AIX 1.3 Multi-Head Support

IX44820 X11R5 multi-head support and S3 SVGA 1024x768x256 color support.

Multi-Head Support For X-Server
       The new AIX PS/2 X Windows and Motif supports multiple display adapters (multi-head) with seamless movement of mouse across displays. Currently the X-server can support up to 8 display adapters, though more than one instance of the same adapter is possible for XGA only (by hardware design). All other adapters (VGA, 8514/A, Image Adapter) can only have one instance in the system. It is possible to have up to 8 instances of XGA in the system.
 
    The multi-head support is only supported on the PS/2 (MC bus) only, and is not available on the ISA bus. This is because of the lack of multiple video card support on the ISA bus.
 
X-server Options for multi-head support
 
-all  Runs the Xserver on all available displays.  (Doesn't include planar VGA, if available.)
                  e.g
      xinit -all
 
-allp Runs Xserver on all available displays, and planar VGA on systems like the model 80.
                    e.g
      xinit -allp
 
          -P<r><c> <display no> {/vga} | <display name> {/vga}
    ( words enclosed by {} are optional)
 
    This option is used for specific placement of displays. The utility (see defect 531) lsdisp, displays the displays cards attached to the system with a display number and the name of the display. The numbers <r> and <c> denotes the element in the placement matrix where the display will be placed for the sake of cursor movement. for example a matrix of 4 displays can be specified with the following row and column numbers.
 
 ---------------
 |      |      |
 |  11  |  12  |
 |      |      |
 -------+-------
 |      |      |
 |  21  |  22  |
 |      |      |
 ---------------
 
    This means the cursor can have a seamless movement from
 
 11 to 12, 11 to 21
 12 to 11, 12 to 22
 21 to 11, 21 to 22
 22 to 12, 22 to 21.
  
-wrap option, four-directional  movement without any bound
 
-wrapy / -wrapx  vertical/horizontal movement without any bound
 
    When using the /vga option with the display number or the display name, the display can be run in 640x480 16-color VGA mode.
         e.g
     For instance, if there are two display cards installed, an XGA and a 8514/A, with XGA as display number 1 and the 8514 as display number 2, X can be run as follows:
 
xinit -P11 1 -P12 2
    or
xinit -P11 xga -P12 8514
    or
xinit -P11 xga -P12 8514/vga
 
    This will run the 8514 in VGA mode and the XGA in XGA mode.
 
    Note: only one instance of VGA can be specified.
 
  Note: To get multiple XGA adapters to work, the last XGA adapter on the system should have its 1 MB VRAM aperture disabled. This can be done using the reference diskette. If the 1 MB VRAM aperture is disabled to run X in XGA mode, the system will try to use the 4 MB VRAM aperture. Using the 4 MB VRAM aperture is only possible when the adapter is plugged into the 32-bit slot. There are only 3 such slots on the model 80. Therefore, it is possible to have a VGA and up to 3 XGA or XGA-2 adapters on a model 80. (The last card is determined by the adapter slot number and the adapter order shown when the configuration is viewed with the reference diskette.)

Content created and/or collected by:
Louis F. Ohland, Peter H. Wendt, David L. Beem, William R. Walsh, Tatsuo Sunagawa, Tomáš Slavotínek, Jim Shorney, Tim N. Clarke, Kevin Bowling, and many others.

Ardent Tool of Capitalism is maintained by Tomáš Slavotínek.
Last update: 24 Mar 2024 - Changelog | About | Legal & Contact