![Laptop_with_HP_T100_Multiseat_Adapter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Laptop_with_HP_T100_Multiseat_Adapter.jpg)
A multiseat, multi-station or multiterminal system is a single
computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
which supports multiple independent local
user
Ancient Egyptian roles
* User (ancient Egyptian official), an ancient Egyptian nomarch (governor) of the Eighth Dynasty
* Useramen, an ancient Egyptian vizier also called "User"
Other uses
* User (computing), a person (or software) using an ...
s at the same time.
![Tetrahead1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Tetrahead1.jpg)
![Multipoint Server 2012 dual station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Multipoint_Server_2012_dual_station.jpg)
A "seat" consists of all hardware devices assigned to a specific workplace at which one user sits at and interacts with the computer. It consists of at least one graphics device (graphics card or just an output (e.g.
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, ...
/
VGA
Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the PC industry within three years. The term can no ...
/
DisplayPort
DisplayPort (DP) is a digital display interface developed by a consortium of PC and chip manufacturers and standardized by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). It is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device su ...
port) and the attached monitor/video projector) for the output and a
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
and a
mouse
A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
for the input. It can also include video cameras, sound cards and more.
Motivation
Since the 1960s computers have been shared between users. Especially in the early days of computing when computers were extremely expensive the usual paradigm was a central mainframe computer connected to numerous terminals. With the advent of personal computing this paradigm has been largely replaced by personal computers (or one computer per user).
Multiseat setups are a return to this multiuser paradigm but based around a PC which supports a number of
zero-clients usually consisting of a terminal per user (screen, keyboard, mouse).
In some situations such multiseat are cost-effective because it is not necessary to buy separate
motherboard
A motherboard (also called mainboard, main circuit board, mb, mboard, backplane board, base board, system board, logic board (only in Apple computers) or mobo) is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expand ...
s, microprocessors, RAM,
hard disk
A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...
s and other components for each user. For example, buying one high speed
CPU, usually costs less than buying several slower CPUs.
History
In the 1970s, it was very commonplace to connect multiple
computer terminal
A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that can be used for entering data into, and transcribing data from, a computer or a computing system. The teletype was an example of an early-day hard-copy terminal and ...
s to a single
mainframe computer
A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterpris ...
, even graphical terminals. Early terminals were connected with
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such a ...
type
serial connections, either directly, or through
modem
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...
s. With the advent of
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet.
IP h ...
based
networking, it became possible for multiple users to log into a host using
telnet
Telnet is an application protocol used on the Internet or local area network to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communication facility using a virtual terminal connection. User data is interspersed in-band with Telnet control i ...
or – for a graphic environment – an
X Window System
The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems.
X provides the basic framework for a GUI environment: drawing and moving windows on the display device and interacting wit ...
"server". These systems would retain a physically secure "
root console" for system administration and direct access to the host machine.
Support for multiple
consoles in a PC running the X interface was implemented in 2001 by Miguel Freitas, using the
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
operating system and the X11 graphical system (at the time maintained by
XFree86
XFree86 is an implementation of the X Window System. It was originally written for Unix-like operating systems on IBM PC compatibles and was available for many other operating systems and platforms. It is free and open source software under the X ...
). This was done using a patch in the
display server
In computing, a windowing system (or window system) is software that manages separately different parts of display screens. It is a type of graphical user interface (GUI) which implements the WIMP (windows, icons, menus, pointer) paradigm for ...
to execute several instances of X at the same time such that each one captures specific mouse and keyboard events and the graphical content. This method received the name of multiseat or multiterminal.
In 2001, Thinsoft BeTwin offered a multiseat solution for Windows, utilizing multiple graphics cards and peripherals attached to a single host PC.
In 2002 a Canadian company,
Userful
About
Userful Corporation is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational software company that is known for its visual networking platform for communication and collaboration across the enterprise. Userful’s platform enables users to ...
Corporation, released Userful Multiplier, a multiseat Linux software solution that enables up to 10 users to simultaneously share one computer. Earlier they worked on a kernel-based approach to a multi-station platform computer, but abandoned the idea due to a problem with multiple video card support.
Other solutions appeared in 2003, such Svetoslav Slavtchev, Aivils Stoss and James Simmons worked, with the
evdev
evdev (short for 'event device') is a generic input event interface in the Linux kernel and FreeBSD. It generalizes raw input events from device drivers and makes them available through character devices in the /dev/input/ directory.
