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Bug#1008602: debian-edu-config: Xfce/MATE in X2Go sessions very sluggish with Compositing enabled in xfwm
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Mike Gabriel
Mar 29, 2022, 7:40:03 AM3/29/22
to
Package: debian-edu-config
Severity: normal
Version: 2.12.20
Currently, Xfce by default has compositing enabled for new user
profiles. This is basically ok.
However, if I try to connect to a combi-server via an X2Go thinclient,
the enabled compositing in xfwm makes the whole X2Go session very
sluggishly and virtually unusable.
A real fix for this could be provided in Xfce4 itself (see librda,
Remote Desktop Awareness library). Until that has landed in Xfce (I
might provide a patch for Xfce some time), we should consider
disabling compositing in Xfce4-
Same applies for the MATE desktop environment. Compositing should be
disabled by default, as well.
This makes the desktop environments look more simple, but they work
out-of-the-box then when accessed via X2Go thinclients.
This is probably very debatable... Maybe it needs to be covered by
documentation instead?
Mike
--
DAS-NETZWERKTEAM
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Mike Gabriel, Marienthaler Str. 17, 24340 Eckernförde
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mail: mike.g...@das-netzwerkteam.de, http://das-netzwerkteam.de
Severity: normal
Version: 2.12.20
Currently, Xfce by default has compositing enabled for new user
profiles. This is basically ok.
However, if I try to connect to a combi-server via an X2Go thinclient,
the enabled compositing in xfwm makes the whole X2Go session very
sluggishly and virtually unusable.
A real fix for this could be provided in Xfce4 itself (see librda,
Remote Desktop Awareness library). Until that has landed in Xfce (I
might provide a patch for Xfce some time), we should consider
disabling compositing in Xfce4-
Same applies for the MATE desktop environment. Compositing should be
disabled by default, as well.
This makes the desktop environments look more simple, but they work
out-of-the-box then when accessed via X2Go thinclients.
This is probably very debatable... Maybe it needs to be covered by
documentation instead?
Mike
--
DAS-NETZWERKTEAM
c\o Technik- und Ökologiezentrum Eckernförde
Mike Gabriel, Marienthaler Str. 17, 24340 Eckernförde
mobile: +49 (1520) 1976 148
landline: +49 (4351) 850 8940
GnuPG Fingerprint: 9BFB AEE8 6C0A A5FF BF22 0782 9AF4 6B30 2577 1B31
mail: mike.g...@das-netzwerkteam.de, http://das-netzwerkteam.de
Wolfgang Schweer
Mar 30, 2022, 4:30:04 AM3/30/22
to
[ Mike Gabriel, 2022-03-29 ]
related settings submenu (so that users know how to toggle it depending
on their use case).
Maybe it could be added to the Desktop chapter:
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Bullseye/HowTo/Desktop
Wolfgang
> A real fix for this could be provided in Xfce4 itself (see librda, Remote
> Desktop Awareness library). Until that has landed in Xfce (I might provide a
> patch for Xfce some time), we should consider disabling compositing in
> Xfce4-
>
> Same applies for the MATE desktop environment. Compositing should be
> disabled by default, as well.
>
> This makes the desktop environments look more simple, but they work
> out-of-the-box then when accessed via X2Go thinclients.
>
> This is probably very debatable... Maybe it needs to be covered by
> documentation instead?
Sounds good; just document how to disable/enable the compositor via the
> Desktop Awareness library). Until that has landed in Xfce (I might provide a
> patch for Xfce some time), we should consider disabling compositing in
> Xfce4-
>
> Same applies for the MATE desktop environment. Compositing should be
> disabled by default, as well.
>
> This makes the desktop environments look more simple, but they work
> out-of-the-box then when accessed via X2Go thinclients.
>
> This is probably very debatable... Maybe it needs to be covered by
> documentation instead?
related settings submenu (so that users know how to toggle it depending
on their use case).
Maybe it could be added to the Desktop chapter:
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu/Documentation/Bullseye/HowTo/Desktop
Wolfgang
Juri Grabowski
Oct 26, 2022, 6:10:03 PM10/26/22
to
Hello,
On Wed, Oct 26, 2022 at 09:14:53PM +0000, Mike Gabriel wrote:
> This is a known issue and should be amended on a system wide level and not
> per user (as you already recommended).
> See: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1008602
Here is possible workaroud for it:
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1954754#c2
To turn off globally (can be overridden by user), I created:
/etc/xdg/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfwm4.xml with this added:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<channel name="xfwm4" version="1.0">
<property name="general" type="empty">
<property name="use_compositing" type="bool" value="false"/>
</property>
</channel>
Best Regards,
Juri Grabowski
On Wed, Oct 26, 2022 at 09:14:53PM +0000, Mike Gabriel wrote:
> This is a known issue and should be amended on a system wide level and not
> per user (as you already recommended).
