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Remote access Mandriva 2007 Free using FreeNX

Tuesday, 24 October 2006

NoMachine NX is a Terminal Server and remote access solution based on a comprising set of enterprise class open source technologies. NX makes it possible to run any graphical application on any operating system across any network connection at incredible speed.

FreeNX application/thin-client server is based on NoMachine’s NX technology. It can operate remote X11 sessions over 56k modem dialup links or anything better. FreeNX package contains a free (GPL) implementation of the nxserver component. The following workshop describes the FreeNX installation on a Mandriva 2007 Free server. Additionally it explains how to access it using a Windows and a Linux client.

The workshop setup could look like this:

Workshop setup

Step 1: Update Mandriva 2007 Free and install additional software

I assume that you have your Mandriva Linux up and running. We’ll need additional software and will install it using urpmi.

URPMI is a tool for installing, removing, updating and querying software packages of local or remote (networked) media. It wraps around the package manager rpm with the aim that the user should not have to suffer the often-encountered dependency hell.

Useful commands:

Install package: urpmi <package_name>

Uninstall package with link (dependencies): urpme <package_name>

Query the package database: urpmq <package_name>

Find package that contains a file: urpmf <file>

Update your package list: urpmi.update -a

Update your system: urpmi --auto-select

To configure urpmi we’ll use a wizard provided by easyurpmi.zarb.org . You just have to choose the distribution you are using and select your preferred FTP server. After this you have to run the commands using your terminal console. A possible selection could look like this:

urpmi.addmedia main ftp://mirrors.secsup.org/pub/linux/mandrake/Mandrakelinux/official/2007.0/i586/media/main/release with media_info/hdlist.cz

urpmi.addmedia contrib ftp://mirrors.secsup.org/pub/linux/mandrake/Mandrakelinux/official/2007.0/i586/media/contrib/release with media_info/hdlist.cz

After configuring the necessary sources, we’ll install the additional software packages without pain directly from the Internet. Please use the following commands from your console:

urpmi openssh-server

urpmi expect

urpmi X11R6-contrib

urpmi netcat

urpmi tcl

Step 2: Download FreeNX and NX source

All RPM packages are available here:

http://rpm.pbone.net

Please search for the files and download it. As an alternative you can download all files from here:

http://www.linux-tip.de/workshops/freenx_Mandriva2007/freeNX_Mandriva2007.html

Username: freenx2007 Password: Mandriva2007

freenx-0.5.0-3.rev281.1mdv2007.0.noarch.rpm

libnxX11_0-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

libxcomp2-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

libxcompext2-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

nxagent-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

nxdesktop-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

nxproxy-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

nxviewer-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

Install all rpm packages in this order:

rpm –i libnxX11_0-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

rpm –i libxcomp2-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

rpm –i libxcompext2-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

rpm –i nxagent-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

rpm –i nxdesktop-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

rpm –i nxproxy-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

rpm –i nxviewer-2.0.0-1mdv2007.0.i586.rpm

rpm –i freenx-0.5.0-3.rev281.1mdv2007.0.noarch.rpm

Step 3 – Start SSH and NX server

Step 4 – Prepare first run and install keys on your Windows client

First of all we need to check permissions on /var/lib/nxserver/nxhome/.ssh/authorized_keys2

Permissions need to be 640 or 644, otherwise you won't be able to connect and you'll receive error messages in /var/log/messages.

chmod 644 /var/lib/nxserver/nxhome/.ssh/authorized_keys2

Now we'll need to copy the secure key that was generated onto the client machines so that your NX client can use it. The key on the server is located in:

/var/lib/nxserver/nxhome/.ssh/client.id_dsa.key

If you are using Windows 2000 or XP on your client machines you will need to copy it to a temp directory (for example "C:\temp\") on your client machine. I’m using WinSCP to get this done. Just connect to the server as root or other user and drag and drop the file client.id_dsa.key from right to left.

Download the software here: http://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Download the NoMachine NX client for Windows here and install it on your Windows box:

http://www.nomachine.com/download.php

Finally we have to install the key you just copied from your server using SCP. Please start you NX client and hit the “Configure” button:

Under Server click “Key” and “Import” the key you have stored in you temp directory.

Do net forget to save the configuration using the “Save” button.

Step 5 – Prepare first run and install keys on your Linux client

To get the Linux client running, we need to download the following files:

libstdc++2.10-2.96-0.83mdk.i586.rpm

http://rpm.pbone.net

nxclient-2.1.0-6.i386.rpm

http://www.nomachine.com/download-client-linux.php

Install both files like this:

rpm -i libstdc++2.10-2.96-0.83mdk.i586.rpm

rpm -i nxclient-2.1.0-6.i386.rpm

We’ll now use the wizard to establish the first connection. Run the client like this:

cd /usr/NX/bin

./nxclient --wizard

Wizard1

Use your session and host settings correctly and configure you Internet or LAN connection:

Configure your OS, X desktop and resolution in the next step. Do not forget to enable the SSL encryption.

The last step will create a shortcut on your desktop:

Important: Please import the key (client.id_dsa.key) you download or copied from the server using the “Key” button. (See step 3 and configure it accordingly).

Step 6 – Run freenx and use your clients to connect to your Linux server

At this point we should have everything on our FreeNX server setup and ready to test. It is now time to try connecting to your new FreeNX server. Please keep in mind that the username you are using to login to your Freenx server, is an accessible user created on the server. Good luck!

Disclaimer:

The author and the above mentioned website are not responsible for any damage or loss of data and warranty that the information in this article may cause to your computer equipment or anything else you may happen to open up!