Xpalvelimen

Xpalvelimen is the Finnish term for the X server, the display server component of the X Window System. In this architecture, the server runs on a display host and manages graphical output and input devices, while applications act as X clients that request windows and drawing operations.

The X server receives requests from clients to create and manage windows, draw graphics, and handle keyboard and mouse input. It renders the requested output to the display and routes events from input devices back to the appropriate clients. The system is network transparent: X clients can run on a different host than the server, communicating over the X protocol, with a display identified by a display number and screen.

Common implementations include X.org's X server and various commercial or open-source variants. In modern Linux desktops, many environments use Wayland instead of an X server, with an X11 compatibility layer provided by an XWayland bridge that runs X clients within Wayland. On other platforms, X servers exist for compatibility (for example, XQuartz on macOS, and third-party Windows X servers such as Xming or VcXsrv).

Security and access control are important considerations: X servers traditionally rely on host-based access controls and cookies (such as MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1) and can expose traffic to eavesdropping if not protected. For remote access, SSH X11 forwarding or VPNs are recommended.

Xpalvelimen remains a foundational concept in legacy X Window System deployments and provides historical context for modern graphical environments that transition to or interoperate with Wayland.