> See: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1008602
Here is possible workaroud for it:
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1954754#c2
To turn off globally (can be overridden by user), I created:
/etc/xdg/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfwm4.xml with this added:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<channel name="xfwm4" version="1.0">
<property name="general" type="empty">
<property name="use_compositing" type="bool" value="false"/>
</property>
</channel>
Best Regards,
Juri Grabowski
Dashamir Hoxha
Oct 27, 2022, 6:40:04 AM10/27/22
to
On Wed, Oct 26, 2022 at 11:29 PM Juri Grabowski <deb...@jugra.de> wrote:
To turn off globally (can be overridden by user), I created:
/etc/xdg/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfwm4.xml with this added:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<channel name="xfwm4" version="1.0">
<property name="general" type="empty">
<property name="use_compositing" type="bool" value="false"/>
</property>
</channel>
I tested this and it works for me.
But only for the users that make the first login after this configuration is done. For the users that already made the first login, it seems like the old settings have been cached somehow and this does not fix it.
However it should be possible to write a simple script that edits `.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfwm4.xml` on each user account and modifies this setting ("use_compositing").
Mike Gabriel
Oct 27, 2022, 8:51:22 AM10/27/22
to
Hi Dashamir,
On Do 27 Okt 2022 12:36:14 CEST, Dashamir Hoxha wrote:
> On Wed, Oct 26, 2022 at 11:29 PM Juri Grabowski <deb...@jugra.de> wrote:
>
>>
>> To turn off globally (can be overridden by user), I created:
>> /etc/xdg/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfwm4.xml with this added:
>>
>> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
>>
>> <channel name="xfwm4" version="1.0">
>> <property name="general" type="empty">
>> <property name="use_compositing" type="bool" value="false"/>
>> </property>
>> </channel>
>>
>
> I tested this and it works for me.
> But only for the users that make the first login after this configuration
> is done. For the users that already made the first login, it seems like the
> old settings have been cached somehow and this does not fix it.
We could fix this for Debian Edu by some hacky-wacky approach.
But the real fix would be: XFCE4 recognizes that it is running in an
NX-based X2Go session and disables compositing automatically.
For this, we have librda in Debian (RDA - Remote Desktop Awareness).
We use that for MATE desktop at some places, but we could certainly
send a patch to XFCE4 upstream and XFCE4 maintainers in Debian.
Actually, we need to do the same for marco (MATE's window manager).
@Dashamir: how are your C programming skills? Could you work on
patches for xfwm4 and marco? With some guidance?
Greets,
On Do 27 Okt 2022 12:36:14 CEST, Dashamir Hoxha wrote:
> On Wed, Oct 26, 2022 at 11:29 PM Juri Grabowski <deb...@jugra.de> wrote:
>
>>
>> To turn off globally (can be overridden by user), I created:
>> /etc/xdg/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/xfwm4.xml with this added:
>>
>> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
>>
>> <channel name="xfwm4" version="1.0">
>> <property name="general" type="empty">
>> <property name="use_compositing" type="bool" value="false"/>
>> </property>
>> </channel>
>>
>
> I tested this and it works for me.
> But only for the users that make the first login after this configuration
> is done. For the users that already made the first login, it seems like the
> old settings have been cached somehow and this does not fix it.
But the real fix would be: XFCE4 recognizes that it is running in an
NX-based X2Go session and disables compositing automatically.
For this, we have librda in Debian (RDA - Remote Desktop Awareness).
We use that for MATE desktop at some places, but we could certainly
send a patch to XFCE4 upstream and XFCE4 maintainers in Debian.
Actually, we need to do the same for marco (MATE's window manager).
@Dashamir: how are your C programming skills? Could you work on
patches for xfwm4 and marco? With some guidance?
Greets,
Dashamir Hoxha
Oct 27, 2022, 11:50:04 AM10/27/22
to
On Thu, Oct 27, 2022 at 2:41 PM Mike Gabriel <mike.g...@das-netzwerkteam.de> wrote:
But the real fix would be: XFCE4 recognizes that it is running in an
NX-based X2Go session and disables compositing automatically.
Is there no way for the NX-based X2Go to handle compositing properly?
I think this should be the real fix.
Mike Gabriel
Oct 27, 2022, 12:01:09 PM10/27/22
to
Hi,
Nope. That is a won't fix. Compositing decreases performance by many
(milli)seconds (latency) per round trip. Compositing is for local
hardware, not for remote connections.
Another "fix" would be using the next generation X2Go backend X2Go
KDrive. But that's not in Debian, yet. But also with KDrive (where
Compositing works), it would be advisable to disable it for
performance sake.
(milli)seconds (latency) per round trip. Compositing is for local
hardware, not for remote connections.
Another "fix" would be using the next generation X2Go backend X2Go
KDrive. But that's not in Debian, yet. But also with KDrive (where
Compositing works), it would be advisable to disable it for
performance sake.
