Features
 Extensions
 Resources
 Related software
 Quirks

There are three major X servers available for Solaris x86 platform:

Xsun

the native X server provided by Sun, included in the standard Solaris distribution,

XFree86

an open-source implementation of X Window System including X server, available for most Unix platforms,

Xaccel

commercial product made by Xi Graphics.

There is an add-on to Xsun called XFree86 Video Drivers and Porting Kit which expands its base of video device drivers and enables to use XFree86 drivers. This way the number of supported hardware increases significantly however, abilities and inabilities of the X server remain unchanged.

As for the number of supported graphic cards XFree86 and Xaccel are comparable. The Xsun support is rather poor without XFree86 Porting Kit. It does not support many popular graphic cards.

Both XFree86 and Xaccel usually provide support for new graphic cards very quickly.

XFree86, as its name says, is a freeware while Xaccel requires a license fee. The license price varies from $69 to $249 depending on the series and edition of the software which in turn means more or less features available (check the price list). Before paying the license fee you can evaluate Xaccel downloading the appropriate demo from XiG download page.

Another factor of value is the support of the product. For Xsun it is part of the Solaris support packages, and some patches are freely released, while others are contract only. Xi Graphics appears to include free access to bugfixes and free technical support for all their customers. XFree86 is of course open source, so support is via mailing lists and bugfixes via access to their CVS tree of the source code.

The comparison was made for:

• Xsun - Sun Solaris 9 native X server,
• XFree86 - XFree86 4.2.0 X server (aka XF86),
• Xaccel - Xi Graphics accelerated X server, Summit 2.2.

Features

Feature	Xsun	XFree86	Xaccel	Comments
APM			X	Advanced Power Management, full power management support.
Multihead	*	X	X	Sparc only on Xsun.
DualView			X	Allows to use two displays as a real SLS (Single Large Screen) scenario with pannig.
TV out			*	Radeon and S3 based graphic cards.
DVI (Digital Video Interface)	*	X	X	Generally DVI on Xsun does not work. On Xsun with XFree86 4.2.0 Porting Kit and ATI driver, or with the complete unofficial XFree86 4.2.99.4 Porting Kit DVI works.
Wheel mouse	*	X	X	There is no direct support in Xsun, though interfaces are provided to write input device modules. Third party drivers are availabe at:   • http://bolthole.com/solaris/drivers/ and   • http://www.tools.de/solaris/ps2wheel/. Wacom supports some of their tablets under Sparc.
Tablet	*	X	X	There is no direct support in Xsun, though interfaces are provided to write input device modules. Third party drivers are availabe at:   • http://bolthole.com/solaris/drivers/.
Touch screen	*	X	X	There is no direct support in Xsun, though interfaces are provided to write input device modules.
Resolution switching		*	X	XF86 supports only native LCD resolution without expansion or centering.
Video timings		*	X	XF86 allows to adjust most video timings, Xaccel supports full range of adjustable parameters in a standardized way.

* see comments

Extensions

Extension	Xsun	XFree86	Xaccel	Comments
AccessX	X			Being replaced by XKeyboard
Adobe-DPS-Extension	X	*		Open-Source clone available for XF86 as add-on.
BIG-REQUESTS		X	X	Allows more data sent in single X request message.
DOUBLE-BUFFER	X	X	X
DPMS	X	X	X
DPS	X	*		Available as an add-on.
Extended-Visual-Information (EVI)	X	*	X	Limited functionality
FBPM (Frame Buffer Power Management)	X			Sun extension to DPMS (Sparc only).
FontCache		X
GLX (OpenGL)	*1	*2	X	(1) Unbundled add-on for Sparc, not available for x86 (2) Indirect support - Mesa GL via Utax GLX.
LBX (Low Bandwidth X)	X	X
MIT-SCREEN-SAVER	X	X	X
MIT-SHM (Shared Memory Pixmaps)	X	X	X
MIT-SUNDRY-NONSTANDARD	X	X	X
Multi-Buffering	X
RandR (Resize & Rotate)		*		New in next XF86 (4.3.0) release.
RECORD	X	X	X
RENDER	X	X	X	Xsun in S9 12/02 & later, requires update to video card DDX modules.
SECURITY	X	X	X
SHAPE	X	X	X
SUN_ALLPLANES	X			Sparc only
SUN_DGA	X
SUN_OVL	X			Sparc only
SUN_SME	X			Provides Shared Memory transport for local clients (see Xsun man page)
SYNC	X	X	X
SolarisIA	X			Adjusts priority of process with focus
TOG-CUP	X	X	X	Reduces colormap flashing when switching between colormaps in pseudocolor visuals.
X-Resource		X		Monitors resource usage of clients.
XC-APPGROUP	X	X
XC-MISC	X	X	X
XFree86-Bigfont		X
XFree86-DGA		X
XFree86-Misc		X
XFree86-VidModeExtension		X		Changes monitor settings, but does not resize desktop
XIE (Image Extension)	X	*	X	Build time option - disabled by default in recent XF86, not widely used.
XiG-DirectAccess			X
XiG-SUNDRY-NONSTANDARD			X	The extension provides resolution switching, gamma query/set, viewport query/set, and blanking.
XiG-VMWare			X
XINERAMA	*	X	X	Sparc only on Xsun.
XInputDeviceEvents	X
XInputExtension	X	X	X
XKEYBOARD (aka XKB)	*	X	X	Available, but off by default, on Xsun.
XTEST	X	X	X
XVideo (aka Xv)		*	X	Requires GATOS software.

* see comments

Resources

• docs.sun.com
• XFree86
• X-docs
• Xi Graphics
• DPS project

Related software

• GATOS
• Utah-GLX
• Xawtv
• Zapping

Quirks

There is a problem when the Xsun with XFree86 Porting Kit on Solaris 8 or 9, or the VESA driver that comes with the standard Solaris 9 distribution is used. It manifests in that images and icons under applications like Netscape 7, Mozilla, GIMP or GQView are displayed incorrectly. The resolution for Solaris 9 is provided in patch 112786-07 available at:

http://sunsolve.sun.com. Jürgen Keil has a general patch available at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/solarisonintel/files/xf86shm.tar.gz

To download the file you must be a member of SolarisOnIntel mailing list on Yahoo.

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Thanks to: Alan Coopersmith, Thomas Roell and Jon Trulson for help in preparation of this document.