[Discuss] can one safely login multiple times to the same user on a modern Linux desktop?

Bill Bogstad bogstad at pobox.com
Sun Sep 2 16:38:05 EDT 2012


I frequently like to set things up so that I can simultaneously log into
the same desktop configuration from multiple workstations.   It's fairly
easy to set up file access (NFS) and authentication (LDAP or NIS) to allow
logins and access to the same home directory.   Unfortunately, my
experience in the past has been that modern Linux desktop system keep
enough state in ones home directory that having two logins using the same
set of configuration/state files at the same time is going to result in odd
behavior.

Does anybody know if any version of GNOME, KDE, or equivalent system
actively support such usage?

Alternatively, are there any desktop environments which are known to work
(even if not officially supported) and is there anything special required
to make this happen?

Some applications (i.e. Firefox) are also problematic.   I've dealt with
that  by having different profiles, but any other suggestions for Firefox
would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bill Bogstad



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