Hi,
I have just got a dedicated server on a datacenter, setup with Gentoo 2007.x
I'm quite confused on how can (or what should) I install to run and connect to an X session remotely.
I _DO NOT_ need a local X session on the console machine, just remotely, to run some X apps to control services on the server.
Since the original datacenter build did not come with any X ebuild installed (or any X library), just a basic gentoo install, I'm finding some difficulties in trying to follow the howto's for the xorg installation and later to the tightVNC+XF4VNC and/or FreeNX-freeedition and Xfce installation.
I'm not willing to use SSH tunnels, as I'll be managing this server from more than one (Windows) machine and not all of them will allow me to install a X server or even the SSH program with tunnelling. I prefer VNC or RDP for this management.
Can someone recommend me the best approach to configure this situation (only remote X server with VNC or RDP, no local X server, no need for GDM/XDM/KDM)? Which packages should I emerge (even for the initial X installation)?
TIA,
Rafael
Remote X connection with no local X
Message
- brainus_tech
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- Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2007 7:25 pm
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You don't actually need X.org/XFree86 installed to install things like TightVNC - they have their own cut-down XFree86 tree which they build to.
However, Gentoo doesn't recognise VNC as an X server so it'll try and pull down all of X.org if you emerge anything else, so you pretty much have to anyway.
I must confess I'm surprised you're having trouble - (Tight)VNC installation was surprisingly easy compared to what I had to do to get it working in Slackware.
All you basically have to do is run "emerge tightvnc" and maybe edit the /usr/bin/vncserver script to make it less crap.
Then just run vncserver!
From your workstation, you should be able to connect to it via any vncviewer you have handy (connect to "<IPADDRESS>:1" - The :1 (Or :2, :3 etc. if there is more than one VNC server) is important.), where you see the mind-eating evil that is TWM if you haven't edited the vncserver or your ~/.vnc/xstartup file.
Three indispensible programs for remote access on Windows (IMHO) are WinSCP, VNCViewer and PuTTY. I keep them on a little 8cm CD-RW I carry around with me.
PuTTY is an incredible SSH client, and does not need installation. We've used it successfully to punch through our firewall via port-forwarding in order to access VNC sessions and (With slightly less success) RDP servers.
(Notenotenote: DO NOT expose VNC to the Internet, or you'll be hacked in a matter of weeks. Hours if your IP range is scanned often. VNC is so insecure it's not funny...)
However, Gentoo doesn't recognise VNC as an X server so it'll try and pull down all of X.org if you emerge anything else, so you pretty much have to anyway.
I must confess I'm surprised you're having trouble - (Tight)VNC installation was surprisingly easy compared to what I had to do to get it working in Slackware.
All you basically have to do is run "emerge tightvnc" and maybe edit the /usr/bin/vncserver script to make it less crap.
Then just run vncserver!
From your workstation, you should be able to connect to it via any vncviewer you have handy (connect to "<IPADDRESS>:1" - The :1 (Or :2, :3 etc. if there is more than one VNC server) is important.), where you see the mind-eating evil that is TWM if you haven't edited the vncserver or your ~/.vnc/xstartup file.
Three indispensible programs for remote access on Windows (IMHO) are WinSCP, VNCViewer and PuTTY. I keep them on a little 8cm CD-RW I carry around with me.
PuTTY is an incredible SSH client, and does not need installation. We've used it successfully to punch through our firewall via port-forwarding in order to access VNC sessions and (With slightly less success) RDP servers.
(Notenotenote: DO NOT expose VNC to the Internet, or you'll be hacked in a matter of weeks. Hours if your IP range is scanned often. VNC is so insecure it's not funny...)
- brainus_tech
- n00b
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2007 7:25 pm
- Location: Rio de Janeiro, BR
- Contact:
Aaaah.
It was easy to install it in RedHat platforms (what I am used to), but then, they are straightforward and the X packages are dependencies for the vncserver
That is why I thought the X packages were needed before the tightvnc.
A fact I found is that this tightvnc ebuild doesn't come with the Java client (I try to http://ip:5801, and it gives me File Not Found), where did I make a mistake on installing?
And also, what's the way to put it as a service?
Cheers,
Rafael
It was easy to install it in RedHat platforms (what I am used to), but then, they are straightforward and the X packages are dependencies for the vncserver
That is why I thought the X packages were needed before the tightvnc.A fact I found is that this tightvnc ebuild doesn't come with the Java client (I try to http://ip:5801, and it gives me File Not Found), where did I make a mistake on installing?
And also, what's the way to put it as a service?
Cheers,
Rafael