Is there any reason why I should not be able to install NX (www.nomachine.com) on a remote server (to which I have root access)?
If I try to install using dpkg and "apt-get -f install" to resolve dependencies I'm getting connection errors which I am pretty sure relate to there being no X server installed. What would be the minimum I need to do to get X installed so that this would work (assuming my guess is correct)?
What I am trying to do is reach the point where I can connect to a box in a remote office and use (eg) Firefox on the box to view locally hosted web pages, although once I have remote access to a "desktop" there are other ways I could (ab)use that.
On 30 Sep 12:38, Mark Rogers wrote:
Is there any reason why I should not be able to install NX (www.nomachine.com) on a remote server (to which I have root access)?
If I try to install using dpkg and "apt-get -f install" to resolve dependencies I'm getting connection errors which I am pretty sure relate to there being no X server installed. What would be the minimum I need to do to get X installed so that this would work (assuming my guess is correct)?
What I am trying to do is reach the point where I can connect to a box in a remote office and use (eg) Firefox on the box to view locally hosted web pages, although once I have remote access to a "desktop" there are other ways I could (ab)use that.
Err, locally as in where you are as apposed to where firefox is running? That's, err, not going to work even if you do get NX installed. Just out of interest, why do you want to use NX? Could you just use vncserver + the java vncviewer for browser based messing?
Brett Parker wrote:
On 30 Sep 12:38, Mark Rogers wrote:
What I am trying to do is reach the point where I can connect to a box in a remote office and use (eg) Firefox on the box to view locally hosted web pages, although once I have remote access to a "desktop" there are other ways I could (ab)use that.
Err, locally as in where you are as apposed to where firefox is running? That's, err, not going to work even if you do get NX installed.
Sorry, mixing my locations up. We have a box in a customer's office which runs a small web app (no remote access to the box except SSH). I can make changes to the web app via SSH but can't test the results unless I can "see" it. There are alternatives (eg I'm sure someone can tell me how to tunnel a web connection across SSH) but I'd like it to be something that selected "others" can use who are not Linux types (it'll mostly be me from my Linux box though).
Just out of interest, why do you want to use NX? Could you just use vncserver + the java vncviewer for browser based messing?
No particular reason, except I've found NX to be fairly good. However, if someone can help me get VNC running over SSH (bearing in mind at the moment the box has no X installation) that would be fine too. FWIW the box is a fairly simple Ubuntu-Server install (8.04), and is big enough in terms of CPU, disk and memory to support a GUI, I just didn't bother installing one initially and I'd like to keep the installation to a minimum given its rarely going to be used.
On 30 Sep 14:14, Mark Rogers wrote:
Brett Parker wrote:
On 30 Sep 12:38, Mark Rogers wrote:
What I am trying to do is reach the point where I can connect to a box in a remote office and use (eg) Firefox on the box to view locally hosted web pages, although once I have remote access to a "desktop" there are other ways I could (ab)use that.
Err, locally as in where you are as apposed to where firefox is running? That's, err, not going to work even if you do get NX installed.
Sorry, mixing my locations up. We have a box in a customer's office which runs a small web app (no remote access to the box except SSH). I can make changes to the web app via SSH but can't test the results unless I can "see" it. There are alternatives (eg I'm sure someone can tell me how to tunnel a web connection across SSH) but I'd like it to be something that selected "others" can use who are not Linux types (it'll mostly be me from my Linux box though).
*ahh* - it doesn't allow web connections from outside then?
Right - ssh port forwarding is the way forwards here: ssh -L 8080:localhost:80 user@remoteplace
Then on your laptop go to: http://localhost:8080/
This can also be done with PuTTY using the forwarding options there.
Cheers,
Brett Parker wrote:
*ahh* - it doesn't allow web connections from outside then?
God no, that would be a horrible thought!
Right - ssh port forwarding is the way forwards here: ssh -L 8080:localhost:80 user@remoteplace
Perfect, thanks. [*]
However, I'd still like to know about the original NX question (or VNC alternative) as we do have some people who only understand GUIs and put pressure on me to install Windows so they have a GUI to use, albeit only once in a blue moon when something goes wrong.