The us ...
and Faketty approach modifying the
Linux kernel
The Linux kernel is a free and open-source, monolithic, modular, multitasking, Unix-like operating system kernel. It was originally authored in 1991 by Linus Torvalds for his i386-based PC, and it was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU ope ...
and letting more than one user independently use the same machine. In that time, the Linux Console Project also proposed an idea to use multiple independent
consoles and then multiple independent keyboards and mice in a project called "Backstreet Ruby". Backstreet Ruby is a kernel patch for the Linux kernel. It is a back port to Linux-2.4 of the Ruby kernel tree. The aim of the Linux Console developers is to enhance and reorganize the input, the console and the framebuffer subsystems in the Linux kernel, so they can work independent from each other and to allow multi-desktop operation. The Backstreet Ruby idea was never finished.
In 2005, the C3SL team (Center for Scientific Computing and Free Software), from the Federal University of Parana in Brazil, created a solution based on nested display servers, such as
Xnest and
Xephyr
Xephyr is display server software implementing the X11 display server protocol based on KDrive which targets a window on a host X Server as its framebuffer. It is written by Matthew Allum. Xephyr is an X-on-X implementation and runs on X.Org Se ...
. With this solution, each nested display server runs in each screen of a host display server (e.g.
Xorg
X.Org Server is the free and open-source implementation of the X Window System display server stewarded by the X.Org Foundation.
Implementations of the client-side X Window System protocol exist in the form of ''X11 libraries'', which serve a ...
) and a modification to the nested servers let each one exclusively acquire its mouse and keyboard. In 2008, th
C3SLgroup released the Multiseat Display Manager (MDM) to ease the process of installation and configuration of a multiseat box. This group, also in 2008, conceived a live-CD for test purposes.
In 2007, NComputing entered the market with a Windows-based multiseat product, the X-series or Xtenda system, which uses a PCI add-in card to connect terminal units containing video, keyboard, mouse, and audio jacks, allowing 3 to 6 additional user seats to be added to a PC. The X-series also offered Linux compatibility.
In 2010, Microsoft began offering
Windows MultiPoint Server
Windows MultiPoint Server is an operating system based on Microsoft Windows Server using Remote Desktop Services technology to host multiple simultaneous independent computing stations or terminals connected to a single computer ( multiseat compu ...
, allowing one machine to host multiple users utilizing separate graphics cards and peripherals.
Automatic multiseat with
USB docking stations is a feature of
Fedora 17.
Time line, commercial multiseat software evolution
* 1990,
Solbourne
Solbourne Computer Inc. was originally a vendor of computer systems based in Longmont, Colorado, United States, at first 52% owned by Panasonic, Matsushita. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the company produced a range of computer workstations an ...
cg30 running
SunOS
SunOS is a Unix-branded operating system developed by Sun Microsystems for their workstation and server computer systems. The ''SunOS'' name is usually only used to refer to versions 1.0 to 4.1.4, which were based on BSD, while versions 5.0 and l ...
* 1996–2005,
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. (stylized as SiliconGraphics before 1999, later rebranded SGI, historically known as Silicon Graphics Computer Systems or SGCS) was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and soft ...
InfiniteReality
InfiniteReality refers to a 3D graphics hardware architecture and a family of graphics systems that implemented the aforementioned hardware architecture that was developed and manufactured by Silicon Graphics from 1996 to 2005. The InfiniteRealit ...
running
Irix
IRIX ( ) is a discontinued operating system developed by Silicon Graphics (SGI) to run on the company's proprietary MIPS workstations and servers. It is based on UNIX System V with BSD extensions. In IRIX, SGI originated the XFS file system and ...
* 1996, ThinSoft/BeTwin
* 1999
Ibik/ASTER
*2001, ThinSoft BeTwin
* 2002,
Userful
About
Userful Corporation is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational software company that is known for its visual networking platform for communication and collaboration across the enterprise. Userful’s platform enables users to ...
Corporation
* 2004, Open-Sense Solutions (Groovix)
* 2006,
NComputing
NComputing is a desktop virtualization company that manufactures hardware and software to create virtual desktops (sometimes called zero clients or thin clients) which enable multiple users to simultaneously share a single operating system insta ...
X-series
* 2010,
Windows MultiPoint Server
Windows MultiPoint Server is an operating system based on Microsoft Windows Server using Remote Desktop Services technology to host multiple simultaneous independent computing stations or terminals connected to a single computer ( multiseat compu ...
