LinuxJournal has published the first of a seven-part feature on NX, a dual-licensed compression and caching technology for remotely accessing graphical RDP, VNC, and X applications. Additionally, NoMachine has shipped a new version of its commercial NX server software, adding a web management interface and a Java web-hosting applet.

LinuxJournal article series

Author Kurt Pfeifle says NX radically improves performance of graphical applications over low-bandwidth network connections, thanks to efficient differential compression, caching and reuse of graphical information, and a virtual elimination of the round-trip exchanges that typically hamper network-hosted X applications. The reduction of round trips, in particular, enables NX to achieve what Keith Packard deemed impossible, Pfeifle says — radically speeding up remote X applications.

Pfeifle says that in actual use, NX feels snappy and fast. He notes that NoMachine's commercial NX server makes installation, setup, and configuration much simpler than with open source versions of the technology.

NoMachine NX 1.5

NoMachine's NX 1.5 adds a new web interface with “most of the features users would expect from an enterprise-grade application,” according to company spokesperson Sarah Dryell. Also new is a Java applet that Dryell says “lets users publish any corporate application on-demand, anywhere.”

NoMachine's stated mission is to allow the hosting of “any graphical application on any operating system across any network connection,” and the company offers free NX clients for several embedded Linux devices, including the HP/Compaq iPAQ, Sharp Zaurus 5xxx, and Sony Playstion 2 running Linux.

NoMachine has partnered with several thin-client vendors, including Linux thin-client pioneer SmartFlex and Australian thin-client start-up ThinLinx. NoMachine has also partnered with Win4Lin, which makes software enabling Linux servers to host Windows applications.

Availability

NX Server Enterprise Edition is available now for servers with 1 to 16 CPUs, priced from $593.51 to $2392.01, depending on the number of CPUs. A Standard Edition supports five users, and costs $172.70, while a single-user Personal Edition costs $65.37.

NX Server is also available for Solaris, at higher prices, but with support for up to 128 CPUs.

NX clients are available free from NoMachine for Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, Solaris, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 2 running Linux, HP/Compaq iPAQs running Linux, and Sharp's Zaurus 5xxx series.

 
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