Patent ID: 7043534

Claim:
A multi-host data processing network including a local host and a remote host, comprising: a terminal including a display a keyboard, and a pointing device; a display server on the local host associated with a user of the terminal, wherein the display server enables the user to execute GUI applications on the local and remote hosts from the terminal via a display server authorization mechanism; and wherein the network is configured to enable the user to execute a text string entered at the terminal as a shell command on the remote host via the display server; wherein the local host includes a client application and the remote host includes a daemon process, wherein the client application is enabled to receive the text string from the user and the daemon process is configured to retrieve the text string and execute the text string as the shell command; wherein the daemon process is configured to monitor changes to a property of the display server, and further wherein the client application is configured to alter the display server property upon receiving the text string.