In the past I've used VNC as a remote desktop solution for viewing, say, a Linux desktop on a remote Mac, but I've now switched to NoMachine NX.
VNC is widespread and I think most Linuxes come with it already installed. But when I tried to use it recently with a Fedora VNC server and Mac OS X VNC client (Chicken of the VNC) I was seeing performance that made it unusable.
I think the problem stems from a variant of the VNC protocol or software called TightVNC and I believe the default Linux implementation uses this. Running a Tight VNC client on a Windows machine gave reasonable performance and doing the same on Mac OSX might solve the problem.
Instead I decided to check out NoMachine NX, which I had heard about in the past. This is commercial software but there are free versions of the server and client available for all the main platforms.
Installing the server (on Fedora) involves downloading RPMS for the client, node and server (you need all 3) and installing them:
# sudo rpm -i nxclient-3.4.0-5.x86_64.rpm
# sudo rpm -i nxnode-3.4.0-6.x86_64.rpm
# sudo rpm -i nxserver-3.4.0-8.x86_64.rpm
It installs into /usr/NX by default and you start/stop the server with
# /usr/NX/bin/nxserver --status|--start|--stop|--restart
You don't need to bother with any other NX options right now. At least, not if you are accessing machines in a private network. You may need to tweak your Fedora to allow the remote client to access your desktop (I didn't have to).
On the client end (Mac OS X in my case), download and install then fire up the application. It will give you a 'Connection Wizard' which is self explanatory.
The session will open up an X window on your Mac and I find the performance (on a local network) to be more than adequate. With remote desktops there can be issues with the 'scope' of keystrokes - for example you can't Cmd-C some text in the Mac world and expect to Cmd-V it into a Linux app - that sort of thing.
So if you want an open source solution then play around with VNC, otherwise go with NoMachine NX.
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Thursday, October 15, 2009
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2 comments:
But with VNC, you would have to open inbound TCP ports on the remote system to allow remote access, which poses a risk of security breach. A better alternative could be RHUB’s http://www.rhubcom.com appliance, especially for commercial purposes. This system doesn’t necessitate any change in firewall settings, and you can have complete control of the remote PC.
Yeah, VPNs are fun to play with and use, but for actual functionality you have to go 3rd party. I use remote desktop software from proxy networks and I am very pleased with it. You just cant match the feature set through VPN or Windows connectivity options.
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