Xserver Security Options

New options enable system administrators to allow only encrypted connections to the Solaris X server. For further information, see Solaris 9 Features for Desktop Users.

Generic Security Services Application Programming Interface (GSS-API)

The Generic Security Services Application Programming Interface (GSS-API) is a security framework that enables applications to protect their transmitted data. The GSS-API provides authentication, integrity, and confidentiality services to applications. The interface permits those applications to be entirely generic with respect to security. The applications do not have to check for the underlying platform, such as the Solaris platform, or security mechanism, such as Kerberos, being used. This means that applications that use the GSS-API can be highly portable.

For more information, see the GSS-API Programming Guide.

Additional Security Software

For information about SunScreen™ 3.2, a firewall product, see Additional Software.

See also Freeware Enhancements for information about the Tcp-wrappers 7.6 freeware in the Solaris 9 release. Tcp-wrappers 7.6 are small daemon programs that monitor and filter incoming requests for network services.

Xserver Features

The Solaris 9 release includes the following Solaris X server enhancements.

X11 Support for IPv6 on Solaris

The Solaris X Window System servers and client libraries now support the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). This support is available in addition to the existing IPv4 support. This feature enables you to use IPv6 addresses and connections when displaying X applications across the network.

Xserver Security Options

New options enable system administrators to control which transport methods are used by the Solaris X server. Administrators who need to secure a host can now disable remote TCP connections directly to the Xserver. At the same time, the administrators can allow encrypted connections to be tunneled through Secure Shell.

See the description of the -nolisten option in the Xserver(1) man page for further details.

Xsun Keyboard Bell Option

The Xsun server can now be configured to play a tone through an audio device. This option replaces ringing the keyboard bell when a program emits a beep. By using this option, users can customize the volume, pitch, and length of beeps through the Xset program or CDE control panel. Users adjust the beep to match their hearing ability and personal preferences.

See the description of the -audiobell option in the Xsun(1) man page for further details.

Using Xsun Server as a Display-only Device

New options enable the Xsun server to run without a keyboard or a mouse. You can run the Solaris window manager in display-only mode, without a mouse or a keyboard, in the following ways:

• As a display-only device

• As a display with alternative input devices other than a mouse or a keyboard

• Without a display to drive a frame buffer for hardware-accelerated offscreen rendering

See the Xsun(1) man page for further information.

Removable Media Management

The Solaris 9 release includes the following enhancements for removable media.

Write CD File Systems With the cdrw Command

The cdrw command enables you to write CD file systems in ISO 9660 format. You can use Rock Ridge or Joliet extensions on CD-R or CD-RW media devices.

You can use the cdrw command to do the following:

• Create data CDs

• Create audio CDs

• Extract audio data from an audio CD

• Copy CDs

• Erase CD-RW media

Go to the following Web site for information on recommended CD-R or CD-RW devices:

http://www.sun.com/io_technologies/ihvindex.html

See the cdrw(1) man page for information on using this command.

Improved Removable Media Management

Volume management features have been improved in this release to fully support removable media. This improvement means that the following media are mounted and available for reading on insertion:

• DVD-ROMs

• Iomega and Universal Serial Bus (USB) Zip drives and Jaz drives

• CD-ROMs

• Diskettes

With Common Desktop Environment (CDE) and Solaris command-line enhancements, you can accomplish the following:

• Format, label, and set read or write software protection on removable media with the new rmformat command. This command replaces the fdformat command for formatting removable media.

• Create and verify a PCFS file system on removable media with the mkfs_pcfs and fsck_pcfs commands.

• Create an fdisk partition and a PCFS file system on removable media on a SPARC™ system to facilitate data transfers to x86 systems.

See the System Administration Guide: Basic Administration for information on managing removable media with the command-line interface. See the Solaris Common Desktop Environment: User's Guide for information on managing removable media with CDE's File Manager.