HowTo: Install NX Server on Ubuntu Server 7.04

[Ashex]

This guide shows you how to install FreeNX on Ubuntu Server Feisty Fawn 7.04 and also how to install the client.


First up, we need to grab the packages from NoMachine (This first time around I tried to use the Seveas repositories, but I had some trouble getting it to work, so we'll just use the .deb packages from Nomachine).

First up, lets create a directory to drop these all into:

mkdir freenx && cd freenx

Now to grab the required packages:

NX Node

wget http://64.34.161.181/download/2.1.0/Linux/nxnode_2.1.0-22_i386.deb

NX Client

wget http://64.34.161.181/download/2.1.0/Linux/nxclient_2.1.0-17_i386.deb

NX Server

wget http://64.34.161.181/download/2.1.0/Linux/AS/nxserver_2.1.0-22_i386.deb

Now that we have all our packages, lets install them.

sudo dpkg -i nxclient_2.1.0-17_i386.deb && sudo apt-get -f install

sudo dpkg -i nxnode_2.1.0-22_i386.deb nxserver_2.1.0-22_i386.deb

Note: we install NX Client first since NX Node and NX Server depend on it

We now have our packages installed, next up we want to install the desktop environment, I'm a Kubuntu user, so we'll use KDE.

sudo apt-get install kde

Apt will now install a whole swatch of packages, so go make some tea

When that completes, we're going to open up the nx configuration file to make some tweaks.

sudo /usr/NX/etc/node.cfg

Locate the following line:

#SSHD_PORT=22

Uncomment it to look like this:

SSHD_PORT=22

This configures NX Server to tunnel through ssh for security.

Next, we're going to locate this line:

#COMMAND_START_KDE=startkde

and uncomment it to look like this:

COMMAND_START_KDE=startkde

We have now enabled a KDE connection.

Now that we have modified the configuration file to what we desire, we're going to run the nxsetup process.

sudo /usr/NX/scripts/setup/nxserver --install debian

thanks to beemer for that note



Congratulations! We have now setup NX Server! to test it out, we can connect to it from another computer.

I used the NX Client from the Seveas Repositories.

To setup the nx client, add the following repositories to your sources.list file.

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://mirror2.ubuntulinux.nl/ feisty-seveas freenx
deb-src http://mirror2.ubuntulinux.nl/ feisty-seveas freenx

now install nxclient

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install nxclient

now start nxclient by hitting alt+f2 to bring up the run dialoug box and type in 'nxclient' then hit enter.

I believe the NX Connection Wizard will appear, choose a hostname and specify the IP of your server



Click Next, and then check the box to enable SSL encryption. Click Next again then finish.

Enter your login credentials, and the NX client will now connect and present you with a login session!

[SteveGodfrey]

I've followed your guide but "nxsetup" is nowhere to be found on my system!

I assume it should be in '/usr/NX/bin'?

[stoneattic]

Same deal here. No nxsetup to be found.

[beemer]

Here's what I did to get the server portion installed and running (on Kubuntu Feisty):

Setup the 'work' path to get it installed
$ mkdir freenx;cd freenx

Get the necessary deb's to install
$ wget http://64.34.161.181/download/2.1.0/....0-22_i386.deb
$ wget http://64.34.161.181/download/2.1.0/....0-22_i386.deb
$ wget http://64.34.161.181/download/2.1.0/....0-17_i386.deb

Found out that nxclient needed a certain lib to install (skip if you already have) so I grabbed that
$ sudo apt-get install libstdc++2.10-glibc2.2

Now I installed the packages in the order listed by Ashex
$ sudo dpkg -i nxclient_2.1.0-17_i386.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i nxnode_2.1.0-22_i386.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i nxserver_2.1.0-22_i386.deb

Found the node.cfg file in a different location than what Ashex specified, but edited that per his instructions
$ sudo vi /usr/NX/etc/node.cfg

Ran the install of nxserver telling it to use debian
$ sudo /usr/NX/scripts/setup/nxserver --install debian

Grabbed the status to make sure it was running
$ sudo /usr/NX/bin/nxserver --status
NX> 900 Connecting to server ..
NX> 110 NX Server is running.
NX> 999 Bye.

From there I went to my win box and installed the nx client for windows from NoMachine.com

It ran perfectly for me. I haven't tried installing the nx client for linux.

Beemer

[Ashex]

my mistake guys, I edited the guide reflecting beemer's steps. I'll double check when i get to my house.

[SteveGodfrey]

Fantastic, now working a treat.

Thanks

[Brazilian Joe]

I have installed kubuntu 7.04 on a VMWare guest.

I haven't found the package I need to fix the broken dependency.
Any advice is welcome...

I have received the following error:

root@rainforest-kubuntu-vm:/home/tfreire/nxclient# apt-get -f install nxclient
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.

Since you only requested a single operation it is extremely likely that
the package is simply not installable and a bug report against
that package should be filed.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
nxclient: Depends: libstdc++2.10-glibc2.2 but it is not installable

[milkyspit]

Got the server installed fine, I think... it seems to be running without incident.

On my client Windows machine, however, whenever I try to connect to the server I get the authentication successful message, then get the desktop window with 'MX' logo, then the logo disappears... then after quite a while a single box of what appears to be the desktop background appears, and that's it. I can terminate the session correctly but have found no way of correcting the above problem. My NX connection is completely unusable due to this issue.

With the same client I can connect to NX on a CentOS machine just fine.

Has anyone reported something like this, and if so, could somebody kindly point me in the right direction? What the heck is going on!?!

Please excuse if this is a dumb question as I'm a Ubuntu newbie... but quite truthfully, if I can't get NX working it will make Ubuntu a lot less desirable for me. Can someone please help? Thanks in advance!

[Quietlife]

ALERT

The "FREE" no-machine node software is not FREENX.

This install will get you the "free of cost" "nx server desktop" edition NOT the unlimited open source FREENX.

[dasbooter]

I have just come from Suse and KDE and am now trying Ubuntu and gnome so I am wondering how you would avoid installing kde and start a gnome session instead. Initially installing NX was a pain in the butt on
Suse (that was a couple of years ago) but lately it has been very simple using the packages in the Suse repos and I had no problem generating and sharing my own keys, I hope Ubuntu will be as simple. I was also wondering what happened that caused the initial thread starter to use the nomachine packages instead? I was sort of planning on using the Seveas packages I have read they have less bug and are more secure.