside device icons must be sent across the network regardless, and a background bitmap image must likewise be transmitted over the network. These intrinsic data types have nothing to do with X-Windows and everything to do with the ovw application requirements. All other objects drawn on an X-display are rendered locally as xlib instructions describing them are received. A green 100x100 rectangle is not transmitted ...