[*] I'd like to just restress that thanks, it kind of gets lost as its only one word but you've made my life a lot easier with that one preceding sentence.
On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 02:14:32PM +0100, Mark Rogers wrote:
Brett Parker wrote:
On 30 Sep 12:38, Mark Rogers wrote:
What I am trying to do is reach the point where I can connect to a box in a remote office and use (eg) Firefox on the box to view locally hosted web pages, although once I have remote access to a "desktop" there are other ways I could (ab)use that.
Err, locally as in where you are as apposed to where firefox is running? That's, err, not going to work even if you do get NX installed.
Sorry, mixing my locations up. We have a box in a customer's office which runs a small web app (no remote access to the box except SSH). I can make changes to the web app via SSH but can't test the results unless I can "see" it. There are alternatives (eg I'm sure someone can tell me how to tunnel a web connection across SSH) but I'd like it to be something that selected "others" can use who are not Linux types (it'll mostly be me from my Linux box though).
Well it's dead easy to run via ssh, trivial even.
ssh -X <name.of.remote.system>
... and when connected ...
firefox
... and it should just work running firefox on the remote system and displaying it on the local system. Just a couple of caveats/gotchas - you need to make sure the remote system doesn't change DISPLAY in its login process, and you *might* need to do "ssh -Y" instead of "ssh -X".
On 30 Sep 14:48, Chris G wrote:
On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 02:14:32PM +0100, Mark Rogers wrote:
Brett Parker wrote:
On 30 Sep 12:38, Mark Rogers wrote:
What I am trying to do is reach the point where I can connect to a box in a remote office and use (eg) Firefox on the box to view locally hosted web pages, although once I have remote access to a "desktop" there are other ways I could (ab)use that.
Err, locally as in where you are as apposed to where firefox is running? That's, err, not going to work even if you do get NX installed.
Sorry, mixing my locations up. We have a box in a customer's office which runs a small web app (no remote access to the box except SSH). I can make changes to the web app via SSH but can't test the results unless I can "see" it. There are alternatives (eg I'm sure someone can tell me how to tunnel a web connection across SSH) but I'd like it to be something that selected "others" can use who are not Linux types (it'll mostly be me from my Linux box though).
Well it's dead easy to run via ssh, trivial even.
ssh -X <name.of.remote.system> ... and when connected ... firefox
slloooooooooooooow, forwarding X11 over the interwebs is Really Quite Slow. (And this is coming from the guy that used to run Netscape from a UEA machine over an ssh session over a 33.6k modem... even on ADSL it's "not quick").
... and it should just work running firefox on the remote system and displaying it on the local system. Just a couple of caveats/gotchas - you need to make sure the remote system doesn't change DISPLAY in its login process, and you *might* need to do "ssh -Y" instead of "ssh -X".
Hmm, I've never needed to use ssh -Y, and that does smack of insecurity. If ssh -X doesn't work then the remote system is probably just missing xauth, which is kinda useful for X11 sessions.
Port forwarding is the easier option here, and, as I said before, can be done with PuTTY for those of a windows using nature.
Cheers,
On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 02:56:37PM +0100, Brett Parker wrote:
On 30 Sep 14:48, Chris G wrote:
On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 02:14:32PM +0100, Mark Rogers wrote:
Brett Parker wrote:
On 30 Sep 12:38, Mark Rogers wrote:
What I am trying to do is reach the point where I can connect to a box in a remote office and use (eg) Firefox on the box to view locally hosted web pages, although once I have remote access to a "desktop" there are other ways I could (ab)use that.
Err, locally as in where you are as apposed to where firefox is running? That's, err, not going to work even if you do get NX installed.
Sorry, mixing my locations up. We have a box in a customer's office which runs a small web app (no remote access to the box except SSH). I can make changes to the web app via SSH but can't test the results unless I can "see" it. There are alternatives (eg I'm sure someone can tell me how to tunnel a web connection across SSH) but I'd like it to be something that selected "others" can use who are not Linux types (it'll mostly be me from my Linux box though).