Dashamir Hoxha
Oct 27, 2022, 12:10:04 PM10/27/22
to
On Thu, Oct 27, 2022 at 5:54 PM Mike Gabriel <mike.g...@das-netzwerkteam.de> wrote:
> Is there no way for the NX-based X2Go to handle compositing properly?
> I think this should be the real fix.
Nope. That is a won't fix. Compositing decreases performance by many
(milli)seconds (latency) per round trip. Compositing is for local
hardware, not for remote connections.
Maybe you are right. I am not an expert on these issues (I don't even know what "compositing" is).
It just seems to me that RDP is doing fine with it (at least I don't notice any issues), but maybe it is a wrong perception.
Mike Gabriel
Oct 27, 2022, 12:30:04 PM10/27/22
to
Hi,
in another project I am currently working on an Enterprise Desktop
based on MATE and we test stuff via xRDP and see so so so many
graphical glitches (rectangles not filled with the window color, but
desktop background shining through, etc.).
So, I am not so convinced about xRDP (at least on openSUSE 15.4 and in
combination with MATE desktop's window manager).
Greets,
based on MATE and we test stuff via xRDP and see so so so many
graphical glitches (rectangles not filled with the window color, but
desktop background shining through, etc.).
So, I am not so convinced about xRDP (at least on openSUSE 15.4 and in
combination with MATE desktop's window manager).
Greets,
Juri Grabowski
May 13, 2023, 10:20:05 AM5/13/23
to
Hello together,
On Thu, Oct 27, 2022 at 12:36:14PM +0200, Dashamir Hoxha wrote:
> But only for the users that make the first login after this configuration
> is done. For the users that already made the first login, it seems like the
> old settings have been cached somehow and this does not fix it.
on existing setups you can use following Xsession script, if
x2goserver-xsession is installed:
cat <<'EOF'>/etc/x2go/Xsession.d/57xfce4-session_bug_1008602_workaround
BASESTARTUP=$(basename "$STARTUP" | cut -d\ -f1)
if [ "$BASESTARTUP" = x-session-manager ]; then
BASESTARTUP=$(basename $(readlink /etc/alternatives/x-session-manager))
fi
case "$BASESTARTUP" in
xfce4-session|startxfce4)
/usr/bin/xfconf-query -c xfwm4 -p /general/use_compositing -s false
;;
esac
EOF
But, like Mike wrote it's just a workaround, the prefferable solution is
to patch xfwm4 to use librda, because so users can use compositing if
it's possible.
Best Regards,
Juri Grabowski
On Thu, Oct 27, 2022 at 12:36:14PM +0200, Dashamir Hoxha wrote:
> But only for the users that make the first login after this configuration
> is done. For the users that already made the first login, it seems like the
> old settings have been cached somehow and this does not fix it.
x2goserver-xsession is installed:
cat <<'EOF'>/etc/x2go/Xsession.d/57xfce4-session_bug_1008602_workaround
BASESTARTUP=$(basename "$STARTUP" | cut -d\ -f1)
if [ "$BASESTARTUP" = x-session-manager ]; then
BASESTARTUP=$(basename $(readlink /etc/alternatives/x-session-manager))
fi
case "$BASESTARTUP" in
xfce4-session|startxfce4)
/usr/bin/xfconf-query -c xfwm4 -p /general/use_compositing -s false
;;
esac
EOF
But, like Mike wrote it's just a workaround, the prefferable solution is
to patch xfwm4 to use librda, because so users can use compositing if
it's possible.
Best Regards,
Juri Grabowski
Mike Gabriel
Sep 6, 2023, 7:40:04 AM9/6/23
to
Hi,
On Di 29 Mär 2022 13:30:18 CEST, Mike Gabriel wrote:
> Same applies for the MATE desktop environment. Compositing should be
> disabled by default, as well.
>
> This makes the desktop environments look more simple, but they work
> out-of-the-box then when accessed via X2Go thinclients.
for MATE this is now fixed in bookworm/testing/unstable (bookworm with
upcoming point release).
See
https://salsa.debian.org/debian-mate-team/marco/-/commit/0f6ecbf7ad89cac1d76f0225b7aa75f125e2101c
For Xfce4, there is an upstream patch, that needs to be included in
Debian's xfwm.
https://gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/xfwm4/-/merge_requests/134
On Di 29 Mär 2022 13:30:18 CEST, Mike Gabriel wrote:
> Same applies for the MATE desktop environment. Compositing should be
> disabled by default, as well.
>
> This makes the desktop environments look more simple, but they work
> out-of-the-box then when accessed via X2Go thinclients.
upcoming point release).
See
https://salsa.debian.org/debian-mate-team/marco/-/commit/0f6ecbf7ad89cac1d76f0225b7aa75f125e2101c
For Xfce4, there is an upstream patch, that needs to be included in
Debian's xfwm.
https://gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/xfwm4/-/merge_requests/134
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