Remote X apps

pavera · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 27 May 2002 Posts: 84

I have a couple computers at my office, and I have my computer here at home,
the computers at the office run red hat (7.3 and 8.0) I want to configure/manage them from here sometimes, this machine has gentoo... I want to be able to open gui apps on the server here though
(ie ssh to server, type bindconf-gui, and a couple minutes (or seconds I have 1mbps up and down at home and work..) later pop there's the bindconf window... and I'm editing away) I know I'm gonna get flamed USE THE COMMAND LINE!! But red hats config tools once used require you to keep using them because changes made manually don't show up in the config tools... and then if you use the config tools later, it erases changes you made on the command line...
currently when I attempt this I get a GTK error about not being able to open the display, I assume its a permissions thing, but I haven't the first clue about where to look to change said permissions.

metalhedd · Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2002 6:31 am Post subject:

It has something to do with .xauth files as far as I can remember, but I'm really not familiar with it at all, I do know that remote X sessions are generally consider very insecure, I think it would be wise to setup your firewall at work to only allow connections from your Home IP on that port.

pavera · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 27 May 2002 Posts: 84

This is not a remote x session...
X is not actually running on the computers at work, although it is installed,
it is not xdmcp, the systems start in runlevel 3, and are at a text login, and they have xdmcp disabled. however, if you ssh to them, and run an x app it opens through the ssh connection on the remote desktop... except it doesn't work when the remote desktop is gentoo...
no ideas?

Al Al Cool J · n00b Joined: 01 Nov 2002 Posts: 25

As I recall...

1) your ssh client on your gentoo box must be set up to allow Xforwarding. See /etc/ssh/ssh_config

2) the sshd server on the remote boxes must be set up to allow Xfowarding. See /etc/ssh/sshd_config

3) the $DISPLAY variable must be set on the remote box. This should be done automatically on a default Red Hat install. HOWEVER, it will likely get screwed up if you su after you ssh.

Hope this helps

pavera · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 27 May 2002 Posts: 84

You are the man!
Thanks that was it, just had to turn on ForwardX11 in the ssh_config file on the client (gentoo) machine, the red hat boxen have it set by default...

cool, now I have no reason to use anything besides Gentoo...