HOWTO: Set up VNC server with resumable sessions

[jamesrfla]

I think when you do localhost:1 it uses the same port which is 5900. It kinda seems like it is not posible but when you think about web servers they are sending a whole bunch of info on one port.

[Kahran]

Running Hardy, and followed the instructions in the initial post.

Here is my issue: I am trying to VNC into my Ubuntu box at home from work, which blocks a lot of ports. But that's okay, I setup OpenSSH so that I can tunnel in. SSH tunnel works fine because I used it in some other programs successfully.

VNC server is listening on port 5900 as it should but when I try to connect I get a "server closed unexpectedly" error.

Now... I am setting this all up remotely via SSH. I was never able to test of things worked locally because X11 obviously could not display. So right now I am using PuTTY+xming to open X11 applications. Of course I do not intend to run X this way but I just wanted to see if it could connect. When I try "vncviewer localhost:0" (or if I change the listen port to 5901 like the original instructions in the main post and do localhost:1) it shows me that it connected but I get a "read: Connection reset by peer (104)" error.

Am I missing a step here?

Edit: No firewall or NAT, just a direct connection.

[jamesrfla]

If you want to login to the console of the computer you have to login and then you can remote from your work place.

[Kahran]

If you want to login to the console of the computer you have to login and then you can remote from your work place.

I have been doing that. As I said, I can tunnel no problem. I launch PuTTY on Windows with all my tunnels configured, login and leave that tunnel up. Then I launch VNC viewer and connect, and it does seem to be communicating, just quits and I am not sure why.

[Kahran]

Update: After scouring this thread some more I changed to :02/5902 and things seem to be actually working now.

[Jose Catre-Vandis]

Thanks, this works fine on Hardy 8.04.01 after a fresh install

Here are the instructions I use, and they work in v8.04.

VNC Server w/Resumable Sessions on Ubuntu
Works in Ubuntu 7.04, 7.10, 8.04, and Mint 4 (Daryna)


Make these changes while logged into gnome:

• Go to System -> Administration -> Login Window (General tab) and uncheck "Disable multiple logins for a single user."
• Now go to the Remote tab. Change Style: to "Same as Local"
• Still on the Remote tab, click "Configure XDMCP," then uncheck "Honor indirect requests."
• Enable Universe repositories in Synaptic. (this wasn't necessary in Ubuntu 8.04)

The remaining changes can be made while SSH'd into the system, or in a terminal window:

• Edit /etc/gdm/gdm.conf-custom

sudo nano /etc/gdm/gdm.conf-custom

add the following two lines to the existing [security] and [xdmcp] sections:

[security]
DisallowTCP=false
[xdmcp]
Enable=true

• Install packages:

sudo apt-get install vnc4server xinetd

• Set the VNC password

sudo vncpasswd /root/.vncpasswd

• Create a new file Xvnc to add the vnc service to xinetd:

sudo nano /etc/xinetd.d/Xvnc

Paste these contents into the file:

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/fonts/X11/misc -DisconnectClients=0 -NeverShared passwordFile=/root/.vncpasswd -extension XFIXES
        port = 5901
}

• Reboot

That's it. I've used these exact instructions on three Ubuntu 8.04 installs without a hitch, as well as 7.04, 7.10, and Mint 4. Good luck.

Thanks, this works fine on Hardy 8.04.01 after a fresh install

[antm88]

Two questions:

Is there anyway to make it restart the session automatically on reboot??
and why does nm-applet not load up / how can I make nm-applet load up automatically?

Thanks, Ant

[jamesrfla]

When you are done with the session click the power button on the top right corner of the desktop. Then click log out and that’s all you need to do but if you want it to do it automatically when you shut down that is a good question.

[dasmith]

If you go to System >>> Sessions >>> Select the Session Option tab, Check the box next to Automatically remember running applicatiopn when logging out.

[Jose Catre-Vandis]

For Hardy 8.04.*

VNC Speedfix reported here

http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...22&postcount=5

also if your theme keeps changing when running a vnc session, on your remote machine, run

gconf-editor

and disable apps > gnome-settings-daemon > plugins > keyboard

then reboot

EDIT

Hardy is still "jaggy" with slow refresh rates compared to previous versions, even with these fixes