On Thu, Aug 02, 2012 at 06:52:49AM +0100, Roger Bishop Jones wrote: > I am really looking for a complete X11 framebuffer (is that > what they call it?) which is is remote, so that not only > Xpp but also other tools like emacs run remotely. > There does seem to be software which does that (e.g. using > "VNC"), but the documentation seems to assume you know a lot > more than I do.
It is really quite easy: Install, for example, tightvnc-server in the cloud, and tightvnc (client) on your machine. (Your distribution may have these as separate packages, ot they may both be installed as tightvnc.) For remote host REMOTE, I have the following scripts in ~/scripts, which is in my PATH, and copied (using unison, which may come in handy also for your cloud applications: http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/ ) across all my machines: ============== ~/scripts/vnc_REMOTE_start #!/bin/sh if [ "`hostname | cut -c-7`" == "LAPTOP1" ] then GEO="1240x800" elif [ "`hostname | cut -c-7`" == "LAPTOP2" ] then GEO="1276x764" else # GEO="1595x1150" GEO="1916x1196" fi ssh REMOTE "vncserver -geometry $GEO" ====================================================== (The chosen geometries leave space at least for the respective window decorations.) ============== ~/scripts/vnc_REMOTE #!/bin/sh display=${1:-1} VNC_VIA_CMD="/usr/bin/ssh -f -L %L:%H:%R %G sleep 20" vncviewer -noshared -via REMOTE localhost:$display ====================================================== ============== ~/scripts/vnc_REMOTE_kill #!/bin/sh display=${1:-1} ssh REMOTE "vncserver -kill :$display" ====================================================== Then, issuing vnc_REMOTE_start reports the display number on REMOTE that was allocated for the vncserver there: | New 'X' desktop is REMOTE:1 | | Starting applications specified in /export/home/kahl/.vnc/xstartup | Log file is /export/home/kahl/.vnc/REMOTE:1.log If that display number is not 1, you need to pass it as argument to the other scripts. (You can have several instances of vncserver running at the same time on different display, which you could show on different windows/workspaces/monitors/machines at your workplace.) My /export/home/kahl/.vnc/xstartup has: ====================================================== #!/bin/sh ## xrdb $HOME/.Xresources xrdb $HOME/.Xdefaults ## xsetroot -solid grey ## xterm -geometry 80x24+10+10 -ls -title "$VNCDESKTOP Desktop" & fvwm2 & ====================================================== , but as I said, I haven't used it in years --- just put any simple window manager there. (If you use a heavily keyboard-based window manager, like xmonad, it takes additional effort to avoid modifier key conflicts; IIRC, modifier keys can be a problem anyways.) Issuing vnc_REMOTE connects with the server on display REMOTE:1; if your local machine or connection dies, you just say vnc_REMOTE again. With vnc_REMOTE_kill you stop the vncserver, which otherwise will happily run for months. Hope this helps! Best regards, Wolfram Kahl _______________________________________________ Proofpower mailing list Proofpower@lemma-one.com http://lemma-one.com/mailman/listinfo/proofpower_lemma-one.com
