HOWTO: Set up VNC server with resumable sessions

[Cirrocco]

this HOW-To needs to be rewritten for Dapper.

of all VNC options - THIS ONE was my preferred option. and now it no longer applies due to XDMCP.

Someone please write a new 'resumable session vnc4server how to' for dapper.

[ABeakyboy]

How do you do this in dapper? I can't find these settings in dapper, my vnc worked perfectly in breezy but since i updated i get those dot screens.
This normally is because of the XDMCP setting.

Ok, this is what I did. I'm rather new at this so I can't be sure if this will work for you....or anyone for that matter. I'm running Ubuntu 6.06.

Please note, these steps are only what you want to do if you had your VNC setup working under 5.10 and then you upgraded to 6.06 and it doesn't work anymore.

1. Log in to GNOME.
2. Click "System" -> "Administration" -> "Login Window"
3. Enter your password if necessary.
4. Click the "Remote" tab.
5. Under the "Style:" drop down box, choose "Same as Local".
6. Click the "Configure XDMCP" button and make sure "Honor Indirect Requests" is set to what you want it to be set to.
7. Click "close" twice.

See if this does it for you. Good luck!

Edit: Forgot to add that my VNC session doesn't seem to be resumable. I don't know if it's due to the Dapper upgrade or if I messed up somewhere else.

[Cirrocco]

well I got xdmcp setup
followed the tutorial
it asks for a vnc password
and won't take the one I defined.

/poop

[L4mp]

Ok, this is what I did. I'm rather new at this so I can't be sure if this will work for you....or anyone for that matter. I'm running Ubuntu 6.06.

Please note, these steps are only what you want to do if you had your VNC setup working under 5.10 and then you upgraded to 6.06 and it doesn't work anymore.

1. Log in to GNOME.
2. Click "System" -> "Administration" -> "Login Window"
3. Enter your password if necessary.
4. Click the "Remote" tab.
5. Under the "Style:" drop down box, choose "Same as Local".
6. Click the "Configure XDMCP" button and make sure "Honor Indirect Requests" is set to what you want it to be set to.
7. Click "close" twice.

See if this does it for you. Good luck!

Edit: Forgot to add that my VNC session doesn't seem to be resumable. I don't know if it's due to the Dapper upgrade or if I messed up somewhere else.

thanks alot for your reply!

but i'm sorry to say that it didn't worked

still get the "pixelscreen" when i make the connection

[jer2eydevil88]

Okay I am totally lost from all the posts in this topic.

Can someone tell me how to enable resumeable sessions in 6.06 with the commands to get the software (if any) through apt-get?

I would like to be able to VNC into my new ubuntu server as its the last peice of the puzzle for me.

[elemental666]

I haven't read all 12 pages of this thread, but... I did the howto in post 1, and did the stuff listed here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/VNC?highlight=%28VNC%29

if I do vncviewer <ip>:0 I can take control of my desktop...
if I do vncviewer <ip>:1 I get a dead x screen (grey backgroud with x cursor)...

maybe GDM is the problem?

EDIT: Bingo! enabled xdmcp in gdm.conf, rebooted and I'm in, at least locally

[L4mp]

Set up VNC server with resumable sessions on dapper (6.06)


1. Enable XDMCP

sudo gedit /etc/gdm/gdm.conf

then find this rule:
# The greeter for xdmcp logins, usually you want a less graphically intensive
# greeter here so it's better to leave this with gdmlogin
# RemoteGreeter=/usr/lib/gdm/gdmlogin

remove the '#' in the last line so there should be:

# The greeter for xdmcp logins, usually you want a less graphically intensive
# greeter here so it's better to leave this with gdmlogin
RemoteGreeter=/usr/lib/gdm/gdmlogin


Note: Before doing the next step, you need to make sure the extra repositories (e.g. universe) are enabled:
http://easylinux.info/wiki/Ubuntu#Ho...a_repositories

2. Install required packages (vncserver and xinetd)

Code:

sudo apt-get install vnc4server xinetd

Note to AMD64 users: The current version of vnc4server in the repositories has a bug, so you need to download and install the fixed vnc4 packages as shown below:

