Remote Desktop Connection

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Hi.
Id like to asj you guys if you used any remote desktops with freebsd? Which
client/server would you recommend, and why? Witch wich desktop env have you
been using it?

I've been using tightvnc both as server and client. Works fine.
I'm using fluxbox as window-manager.

FreeBSD Daemon

2007-01-24 11:13:25 UTC

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Hi.
Id like to asj you guys if you used any remote desktops with freebsd? Which
client/server would you recommend, and why? Witch wich desktop env have you
been using it?
Cheers,
GregZX
_______________________________________________
http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions

I use net/tightvnc port both as client ans server.
Works file for me.

I am running a lightweight WM ... aewm++ and pwm.

Zheyu

Andrea Venturoli

2007-01-24 13:16:06 UTC

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Hi.
Id like to asj you guys if you used any remote desktops with freebsd? Which
client/server would you recommend, and why? Witch wich desktop env have you
been using it?

There are really countless possibilities, depends on what you are
looking for.

I've been using rdesktop to connect to Windows 2000 server/XP/2003
machines. Works really fine. KDE has a frontend for it called krdc. What
WM you use should not matter much in any case, since you'll get a window
with the whole remote "screen" in it.

I've used VNC in the past to connect to older Windows machines, but it's
a lot slower. Again kdrc can be used as a frontend to it, and again WM
should not matter. Be aware that what you are doing will display on the
remote machine's physical screen (can be good, can be bad).
It's also possible to run a VNC server on UNIX/Linux/FreeBSD/..., but I
never tested this.

I prefer to user ssh with X11 forwarding for that; works like a charm
when on a local network. Fine, but obviously slower when used remotely.
Every single application will have its windows on your screen, mixed
with local applications, to the point you can hardly tell the difference.

I sometimes used to log to a Digital Alpha box using XDM. Quite slow at
the time (pre ADSL) and no encryption (i.e. very poor security); I din't
manage that box, so I didn't investigate wether that could be solved.
KDE has KDM, Gnome has GDM, which are all (compatible, I believe)
alternatives to XDM. They could in some rare cases be an alternative to
using a remote shell with direct X11 connections.

IIRC KDE has some sort of remote desktop server built in, but I never
checked this out.

I guess there are other ways too...

bye
av.

Grzegorz Pluta

2007-01-24 15:41:26 UTC

Thanks for a huge reply!
It was really usefull ;]

Cheers,
gregZX

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrea Venturoli [mailto:***@netfence.it]
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 2:16 PM
To: Grzegorz Pluta
Cc: freebsd-***@freebsd.org
Subject: Re: Remote Desktop Connection

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Hi.
Id like to asj you guys if you used any remote desktops with freebsd? Which
client/server would you recommend, and why? Witch wich desktop env have you
been using it?

Christian Walther

2007-01-24 12:58:47 UTC

I like using X. Either start your session locally and login to a
remote machine, for example using "ssh -X <host>" and start the
application there, or configure the remote X server to listen to tcp,
and connect your local X server using X -query <hostname>.
There are some nice Howtos out there, or read the X11 chapter of the
FreeBSD manual, especially "The X Display-Manager":

http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/x-xdm.html

Should describe everything you need...

Kevin Kinsey

2007-01-24 14:20:42 UTC

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Hi.
Id like to asj you guys if you used any remote desktops with freebsd? Which
client/server would you recommend, and why? Witch wich desktop env have you
been using it?

I use Xorg & XFCE4 on my FreeBSD desktop(s). For remote desktop
connections:

FreeBSD -> FreeBSD: ssh with X11 forwarding (-X or -Y options, see manpage).

FreeBSD -> Windows: rdesktop (/usr/ports/net/rdesktop). Works
beautifully for work. Can't recall which, but some games don't seem to
like it.

Windows -> FreeBSD: freeXer and PuTTY with X11 forwarding enabled.
Kind of interesting to have my FreeBSD desktop apps on my wife's lappy
at the breakfast table ;-). With this setup, Windows actually is the
"window manager" --- kinda disconcerting at first glance :-D

Kevin Kinsey

--
Condense soup, not books!

Garrett Cooper

2007-01-24 15:21:44 UTC

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Hi.
Id like to asj you guys if you used any remote desktops with freebsd? Which
client/server would you recommend, and why? Witch wich desktop env have you
been using it?

I use Xorg & XFCE4 on my FreeBSD desktop(s). For remote desktop
FreeBSD -> FreeBSD: ssh with X11 forwarding (-X or -Y options, see manpage).
FreeBSD -> Windows: rdesktop (/usr/ports/net/rdesktop). Works
beautifully for work. Can't recall which, but some games don't seem to
like it.
Windows -> FreeBSD: freeXer and PuTTY with X11 forwarding enabled. Kind
of interesting to have my FreeBSD desktop apps on my wife's lappy at the
breakfast table ;-). With this setup, Windows actually is the "window
manager" --- kinda disconcerting at first glance :-D
Kevin Kinsey

Overall, as many have suggest on the list there are a number of caveats
to using different means of connecting.

