Running X programs remotely (from a windows machine)

Fez · n00b Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 3

I wasn't sure if I should put this in this forum or the networking one, but it seemed to fit here a little better...

I installed 2004.2 yesterday and got most things working nicely. X.org, GLX, KDE, quake3, etc. I only have one monitor and I'd like to be able to control the Linux box through my windows machine (while leaving the Linux machine in another room with no monitor).

What does it take to get this sort of thing working? I found something called RealVNC, but I'm not sure if that is what I need. Any help would be appreciated.

dethmetaljeff · n00b Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 4

Try this. Ive never used it, but these are the directions I got from my graphics professor for running X apps on the lab machines. Its windows software, so the fact that it is a trial version is easily circumventable im sure.

rjs · Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 10:08 pm Post subject:

If I understand you correctly, you want to be able to open up a window on your Windows computer and login into your Linux box and then run X apps in Windows?

You mentioned VNC: VNC is a remote desktop program. Basically you start up a VNC client on one machine (your Linux box) and then connect to that VNC server using a client on your Windows machine. What the server does is very frequently sends an image of the desktop to the client which displays it on your machine (this is a very simple explanation, but you get the idea). The client interprets mouse and keyboard signals from the local machine and forwards them to the VNC server which translates them to the desktop it is serving.
Problem with VNC is that it can get really slow at redrawing the desktop with any kind of additional network load, and it doesn't have the same power as using X forwarding like I will describe now.

Simply using Putty to connect via SSH won't do the trick because it doesn't allow X forwarding. What you need is a program like Hummingbird (this is the only one I know of, there are probably more) that acts as an X server on a Windows computer.

Here is the link, the one you need is at the top of that page:

http://www.hummingbird.com/products/nc/index.html

Now I managed to get this software for £10 from the University computer shop, but I have no idea how much it would cost in reality. Then again there are always ways round trial versions...

Robbie

zarg · n00b Joined: 11 Jun 2004 Posts: 9

I have used Cygwin/X before with XDMCP. This basically allowed me to use the desktop (like KDE or Gnome) from a windows machine.
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Mben · Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 11:51 pm Post subject:

i use tight vnc (vnc with better compression)

Fez · n00b Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 3

Mben · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 1:56 am Post subject:

system startup: not sure you may be able to put something in /etc/conf.d/local.start but i dont know how to run it as a user.

kde:
make your ~/.vnc/xstartup look like this:

Mben · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 1:58 am Post subject:

also:
if you are low on bandwith try passing -geometry WxH to vncserver

deprave · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 12:29 pm Post subject:

Cygwin/X with XDMCP is the best solution ssh -x boxen
much better then vnc IMO, Definitly check out this option it was realy nice for me when I was looking for the same solution as you, its alot faster then vnc you can run windowmaker in a window on your windows box and launch x apps on your linux box right on your windows box

gen2doggy · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 31 Jul 2004 Posts: 75

You may also want to look at this topic if you like VNC.

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=72893
This is a great howto, credit to the chap that wrote it.

HTH and good luck!

davidblewett · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 1:35 pm Post subject:

b-douze · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:25 pm Post subject:

I'm also using CygWin. It's working great for me. (And it's free)

gen2doggy · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 31 Jul 2004 Posts: 75

i cant seem to use any windows based x servers

im behind a corporate firewall

shot in the dark follows...
is there anyway around this? - i guess it doesn't work because there's no way to set DISPLAY to my machines IP because my remote machine cant actually see the pc i am sat at.

vnc only for me - though it works excellently if i tunnel through ssh and use compression (gnome, with no background and indubstrial theme)

BlackEdder · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:35 pm Post subject:

Just to add to the confusing: I used both cygwin and tightvnc at my work. From those two tightvnc was much faster/more responsive than cygwin xforwarding (also tightvnc was much faster than normal vnc). The vncviewer that you can download for windows also works better than the webbased/java one.

davidblewett · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:39 pm Post subject:

You can use Putty to connect to a remote SSH server through most firewalls, if they have proxies. It's in the proxy config section. For NXServer, all I had to was create a port forward from the local machine's port 22 to the remote server's port.
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gen2doggy · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 31 Jul 2004 Posts: 75

ah haa i got it working, using xwin32 and i had to set x11 forwarding in the putty options

it's unusable though it's 100 times slower than vnc!

davidblewett · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:58 pm Post subject:

NX works great for me. It's only marginally slower than being at the machine itself, and my upstream bandwidth is only 256kbps.
_________________
No guilt in life, no fear in death
this is the power of Christ in me
From lifes first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
-- Newsboys, "In Christ Alone", "Adoration: The Worship Album"

gen2doggy · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 31 Jul 2004 Posts: 75

hmm i couldnt get FreeNX working at all, I'll see if i can try an evaluation version of the commercial version

+O! · n00b Joined: 20 Jun 2004 Posts: 40 Location: Belgium

+O! · n00b Joined: 20 Jun 2004 Posts: 40 Location: Belgium

Oops, and there's no edit function here

Let me correct that last bit :

Sometimes I just start a second x server like this :

gen2doggy · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 31 Jul 2004 Posts: 75

hmm no binaries of nx personal for gentoo, only for redhat e.t.c

davidblewett · Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2004 4:35 pm Post subject:

NX is in portage. You can

Boris27 · Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 12:56 pm Post subject:

If you use X forwarding with SSH over the internet, enable compression. Speeds things up tremendously.
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Slinger · Apprentice Joined: 14 Dec 2002 Posts: 230

Don't forget to enable x11forwarding = yes in your sshd_conf file.