* 2011,
Black Box VirtuaCore
* 2013, LISTEQ BoXedVDI
Requirements
Hardware requirements
Each user will require a
monitor
Monitor or monitor may refer to:
Places
* Monitor, Alberta
* Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States
* Monitor, Kentucky
* Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States
* Monitor, Washington
* Monitor, Logan County, West ...
, keyboard and mouse connected to the host machine. For example, to make a ''four-head'' (four users) system would require four monitors, four
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
, four
mice
A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
and two dual-output, or one quad-output video card.
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
keyboards and mice are typically recommended instead of
PS/2 connections, as they can be connected to a
USB hub
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...
. Additional devices and peripherals such as cameras, flash storage drives, card readers and touch screens could also be assigned to each seat. An alternative to multiple physical video cards and connections is
DisplayLink
DisplayLink (formerly Newnham Research) is a semiconductor and software technology company. They develop the DisplayLink USB graphics technology, which is designed to connect computers and displays using USB, Ethernet, and WiFi. It also allows ...
over USB.
Software requirements
Linux
Multiseat on modern
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
systems is provided by
systemd-logind
systemd is a software suite that provides an array of system components for Linux operating systems. Its main aim is to unify service configuration and behavior across Linux distributions; Its primary component is a "system and service manager ...
and configured through the
loginctl
command or through
ID_SEAT
or
ID_AUTOSEAT
udev
udev (userspace ) is a device manager for the Linux kernel. As the successor of devfsd and hotplug, udev primarily manages device nodes in the directory. At the same time, udev also handles all user space events raised when hardware devices ...
variables.
Certain specialized USB hubs, when connected, automatically results in a seat without any configuration required.
Microsoft Windows
For
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), releas ...
,
XP and
Vista
Vista usually refers to a distant view.
Vista may also refer to:
Software
*Windows Vista, the line of Microsoft Windows client operating systems released in 2006 and 2007
* VistA, (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) ...
operating systems, there are several commercial products to implement multiseat configurations for two or more seats.
An operating system designed specifically for multiseat setups entitled
Windows MultiPoint Server
Windows MultiPoint Server is an operating system based on Microsoft Windows Server using Remote Desktop Services technology to host multiple simultaneous independent computing stations or terminals connected to a single computer ( multiseat compu ...
was announced on February 24, 2010. It uses Remote Desktop (Terminal Services) technologies in Windows Server 2008 R2 to provide multiseat functionality. This functionality was incorporated into Windows Server proper as of
Windows Server 2016
Windows Server 2016 is the eighth release of the Windows Server server operating system developed by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It was developed concurrently with Windows 10 and is the successor to the Wind ...
in a new server role entitled MultiPoint Services, but this server role was removed in
Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2019 is the ninth version of the Windows Server operating system by Microsoft, as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It is the second version of the Server (computing), server operating system based on the Windows ...
owing to Microsoft ceasing development of the service in 2018.
Virtualization-based setup
Instead of relying on operating system support for multiseat configuration, a hypervisor can be configured to run multiple virtual machines, each configured to interface one connected seat by I/O virtualization methods. Input devices can be attached to the virtual machines through USB Redirection, and entire GPUs can be attached through Intel VT-d.
The YouTube channel
''LinusTechTips'' has demonstrated virtualization-based 2-seat and 7-seat systems with
Unraid as the host operating system. Each seat has exclusive control of one of the Windows guest operating systems running on the host. There is a dedicated high-end graphics card for each guest, which it takes full advantage of via the use of VT-d, making the system capable of hosting demanding video game sessions at full quality simultaneously on all seats.
Case studies
World's largest multiseat computer deployment
In February, 2009, The Brazil Ministry of Education committed to deploy 350,000 Linux-based multiseat computing stations in more than 45,000 rural and urban schools across the country. The chosen companies to implement this project were the Canadian multiseat Linux software company Userful Corporation, and its Brazilian IT partner ThinNetworks.
Paraná Digital project
One of multiterminal's successful cases is happening at
Paraná Digital project. It is creating multiterminal laboratories on 2000 public schools of the state of
Paraná (
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
). More than 1.5 million users will benefit from the 40,000 terminals when the project is finished. The laboratories have four-head multiterminals running
Debian
Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of D ...
. The cost of all the
hardware is 50% less than the normal price, and there is absolutely no cost with
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
. This project developer is C3SL
Center for Scientific Computing and Free Software.
