[mdlug] Remotely Use Linux

[Dan Pritts]

The problem with remotely displaying X applications is that the x11
protocol is just too chatty to be used over anything but a LAN.
Performance really sucks even on short WAN hops.  from my office
to my home, about an 11ms ping RTT, remote X11 is so slow as to be
unusable.

VNC is much, much better; it was designed in part to fix these
limitations.  It makes remote application display usable.

I have not tried NX (the thing Kristoffer points out) but based on
the description he gives and what i found online, it sounds better
yet.

The real king in this space is Citrix's ICA protocol.  Unfortunately
it's proprietary & tightly tied to Windows.

Of course, the real way to "remotely use linux" is via the command
line  :)



On Sun, Nov 25, 2007 at 11:47:40PM -0500, Robert Meier wrote:
> Kristoffer, Ray,
> 
> > > It's basically an easy to set up VNC, with a lot of options for 
> > > compression and whatnot. Just read the documentation ...
> > There's also "ssh -X". When you connect, ssh will set up X forwarding
> > and encrypt the traffic. You can fire up commands (e.g. "xterm &") and
> > they'll run on the remote machine and show up on the local one.
> 
> ssh -X also sets up a new X-server (default :10.0).
> 
> > > I just wish that it wouldn't create a new X server session.
> > > I'd like to use the current running session,
> > > but I haven't seen anything like that for linux.
> 
> The ability for remote (including VNC) executables to access an X
> server has been part of X since its inception in the 1980s.
> 
> <HINT>
> If you wish to use the same X-server,
> you simply need to inform the executables to address the same X-server.
> This is usually done with the --display option or environment variable
> DISPLAY.
> The address is "<host-or-ip>:<server-no>.<screen-no>" .
> Note that you will have to open up the appropriate firewall channels
> on BOTH hosts.  Typically this is ports 6000-6030(?).
> Use "bash> xhost +<host-as-reported-to-X-server>" to authorize access
> to the server.
> You may need to copy appropriate ~/.Xauthority cookie to the remote host.
> </HINT>
> 
> See X(7) for further details.
> 
> Hopefully helpful,
> -- 
> Robert Meier
> 
>   "He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from
>    oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that
>    will reach to himself."
> 	--Thomas Paine
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danno
--
dan pritts
danno at umich.edu
734-929-9770