HOW TO: setup vnc4server

[Cirrocco]

(a bunch of this was taken from L4mp's guide, with sirspiddy's input, all of which appears to be adapted from Tichondrius' guide. I've just defragged and recompiled them to form this

The HOW TO: setup vnc4server guide

this is for those of you who agree that 'remote desktop' is too slow, and freenx is too complicated.

############ Begin ############

1) setup XDMCP:
click System -> Administration -> Login Window
click Remote tab
select "Same as Local"
click Configure XDMCP
remove check from Honour indirect requests

2) configure remote greeter:

sudo gedit /etc/gdm/gdm.conf

find this line:

# RemoteGreeter=/usr/lib/gdm/gdmlogin

replace with:

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

3) Install required packages:

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:

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

4) Set the VNC passwd:

sudo vncpasswd /root/.vncpasswd

5) Define the VNC service criteria:

sudo gedit /etc/xinetd.d/Xvnc

and copy this into it:

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
}

save and exit

6) Reinitialize the service with new criteria:

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

7) Test the connection:

vncviewer localhost:1

############ you're done ############

what this whole thing accomplishes is that you can connect to the desktop using a different session than the local desktop. IE someone can be sitting there working on that computer, and you can also login and work on that computer at the same time without interference. (even under the same user ID)

NOTE:
If you change the port in step 5) to something else, it changes what you use to connect to the server. I personally chose port 5959 - so when I connect to my Ubunutu box using RealVNC on Windows XP I type: 192.168.0.101:5959

[Scaramanga19]

I am a Linux noob, although I have successfully installed Dapper server. I have installed KDE for the gui, and the server is connected to the network (printing and internet are fine). I can also remote from a Windows XP desktop to the Ubuntu server (Kubuntu? since it is KDE?) using Putty for the command line, but I am having trouble configuring vnc4server.

Using the Adept package manager, I have installed the vnc4server package, but when I attempt to follow your instructions, I can't get past step 1.

-----
1) setup XDMCP:
click System -> Administration -> Login Window
click Remote tab
select "Same as Local"
click Configure XDMCP
remove check from Honour indirect requests
------

Under System, I do not see anything named Administration, and when I go to
System Settings > System Administration > Login Manager
I do not see either a remote or security (as mentioned by Tichondrius) tab.

Did I do something wrong on my install? Are these tabs not showing because of KDE?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Scaramanga19

[dbott67]

Please read this important security vulnerability about vnc4server:

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=327275

-Dave

[UncleB]

Following these steps I still can't get it to work.

When I ran the command on the local machine in Terminal I get the following error:

ReadFromRFBServer: rdr::SystemException: read: Connection reset by peer (104)


Anyone know what that means?

I've tried connecting over the LAN with UltraVNC and RealVNC and get the same text in the error but the code is 10054 instead.

[dbott67]

Following these steps I still can't get it to work.

When I ran the command on the local machine in Terminal I get the following error:

ReadFromRFBServer: rdr::SystemException: read: Connection reset by peer (104)


Anyone know what that means?

I've tried connecting over the LAN with UltraVNC and RealVNC and get the same text in the error but the code is 10054 instead.

Are you running Beryl on your computer? If so, try setting your session back to Gnome instead of XGL.

-Dave

[UncleB]

I presume not. I've not done anything to choose Beryl. I should be on hte default. Actually
checking on the login session options I am on Gnome.

It's an oldish Compaq M300 with a 4MB graphics card. Isn't Beryl for those with fancier graphics?

I'm new by the way. Could you tell?

[dbott67]

I presume not. I've not done anything to choose Beryl. I should be on hte default. Actually
checking on the login session options I am on Gnome.

It's an oldish Compaq M300 with a 4MB graphics card. Isn't Beryl for those with fancier graphics?

I'm new by the way. Could you tell?