Michigan State University research in Tanzania
Since 2008, electrical and computer engineering students from
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
have installed multiterminal systems with internet access in three schools in Mto wa Mbu,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
. The purpose of the project is to study the impact of having computer systems with internet access in an education system that cannot afford other educational resources such as books. The computer systems run
Ubuntu
Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: ''Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All the ...
8.04 32-bit and utilize the open source Multiseat Display Manager created b
C3SL The research will eventually be used to present to government officials of third world countries in effort to showcase the positive impact of having cost-effective computing systems in schools. The project is sponsored by George and Vickie Rock and the
Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world.
Dow manufactures plastic ...
.
Notable installations
*
Userful
About
Userful Corporation is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational software company that is known for its visual networking platform for communication and collaboration across the enterprise. Userful’s platform enables users to ...
announced a deployment of 356,800
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
-based virtual desktops in Brazil (February 2009)
*
NComputing
NComputing is a desktop virtualization company that manufactures hardware and software to create virtual desktops (sometimes called zero clients or thin clients) which enable multiple users to simultaneously share a single operating system insta ...
provided 180,000
one to one computing seats for
K–12
K–12, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is an American English expression that indicates the range of years of publicly supported primary and secondary education found in the United States, which is similar to publicly supported school grade ...
students in the country of
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
See also
*
Computer multitasking
In computing, multitasking is the concurrent execution of multiple tasks (also known as processes) over a certain period of time. New tasks can interrupt already started ones before they finish, instead of waiting for them to end. As a result ...
*
evdev
evdev (short for 'event device') is a generic input event interface in the Linux kernel and FreeBSD. It generalizes raw input events from device drivers and makes them available through character devices in the /dev/input/ directory.
The us ...
*
Dumb terminal
A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that can be used for entering data into, and transcribing data from, a computer or a computing system. The teletype was an example of an early-day hard-copy terminal and ...
*
Linux Terminal Server Project
Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) is a free and open source terminal server for Linux that allows many people to simultaneously use the same computer. Applications run on the server with a terminal known as a thin client (also known as an X te ...
*
Mainframe
*
Multi-monitor
Multi-monitor, also called multi-display and multi-head, is the use of multiple physical display devices, such as monitors, televisions, and projectors, in order to increase the area available for computer programs running on a single computer sy ...
*
Multiseat desktop virtualization
*
Multi-user
Multi-user software is computer software that allows access by multiple users of a computer. Time-sharing systems are multi-user systems. Most batch processing systems for mainframe computers may also be considered "multi-user", to avoid leaving t ...
*
NComputing
NComputing is a desktop virtualization company that manufactures hardware and software to create virtual desktops (sometimes called zero clients or thin clients) which enable multiple users to simultaneously share a single operating system insta ...
*
Ndiyo
Ndiyo was a not-profit organisation based out of Cambridge, United Kingdom, which aimed to promote computer network, networked computing that is "simple, affordable, open." Ndiyo, pronounced ''nn-dee-yo,'' is the Swahili language, Swahili word for ...
*
Time-sharing
In computing, time-sharing is the sharing of a computing resource among many users at the same time by means of multiprogramming and multi-tasking.DEC Timesharing (1965), by Peter Clark, The DEC Professional, Volume 1, Number 1
Its emergence a ...
*
Userful
About
Userful Corporation is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational software company that is known for its visual networking platform for communication and collaboration across the enterprise. Userful’s platform enables users to ...
*
Black Box VirtuaCore
*
Windows MultiPoint
Windows MultiPoint Server is an operating system based on Microsoft Windows Server using Remote Desktop Services technology to host multiple simultaneous independent computing stations or terminals connected to a single computer ( multiseat compu ...
*
X Window System
The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems.
X provides the basic framework for a GUI environment: drawing and moving windows on the display device and interacting wit ...
*
X.Org Server
X.Org Server is the free and open-source implementation of the X Window System display server stewarded by the X.Org Foundation.
Implementations of the client-side X Window System protocol exist in the form of ''X11 libraries'', which serve a ...
*
Xephyr
Xephyr is display server software implementing the X11 display server protocol based on KDrive which targets a window on a host X Server as its framebuffer. It is written by Matthew Allum. Xephyr is an X-on-X implementation and runs on X.Org Se ...
*
Xnest
*
Multi-Pointer X
Multi-pointer X (MPX) is a part of X input extension and previously a modification to the existing X.Org implementation of the X Window System. MPX provides multiple independent pointers at the windowing system level. These pointers are all conn ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Multiseat Configuration
System administration
Operating system technology
Computer systems
X Window System