Here's a short rundown with all of my comments:

rdesktop and krdc (KDE rdesktop) work for connecting to Windows NT 5.0+
servers. Don't have a Windows server that meets that spec? Probably
won't need rdesktop/krdc then.. Don't install krdc unless you also want
to install KDE.

X11 forwarding through ssh is great when you're connections between you
and the remote machine are relatively fast (fast up on the server, fast
down on the client). Compression with ssh (-C flag--not available on all
ssh or ssh2 implementations) is a good idea when using this to connect
remotely because there's a lot of data that gets piped through an X11
connection.

VNC is better for keeping remote sessions active after disconnecting
from the machine. There are many VNC servers software titles, but you
will either probably look into tightvnc (creates a new X session per
instance), or x11vnc (connects to an existing X session on your
machine). Quality, speed and latency are an issue here as VNC is sort of
bad at caching tiles on the desktop. Using a lightweight wm or desktop
is a wise idea though without a desktop picture and sticking to X11 only
widgets (xclock, xterm, etc) is a good idea as the redraw is better than
gtk or qt apps or other programs (firefox, thunderbird). Try to wrap the
connection using portforwarding via SSH if you're logged in from a large
LAN or over a WAN because everything sent with tightvnc is cleartext, so
passwords, credit card numbers, etc can be sniffed by a knowledgeable
individual.

I'm still amazed that nomachinex hasn't been ported to FreeBSD, but it's
a complete binary release of a 'hacked' X11 system, so the devs at the
nomachine group probably haven't gotten around to porting it yet.

Cheers,
- -Garrett

Grzegorz Pluta

2007-01-24 15:44:38 UTC

Thanks for all the replies guys!
It was really helpful
Cheers,
Greg

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Hi.
Id like to asj you guys if you used any remote desktops with freebsd? Which
client/server would you recommend, and why? Witch wich desktop env have you
been using it?

FreeBSD WickerBill

2007-01-24 22:27:23 UTC

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Thanks for all the replies guys!
It was really helpful
Cheers,
Greg

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Hi.
Id like to asj you guys if you used any remote desktops with freebsd? Which
client/server would you recommend, and why? Witch wich desktop env have you
been using it?

Overall, as many have suggest on the list there are a number of caveats
to using different means of connecting.
rdesktop and krdc (KDE rdesktop) work for connecting to Windows NT 5.0+
servers. Don't have a Windows server that meets that spec? Probably
won't need rdesktop/krdc then.. Don't install krdc unless you also want
to install KDE.
X11 forwarding through ssh is great when you're connections between you
and the remote machine are relatively fast (fast up on the server, fast
down on the client). Compression with ssh (-C flag--not available on all
ssh or ssh2 implementations) is a good idea when using this to connect
remotely because there's a lot of data that gets piped through an X11
connection.
VNC is better for keeping remote sessions active after disconnecting
from the machine. There are many VNC servers software titles, but you
will either probably look into tightvnc (creates a new X session per
instance), or x11vnc (connects to an existing X session on your
machine). Quality, speed and latency are an issue here as VNC is sort of
bad at caching tiles on the desktop. Using a lightweight wm or desktop
is a wise idea though without a desktop picture and sticking to X11 only
widgets (xclock, xterm, etc) is a good idea as the redraw is better than
gtk or qt apps or other programs (firefox, thunderbird). Try to wrap the
connection using portforwarding via SSH if you're logged in from a large
LAN or over a WAN because everything sent with tightvnc is cleartext, so
passwords, credit card numbers, etc can be sniffed by a knowledgeable
individual.
I'm still amazed that nomachinex hasn't been ported to FreeBSD, but it's
a complete binary release of a 'hacked' X11 system, so the devs at the
nomachine group probably haven't gotten around to porting it yet.
Cheers,
- -Garrett
-

It's in the ports.

portless nxserver
This is a port of NoMachine's NX server, which is a way to
use X connections over slow links without noticeable lag.

WWW: http://www.nomachine.com

I use it daily from a windows client to home computer running PC-BSD (KDE)
It runs much faster than I could ever get VNC to run. I use rdesktop going
from FreeBSD to Windows and it works fine too.

Garrett Cooper

2007-01-25 05:28:14 UTC

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Thanks for all the replies guys!
It was really helpful
Cheers,
Greg

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Hi.
Id like to asj you guys if you used any remote desktops with freebsd? Which
client/server would you recommend, and why? Witch wich desktop env have you
been using it?