Definitely not Beryl in your case. Can you post the output of the following command:

netstat -a | grep 5900

This is the output from my computer:

dbott@thedrake:~/Desktop$ netstat -a | grep 5900
tcp        0      0 *:5900                  *:*                     LISTEN

You can see that my computer is LISTENing on port 5900. You should see the same. If you don't, then VNC server is not running. You could also type the command:

netstat -l

to display all listening ports:

dbott@thedrake:~/Desktop$ netstat -l
netstat -l
Active Internet connections (only servers)
Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address           Foreign Address         State
tcp        0      0 localhost:36483         *:*                     LISTEN
tcp        0      0 *:netbios-ssn           *:*                     LISTEN
tcp        0      0 *:5900                  *:*                     LISTEN
tcp        0      0 localhost:32878         *:*                     LISTEN
tcp        0      0 *:ssh                   *:*                     LISTEN
tcp        0      0 localhost:ipp           *:*                     LISTEN
tcp        0      0 *:microsoft-ds          *:*                     LISTEN
udp        0      0 192.168.1.10:netbios-ns *:*
udp        0      0 *:netbios-ns            *:*
udp        0      0 192.168.1.1:netbios-dgm *:*
udp        0      0 *:netbios-dgm           *:*
udp        0      0 *:bootpc                *:*
Active UNIX domain sockets (only servers)
Proto RefCnt Flags       Type       State         I-Node Path
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     18720    @/tmp/dbus-j3ImguWDBu
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     10309    /var/run/dbus/system_bus_socket
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     10106    /var/run/acpid.socket
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     70523    /var/run/cups/cups.sock
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     10332    @/tmp/hald-local/dbus-kLl8rXGBiW
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     11521    /tmp/.gdm_socket
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     18089    /tmp/.X11-unix/X0
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     18715    /tmp/ssh-PwxRMR7351/agent.7351
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     14582    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1769-0-444ecf0b2d074
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     18734    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1cb7-0-24f72eed1a12f
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     10333    @/tmp/hald-runner/dbus-w61xwI0mwJ
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     18751    /tmp/.ICE-unix/7351
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     18760    /tmp/keyring-6bRQyW/socket
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     18773    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1ceb-0-2fe88cbd43bf9
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     18789    /tmp/.esd-1000/socket
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     19391    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1d5c-0-5704060d21853
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     18812    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1cf1-0-379a39fac12d3
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     11963    /var/run/sdp
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     18830    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1cf5-0-2de97d3d79d3
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     18943    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1cfe-0-25620bef79615
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     18987    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1d02-0-25620befbede9
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     19018    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1d06-0-bcac6262e89d
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     19044    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1d08-0-bcac626600d5
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     19137    /tmp/mapping-dbott
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     19070    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1d12-0-652fb0f97a2d6
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     19119    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1d0a-0-79b3a65bd0042
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     19176    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1d29-0-2fa3f7f5d3776
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     19232    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1d31-0-1d906a667bffd
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     19267    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1d33-0-40d3a7c028a0d
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     63960    /tmp/xmms_dbott.0
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     19307    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-1d39-0-ae924744a342
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     63393    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-2ac9-0-7683ffad52a
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     39077    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-d3f-0-6301cb7040c60
unix  2      [ ACC ]     STREAM     LISTENING     54392    /tmp/orbit-dbott/linc-6fbe-0-6d169ab9da712

A little background to help you with some of these terms. The netstat command prints network connections, routing tables, interface statistics, masquerade connections, and multicast memberships. The -a indicates "show all" connections (the -l is "listening" ports). We then 'pipe' the first commands output over to the grep command (General Regular Expression Print) which searches for a particular term (in this case, the port number that VNC is supposed to listen on --- 5900). If you just type 'netstat' by itself, you'll see pages and pages of stuff go scrolling on by.

You'll see the <command> | grep <term> used a lot in the forums as it allows you to quickly search for information in a long file.

-Dave

[UncleB]

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time.

I have been trying to get it going on 5901 so I edited your command. Here are the results:

tcp 0 0 *:5901 *:* LISTEN

[dbott67]

Okay, so this means that you have to instruct vncviewer to connect on port 5901 (if you don't specify the port, it defaults to 5900).

The command would be:

vncviewer ip.address.of.server:5901

-Dave

[UncleB]

That's what I thought but it still comes up with that same error only with a different code when it's a different machine on my LAN.

I've tried with 5901, 1 (for session 1) and nothing hoping it would default but none of those three work...