Code:

wget http://qt1.iq.usp.br/download/vnc4server_4.0-7.3_amd64.deb wget http://qt1.iq.usp.br/download/xvnc4viewer_4.0-7.3_amd64.deb sudo dpkg -i vnc4server_4.0-7.3_amd64.deb sudo dpkg -i xvnc4viewer_4.0-7.3_amd64.deb

3. Set the VNC passwd
Code:

sudo vncpasswd /root/.vncpasswd

4. Add vnc service to xinetd:
Code:

sudo gedit /etc/xinetd.d/Xvnc

Enter this into the new file:

Code:

service Xvnc { type = UNLISTED disable = no socket_type = stream protocol = tcp wait = yes user = root server = /usr/bin/Xvnc server_args = -inetd :1 -query localhost -geometry 1024x768 -depth 16 -once -fp /usr/share/X11/fonts/misc -DisconnectClients=0 -NeverShared passwordFile=/root/.vncpasswd port = 5901 }

5. Restart xinetd (usually there is no need to reboot, but occasionally it might be required)

Code:

sudo /etc/init.d/xinetd stop sudo killall Xvnc sudo /etc/init.d/xinetd start

6. That's it! To test that this is working first try to connect from the same machine (the machine we just set up the VNC server on):

Code:

vncviewer localhost:1

You should be prompted for the VNC password, and then see the GDM login screen where you can login and start a new X session. If that works, you can now go ahead and try to connect from remote machine using your favorite VNC client (remember to first close the local vncviewer we started above). Remember to use the VNC server machine's domain name or IP address, followed by :1 (e.g. 192.168.0.100:1). If connecting locally as shown above works, but connecting remotely fails, then this means you have a problem with a firewall which is blocking some ports. See the notes below about how to deal with that.

Note about ports: The VNC server set up as shown uses TCP port 5901. If you are using firewall software (e.g. firestarter) on that machine, you need to allow incoming connections on this port. If you are using a router which assigns your machine a private address (e.g. 192.168.0.100) which is not accessible from the internet, then you need to forward TCP port 5901 from the router to this machine.

Note about security: This setup allows any user to start an X-session remotely by logging in using his regular password (after starting the VNC connection using the VNC password), so if the user disconnects without logging out, any other user which knows the VNC password can connect afterwards and resume the same session that the first user started. So if you do not want to log out before disconnecting, it's advisable to at least lock your VNC X-session screen. Also note that while a remote user is connected thru VNC, no other connection will be accepted. An idle VNC client will be disconnected after one hour, but this can be changed by using the "-IdleTimeout" option in the server_args line in /etc/xinetd.d/Xvnc. For example, you can add "-IdleTimeout 300" to change it to 5 minutes.




ps. This was copy/pasted from a few posts made by other ppl, I simply putted them together and tested everything! It works here for me now.

If questions just post

[p_alexander]

Can you delete these? I took out the question I had because I resolved it. Sometimes talking to yourself works. See below.

[p_alexander]

I added a bunch of stuff that I had to do in order to make this work on my amd64 box. This box was originally installed under 5.10 and upgraded to 6.06. Everything pretty much out of the box. YMMV.

Oh yeah, this also made Vino work as well, not sure why. Perhaps the xdmcp stuff. So, vino is on display 0, vnc4 on display 1.

This is copied from L4mp's post above with my changes added to the amd64 section.

PS - Ignore the "HTML" comment in the "HTML Code" boxes. I couldn't get regular code boxes to include line breaks. Noob at work.

1. Enable XDMCP

sudo gedit /etc/gdm/gdm.conf

then find this rule:
# The greeter for xdmcp logins, usually you want a less graphically intensive
# greeter here so it's better to leave this with gdmlogin
# RemoteGreeter=/usr/lib/gdm/gdmlogin

remove the '#' in the last line so there should be:

# The greeter for xdmcp logins, usually you want a less graphically intensive
# greeter here so it's better to leave this with gdmlogin
RemoteGreeter=/usr/lib/gdm/gdmlogin

Note: I had to also change another part of the gdm.conf file. Also, a restart was required so gdm could read the new configuration.