Kind

Post by Kevin Kinsey
of interesting to have my FreeBSD desktop apps on my wife's lappy at

the

Post by Kevin Kinsey
breakfast table ;-). With this setup, Windows actually is the "window
manager" --- kinda disconcerting at first glance :-D
Kevin Kinsey

It's in the ports.
portless nxserver
This is a port of NoMachine's NX server, which is a way to
use X connections over slow links without noticeable lag.
WWW: http://www.nomachine.com
I use it daily from a windows client to home computer running PC-BSD (KDE)
It runs much faster than I could ever get VNC to run. I use rdesktop going
from FreeBSD to Windows and it works fine too.

WickerBill,
Ah, excellent. Didn't know that.. ports_glob doesn't always turn up the
right answers; a tool should be made in conjunction with portell to
search package descriptions, similar to Gentoo's esearch I think..

Greg,
Give nxserver a shot. It's by far a lot better than VNC and it ties
directly into working X sessions IIRC and is equivalent in speed to
remote desktop on Windows NT (in fact possibly faster from what I've
heard on slower connections). Plus it's secure (built in ssh tie-ins).
They (the devs) have a few test servers up so you can give it a shot and
see how it works.
Cheers,
- -Garrett

FreeBSD WickerBill

2007-01-26 21:16:36 UTC

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Hash: SHA1

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Thanks for all the replies guys!
It was really helpful
Cheers,
Greg

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Hi.
Id like to asj you guys if you used any remote desktops with

freebsd?

Post by Grzegorz Pluta

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Which
client/server would you recommend, and why? Witch wich desktop env have you
been using it?

Post by Grzegorz Pluta

Post by Kevin Kinsey
like it.
Windows -> FreeBSD: freeXer and PuTTY with X11 forwarding enabled.

Kind

Post by Kevin Kinsey
of interesting to have my FreeBSD desktop apps on my wife's lappy at

the

Post by Kevin Kinsey
breakfast table ;-). With this setup, Windows actually is the

"window

Post by Grzegorz Pluta

Post by Kevin Kinsey
manager" --- kinda disconcerting at first glance :-D
Kevin Kinsey

all

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
ssh or ssh2 implementations) is a good idea when using this to connect
remotely because there's a lot of data that gets piped through an X11
connection.
VNC is better for keeping remote sessions active after disconnecting
from the machine. There are many VNC servers software titles, but you
will either probably look into tightvnc (creates a new X session per
instance), or x11vnc (connects to an existing X session on your
machine). Quality, speed and latency are an issue here as VNC is sort

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
bad at caching tiles on the desktop. Using a lightweight wm or desktop
is a wise idea though without a desktop picture and sticking to X11

only

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
widgets (xclock, xterm, etc) is a good idea as the redraw is better

than

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
gtk or qt apps or other programs (firefox, thunderbird). Try to wrap

the

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
connection using portforwarding via SSH if you're logged in from a

large

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
LAN or over a WAN because everything sent with tightvnc is cleartext,

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
passwords, credit card numbers, etc can be sniffed by a knowledgeable
individual.
I'm still amazed that nomachinex hasn't been ported to FreeBSD, but

it's

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
a complete binary release of a 'hacked' X11 system, so the devs at the
nomachine group probably haven't gotten around to porting it yet.
Cheers,
- -Garrett
-

(KDE)

Post by FreeBSD WickerBill
It runs much faster than I could ever get VNC to run. I use rdesktop

going

Post by FreeBSD WickerBill
from FreeBSD to Windows and it works fine too.

WickerBill,
Ah, excellent. Didn't know that.. ports_glob doesn't always turn up the
right answers; a tool should be made in conjunction with portell to
search package descriptions, similar to Gentoo's esearch I think..
Greg,
Give nxserver a shot. It's by far a lot better than VNC and it ties
directly into working X sessions IIRC and is equivalent in speed to
remote desktop on Windows NT (in fact possibly faster from what I've
heard on slower connections). Plus it's secure (built in ssh tie-ins).
They (the devs) have a few test servers up so you can give it a shot and
see how it works.
Cheers,
- -Garrett

I use psearch, found in /urs/ports/sysutils/psearch An utility for
searching the FreeBSD Ports Collection

It returns one liners and then I use portless to read those I want more info
on...I'll have to try portell

David Schulz

2007-01-25 01:38:47 UTC

since most of my machines are usually running with no xorg, the only
tool i need is ssh. in cases where i want a true remote desktop, i
like vnc, plain and simple.

Post by Grzegorz Pluta
Hi.
Id like to asj you guys if you used any remote desktops with
freebsd? Which
client/server would you recommend, and why? Witch wich desktop env have you
been using it?
Cheers,
GregZX
_______________________________________________
http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions
To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-

Dak Ghatikachalam

2007-01-25 02:57:09 UTC