Any of you guys know how to set up remote desktop (Linux-Linux) using the SSH?

I have been using this server for a while and things would go a lot smoother if i could use Firefox on it. (I have gnome already installed on it)

I have tried other things like using NX,xming and vnc.
Xming wont run FF.
NX worked once and now hits with a authentication error even after nothings changed.
VNC never connects.

Anyways I decided it would just be so much easier if i could use Ubuntus remote desktop feature. Any ideas?

(inb4 shouldn't need a gui)

Why would you need a desktop on a REMOTE server?

There is always one person.

It doesn't matter why I need it.

You don't need a GUI.

That said.


$ ssh -Y user@host
$ firefox


... and you magically have a window running on your box that looks and feels like a local window, but is actually running on the server. Perhaps that works?

I got so excited there, then I got "Error: no display specified"
So i tried firefox --display=:0:0
and got "Error: cannot open display: :0:0"

EDIT:

tried killing all vncs. Then starting a new one.

Now it hit me with

IMO: Install some X app like xterm or xeyes, this will pull in the X dependencies. Then install some vnc server. From there, you just run "vncserver" and connect. If you can't connect, you probably firewalled yourself off.

With the SSH X11 forwarding, you don't need any vncserver running, and you don't need Xorg running on the server either. If you

ssh -Y

into your server, and then

echo $DISPLAY

it should read something like :11. If it does, good.

Installing xterm would likely fix your issues.

Note that this won't bring you a full desktop... it'll bring you a window. But a window running on the linode, which means whatever you download will actually be downloaded to the linode.

I've done this (once) before and to reiterate, you don't need any VNC, NX, xming, Xorg, etc running for this to work. Just make sure that xterm is installed (and firefox, if that is what you're using) and it should "just work."

I setup a vnc desktop like this, works a treat apart from some permission problems with users-admin, etc (policykit problem?)

# install ubuntu desktop packages and vnc server
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop vnc4server
# start vnc server using the resolution of your home machine and 16bit colour for better performance
vnc4server -geometry 1600x1200 -depth 16

This will start a display on localhost:1 (port 5901). From home ssh into your linode using:

ssh -Cg -L5901:localhost:5901 someuser@your-linode-address.com

Then connect to this from home by pointing your vncviewer at localhost:1
In the xterm that is visible (put mouse over xterm for focus) type:

nohup gnome-session &

You can edit ~/.vnc/xstartup and put in that gnome-session command so that it comes up automatically when you start a vnc server. To kill the server (assuming it is running on display :1) use:

vnc4server -kill :1

You can leave your vnc desktop up and running all the time, no need to kill it when you disconnect, so everything is as you left it next time you connect.

I had a problem with this and the following post solved it.

http://www.linode.com/forums/viewtopic. ... hlight=x11
running x server on minimal distribution

See the post at the bottom hdj8532 for the solution

I do all my software development work remotely on my Linode now, and since I have persistent remote sessions it works well for me. I use several GUI code editors and then Firefox for web site testing. Site is http://zunzun.com/

I use NX for the remoting, and shifted SSH off of port 22.

James