UCS 2.4 - Univention

9.2.3 Mobile clients
9.3 Managing desktop systems with Univention Directory Manager
Mobile clients have the same central features as managed clients, e.g., local operating system and access
to services on the server systems. The mobile client system role is intended for easier identification of
mobile computers, such as laptops, which are not constantly connected to the domain and on which other
software is sometimes installed.
9.3 Managing desktop systems with Univention Directory Manager
Univention Directory Manager offers a number of different possibilities for managing UCS desktop system,
which simply the administration of computer environments.
9.3.1 Graphical user interface
UCS desktop systems offer a graphical user interface. The X server is used to present this interface. This
is a program which accepts the output instructions of other programs (e.g., “draw the program interface
and output the letter A”) and controls the computer hardware accordingly in order to display the graphics
on the screen. The X server also accepts user inputs via the keyboard and mouse and forwards them on
to the various user programs.
In order for the X server to be able to process all information optimally, it must be configured to the
hardware of the respective computer system (graphics card, keyboard, mouse, monitor). When the UCS
desktop system is started, the existing hardware is checked automatically and the configuration adapted
accordingly.
It can often be preferable to adapt the automatic X server configuration to suit your personal needs, for ex-
ample: to select a certain screen resolution or a particular keyboard layout. Under certain circumstances,
e.g., very new hardware, the automatic hardware recognition may not function completely as desired.
The X server configuration can be adapted in the Univention Directory Manager under Computers ➞
[Display settings]. It is also possible to use policies to configure the same settings for complete subtrees
in the LDAP directory. Further information on the possible settings for the [Display settings] tab can be
found in the Chapter 4.5.11.5.
Settings specified here will be read out by the UCS desktop system during system start and adopted in
the X server configuration. Prerequisite therefor is that the directory service can be accessed at this time.
9.3.2 Connection to server systems
Client systems are often mounted in environments with numerous servers systems which can be used
for various tasks. Services are often distributed over different servers so that any operative loss resulting
from hardware breakdown is kept as low as possible. The client must thus be aware of which server offers
which services.
The most important service, which is used by all UCS desktop systems, is the LDAP server service, which
is executed on domain controller master, backup and slave systems. During start-up, managed and mobile
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