Remote Access

[DracoTBastard]

Ok, so I've got my Linux box going but it's kinda minimalist - it doesn't have a keyboard and mouse, in fact, it doesn't even have a case. So what I'd like to do is to connect to it from my Windows box and work on it from there rather than having to swap across the keyboard and mouse all the time.

How would I do this?

[oshunluvr]

ssh and/or webmin.

webmin is installed on the server and then you can access on your local network it using a web interface.

ssh will allow you to input commands direct to the computer.

Both are useful. ssh and rsh are the simplest way to update and install because you can use apt-get very easily that way. Webmin can be helpful because it displays a ton of info in one place and some people like a GUI.

Frankly, once your server is set up you don't need to do much to it so I find ssh is plenty of access. I also set mine up using secure keys so I don't have to log in with a password. I just type "ssh" in a terminal from my main desktop and I get the server text interface or I type rsh and a command and wait for the output.

[james147]

ssh and/or webmin.

webmin is installed on the server and then you can access on your local network it using a web interface.

ssh will allow you to input commands direct to the computer.

Both are useful. ssh and rsh are the simplest way to update and install because you can use apt-get very easily that way. Webmin can be helpful because it displays a ton of info in one place and some people like a GUI.

Frankly, once your server is set up you don't need to do much to it so I find ssh is plenty of access. I also set mine up using secure keys so I don't have to log in with a password. I just type "ssh" in a terminal from my main desktop and I get the server text interface or I type rsh and a command and wait for the output.

Hmm, I would advise agienst rsh:

Limitations

As described in the rlogin article, the rsh protocol is not secure for network use, because it sends unencrypted information over the network, among other reasons. Some implementations also authenticate by sending unencrypted passwords over the network. rsh has largely been replaced with the secure shell (ssh) program, even on local networks.

You can execute single commands on a server via ssh by:

ssh user@host command

Which will run command on host as user then return to your local computers prompt.

Also, you will need to install putty on windows to connect to a remote Linux computer over ssh (which is the advised and most common way to remotely administer a Linux server)

[DracoTBastard]

Going to have to admit that what I'm looking for is a complete reproduction of the Linux desktop onto the Windows machine. Can this be done?

[SteveRiley]

Hmm, I would advise agienst rsh

Hasn't been an issue for Ubuntu and its flavors for a while now...

steve@x1:~$ [B]which rsh[/B]
/usr/bin/rsh

steve@x1:~$ [B]ll /usr/bin/rsh[/B]
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Jan 11 21:54 /usr/bin/rsh -> /etc/alternatives/rsh*

steve@x1:~$ [B]update-alternatives --display rsh[/B]
rsh - auto mode
  link currently points to /usr/bin/ssh
/usr/bin/ssh - priority 20
  slave rsh.1.gz: /usr/share/man/man1/ssh.1.gz
Current 'best' version is '/usr/bin/ssh'.

steve@x1:~$ [B]ll /usr/bin/ssh[/B]
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 433952 Nov 26 15:10 /usr/bin/ssh*

[SteveRiley]

Ok, so I've got my Linux box going but it's kinda minimalist - it doesn't have a keyboard and mouse, in fact, it doesn't even have a case. So what I'd like to do is to connect to it from my Windows box and work on it from there rather than having to swap across the keyboard and mouse all the time.

Going to have to admit that what I'm looking for is a complete reproduction of the Linux desktop onto the Windows machine. Can this be done?

If your goal is to bring a text-mode interface, such as what you'd see with a Linux server, onto Windows, then any of the several SSH clients would work. PuTTY is probably the most popular.

If, instead, your goal is to bring the full graphical desktop into Windows, then you'll need to investigate the range of choices for remote desktop applications. KDE (and, by extension, Kubuntu) include krfb for use on the server and krdc on the client. You'll likely need to install the former on your server machine. The latter is part of a default Kubuntu installation and will be already present on your client.

[DracoTBastard]

Install Krfb and put in the correct settings but when I try to connect (using RealVNC and TightVNC viewers) I get "connection refused". I get that with and without a password in the settings.

Any ideas as to what's wrong?

Ok, can that, it just decided to work. Now, how do I get it encrypted?

[SteveRiley]

Now, how do I get it encrypted?

Are both the server and the management client on the same LAN? If so, there's no need for encryption.

[Detonate]

Have you considered Teamviewer?
http://www.teamviewer.com/en/index.aspx

[dmeyer]

Install Krfb and put in the correct settings but when I try to connect (using RealVNC and TightVNC viewers) I get "connection refused". I get that with and without a password in the settings.

Any ideas as to what's wrong?

Ok, can that, it just decided to work. Now, how do I get it encrypted?

Ports closed? By the way I really don't recommend Krfb. I have had way too many issues with it in the past. Just use a TightVNC server and connect with whatever client you want. Krdc on the other hand is an amazing remote desktop client.

Krfb != Krdc

[DracoTBastard]

No, it appears that after installing and setting the preferences for Krfb Kubuntu needed restarting for Krfb to start working. May have a look at using the TightVNC server but Krfb is working Ok for me ATM and the only real problem I had with it was that I had to turn off the screen saver to stop the screen blacking out every few seconds.

[dmeyer]

No, it appears that after installing and setting the preferences for Krfb Kubuntu needed restarting for Krfb to start working. May have a look at using the TightVNC server but Krfb is working Ok for me ATM and the only real problem I had with it was that I had to turn off the screen saver to stop the screen blacking out every few seconds.

Hmm. I'm definitely going to give Krfb another go soon then.