Look for the following piece of text in /etc/gdm/gdm.conf

[xdmcp]
# Distributions: Ship with this off.  It is never a safe thing to leave out on
# the net.  Setting up /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny to only allow local
# access is another alternative but not the safest.  Firewalling port 177 is
# the safest if you wish to have xdmcp on.  Read the manual for more notes on
# the security of XDMCP.
Enable=false

Change the Enable=false to Enable=true

Note: Before doing the next step, you need to make sure the extra repositories (e.g. universe) are enabled:
http://easylinux.info/wiki/Ubuntu_da...a_repositories

2. Install required packages (vncserver and xinetd)

Code:

sudo apt-get install vnc4server xinetd

i386 users can skip to step 3, AMD64 users continue to 2a.

2a. Note to AMD64 users: The current version of vnc4server in the repositories has a bug, so you need to download and install the fixed vnc4 packages as shown below:

Code:

wget http://qt1.iq.usp.br/download/vnc4server_4.0-7.3_amd64.deb
wget http://qt1.iq.usp.br/download/xvnc4viewer_4.0-7.3_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i vnc4server_4.0-7.3_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i xvnc4viewer_4.0-7.3_amd64.deb

Some people may have unmet depencies in these packages and will need to install additional packages.

Code:

sudo apt-get install gcc-3.3-base
sudo apt-get install libstdc++5

There is one dependent package that cannot be installed as it has been deprecated in the new 6.06. Therefore, we have to force the vnc4server packages to install.

Code:

sudo dpkg -i --force-all vnc4server_4.0-7.3_amd64.deb 
sudo dpkg -i --force-all xvnc4server_4.0-7.3_amd64.deb

I am loathe to force package installs BUT it seems to work in this case. An updated, working AMD64 vnc4server package would be preferable.

3. Set the VNC passwd

Code:

sudo vncpasswd /root/.vncpasswd

4. Add vnc service to xinetd:

Code:

sudo gedit /etc/xinetd.d/Xvnc

Enter this into the new file:

Code:

service Xvnc
{
     type = UNLISTED
     disable = no
     socket_type = stream
     protocol = tcp
     wait = yes
     user = root
     server = /usr/bin/Xvnc
     server_args = -inetd :1 -query localhost -geometry 1024x768 -depth 16 -once -fp /usr/share/X11/fonts/misc -DisconnectClients=0 -NeverShared passwordFile=/root/.vncpasswd
     port = 5901
}

5. Restart xinetd (usually there is no need to reboot, but occasionally it might be required)

Code:

sudo /etc/init.d/xinetd stop
sudo killall Xvnc
sudo /etc/init.d/xinetd start

6. That's it! To test that this is working first try to connect from the same machine (the machine we just set up the VNC server on):

Code:

vncviewer localhost:1

You should be prompted for the VNC password, and then see the GDM login screen where you can login and start a new X session. If that works, you can now go ahead and try to connect from remote machine using your favorite VNC client (remember to first close the local vncviewer we started above). Remember to use the VNC server machine's domain name or IP address, followed by :1 (e.g. 192.168.0.100:1). If connecting locally as shown above works, but connecting remotely fails, then this means you have a problem with a firewall which is blocking some ports. See the notes below about how to deal with that.

Note about ports: The VNC server set up as shown uses TCP port 5901. If you are using firewall software (e.g. firestarter) on that machine, you need to allow incoming connections on this port. If you are using a router which assigns your machine a private address (e.g. 192.168.0.100) which is not accessible from the internet, then you need to forward TCP port 5901 from the router to this machine.

Note about security: This setup allows any user to start an X-session remotely by logging in using his regular password (after starting the VNC connection using the VNC password), so if the user disconnects without logging out, any other user which knows the VNC password can connect afterwards and resume the same session that the first user started. So if you do not want to log out before disconnecting, it's advisable to at least lock your VNC X-session screen. Also note that while a remote user is connected thru VNC, no other connection will be accepted. An idle VNC client will be disconnected after one hour, but this can be changed by using the "-IdleTimeout" option in the server_args line in /etc/xinetd.d/Xvnc. For example, you can add "-IdleTimeout 300" to change it to 5 minutes.

[L4mp]

ok perfect dude!
i'll make a new thread with the tag of dapper 6.06 so other ppl will find it easy!