Well it's dead easy to run via ssh, trivial even.
ssh -X <name.of.remote.system> ... and when connected ... firefoxslloooooooooooooow, forwarding X11 over the interwebs is Really Quite Slow. (And this is coming from the guy that used to run Netscape from a UEA machine over an ssh session over a 33.6k modem... even on ADSL it's "not quick").
Oh yes, it is quite slow, but for a quick one off test of something or for occasional use it works and is more straightforward than port forwarding.
... and it should just work running firefox on the remote system and displaying it on the local system. Just a couple of caveats/gotchas - you need to make sure the remote system doesn't change DISPLAY in its login process, and you *might* need to do "ssh -Y" instead of "ssh -X".
Hmm, I've never needed to use ssh -Y, and that does smack of insecurity. If ssh -X doesn't work then the remote system is probably just missing xauth, which is kinda useful for X11 sessions.
I need to use "ssh -Y" when doing this from work to my home system, this is working 'backwards' through a port forwarded pipe already and it was easier to try -Y than to fathom out the authorisation complexities.
Port forwarding is the easier option here, and, as I said before, can be done with PuTTY for those of a windows using nature.
For longer term use you're probably right, for the odd 'one off' ssh -X is useful.
On 30 Sep 15:02, Chris G wrote:
On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 02:56:37PM +0100, Brett Parker wrote:
slloooooooooooooow, forwarding X11 over the interwebs is Really Quite Slow. (And this is coming from the guy that used to run Netscape from a UEA machine over an ssh session over a 33.6k modem... even on ADSL it's "not quick").
Oh yes, it is quite slow, but for a quick one off test of something or for occasional use it works and is more straightforward than port forwarding.
My usual wording for it is "horrendously slow", YMMV :)
Hmm, I've never needed to use ssh -Y, and that does smack of insecurity. If ssh -X doesn't work then the remote system is probably just missing xauth, which is kinda useful for X11 sessions.
I need to use "ssh -Y" when doing this from work to my home system, this is working 'backwards' through a port forwarded pipe already and it was easier to try -Y than to fathom out the authorisation complexities.
/me looks perplexed as to why
1) setup ~/.ssh/config to use a ProxyCommand to set up the tunnel to the second machine in the chain 2) ssh -X themagicconfig
Done!
I tend to use something akin to the following:
=== ~/.ssh/config snippet === Host officeworkstation HostName officeworkstation UserKnownHostsFile ~/.ssh/officeworkstation_known_hosts ProxyCommand ~/bin/proxy-office.sh 10.0.0.100 officeworkstation === end snippet ===
=== ~/bin/proxy-office.sh === #!/bin/bash
dest_ip_addr=$1 dest_hostname=$2
dest_ip=$(host $dest_hostname | awk '{print $4}') if [[ "x$dest_ip" != "x" && "x$dest_ip" == "x$dest_ip_addr" ]]; then nc -q1 $dest_hostname 22 else ssh office_gateway_machine "nc -q1 $dest_hostname 22" fi === end script ===
That then works out if I'm in the office or not, throws the traffic straight over the right connections and because I'm using key based auth (and have ssh-agent running) logs me in neatly. Having needed this "rather a lot" in the last few years, I'd say it was quite handy!
For basic port forwarding, though, where the machine in question is available simply, you can do:
=== ~/.ssh/config snippet === Host placetoconnect HostName ip_or_hostname_of_machine LocalForward 8080 localhost:80 === end snippet ===
Then a simple ssh to placetoconnect will automagically setup the port forwarding for you.
Port forwarding is the easier option here, and, as I said before, can be done with PuTTY for those of a windows using nature.
For longer term use you're probably right, for the odd 'one off' ssh -X is useful.
Mostly ssh -X is useful if you need to run something over a huge dataset and it's a graphical app and the data is remote... but generally at that point I tend to use vncserver4, start the app on that, and, of course, as only ssh is allowed do a portforwarding and connect to the port forwarded vnc.
Cheers,
-
Brett Parker -
Chris G -
Mark Rogers