Linux Replacement?

You could very easily install something like Ubuntu Server Edition, run Apache on top if it (comes pre-installed by Ubuntu, and you can choose your favorite LAMP stack)...

After all of that, you can use SSL, FTP over SSL2, and a number of other very secure ways to access you filesystem, command line, and desktop.

Check it out... http://www.ubuntu.com

What?

Look up tutorials on SSH and similar things, and you'll find all you need to know about logging in remotely.

Remote desktop in Windows is about the same as VNC in Linux (it's pretty easy to setup and configure on Ubuntu). There are lots of tutorials on the web about it, just do a search for VNC on ubuntu. Remote Desktop on windows is quite a bit nicer, but VNC will work ok for you on Linux. I have a 1/2 meg VNC viewer on my Windows machine that I use to login to my linux server.

If you have any specific questions about VNC and setting it up, we can help, but I don't think anyone's going to walk you through it all the way on this forum. That's what those tutorials are for

daveclose wrote: but does it allow me to use multiple accounts at the same time on a single computer

I can see what you're getting at Dave, Terminal services is not the same as VNC. What most people forget is that X (the windowing server in GNU+Linux) has Terminal Services functionality built-in.

So, on the server (bear in mind I've never done this myself):

1. Install Ubuntu (the desktop, not server edition).
2. Login and from the main menu select: System -> Administration -> Login Window.
3. In the window that pops-up click on the Remote tab and set Style to Same as local.
4. Then select the Security tab and uncheck Deny TCP connections to Xserver.

Well now the VM I was using has blown up, it's probably something Canonical did as this is a development version of the next Ubuntu. Am loading up a new one now and will write another post with my findings...

daveclose wrote: hehe yea. i have had experience of vnc under windows and a little on Linux, but does it allow me to use multiple accounts at the same time on a single computer

Actually, VNC does allow it, I think. All you need is for the server to create a new session (usually with a 'virtual' display) rather than open an existing one. I believe TightVNC is capable of this, for instance.

However, I've found setting up X11 forwarding, as Jeeves mentioned, easier, particularly when securing with SSH. Its default behaviour is to create new sessions, so you may want to go with that after all.

Alternately -- and this I haven't tried -- you may be interested in a more comprehensive package like ThinLinc.

Abhi wrote: However, I've found setting up X11 forwarding, as Jeeves mentioned, easier, particularly when securing with SSH.

Hmmm, this is the bit am having problems with, would it be possible to use shared keys so an SSH session could be started without having to login? What I have in mind is the user doesn't even have to know they're using a thin client, the configuration of X on the terminals could skip logging in to the local machine and just go for the forwarded X instead (hope that explanation makes sense).

But how would that be possible over SSH? Given that you have to login using SSH before launching X, as mentioned, could it be done through shared keys?

Wow, this would be so interesting to setup!

Adding to the server setup instructions:

1. In addition to steps in previous post...
2. Press Alt-F2 on the keyboard and enter: [incode]gksu gedit /etc/gdm/gdm.conf[/incode]
3. Click Find and enter [incode][xdmcp][/incode].
4. At the start of the line that says: Enable=false insert an [incode]#[/incode] character.
5. Save and close the file.
6. Press Ctrl-Alt-Backspace to restart X

Test the server is working

On another computer, try the following to make sure X forwarding is working:

1. Go to System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager
2. Click Search and enter: [incode]xnest[/incode]
3. Right-click the xnest line and select Mark for installation
4. Click Apply, wait for the install to complete.
5. Press Alt-F2 on the keyboard and enter: [incode]Xnest -ac -query 192.168.0.10 :1[/incode] (where 192.168.0.10 is the IP address/host name of your server).
6. Note: there's a nasty setting in the X configuration. Under the General tab of the Login Settings you'll see a checkbox labelled: Disable multiple logins for a single user. If Xnest lets you enter your username and password, then just shows the login screen again with no error message it's probably because of this setting.

Am not certain of how to setup the X servers on the clients to use the X forwarding by default though. Plus I find Xnest to rather buggy (switching to another desktop seems to crash it). This should be enough for you to be getting along with though and maybe Abhi can enlighten us with some SSH knowledge.

*** EDIT ***
The reason you should do X forwarding over SSH is that xdmcp is rather insecure. If you choose not to use SSH make certain you've got a firewall between your internal network and the Internet!

CentOS or Fedora?

iHubNet wrote: CentOS or Fedora?

Neither, it's Ubuntu.

I just got this working with two VMs (my machine is not enjoying this). Have worked out how you need to change the configuration on the client:

1. Select System -> Administration -> Login Window from the main menu
2. Under the Security tab click: Configure X Server.
3. Put the following onto the end of what's already in the command box: [incode] -ac -query 192.168.0.10 :0[/incode] (where 192.168.0.10 is the IP/host name of your server).
4. Uncheck Logins are handled by this computer. Then close the popup and Login window preferences and press: Ctlr-Alt-Backspace.
5. When X comes back up again, check the hostname in the bottom right corner. It should be the hostname of your server!

Hope this helps, let us know how you get along (when you get around to sorting it).

hehe, will do and thanks alot :D :D

Yep, install the desktop one. The server install doesn't come with X, it's meant as a LAMP server.

Lot's of people mistakenly download the server version. Although if you have, just login at the terminal prompt and enter: [incode]sudo apt-get install gnome-desktop[/incode], then it's [incode]gdmstart[/incode] (or something like that, if that doesn't work just restart as I can't remember what the command is!)

ok i have it all installed and have tested it with xnest and its all working perfectly
how would one connect to this via windows? some kind of XDMCP client. but i would need to make sure that it does not have to be installed. there for could work with public computers in librarys and such

Try this.

dave wrote: but i would need to make sure that it does not have to be installed. there for could work with public computers in librarys and such

Hmmm, don't understand this bit! Could you elaborate on what you mean?

i and others will be connecting to the sever via windows i think i need some kind of XDMCP client on the windows machines. is that right?
the thing that i/others will use to connect to the sever will need to be able to run with out being installed on the the machine its being used on. (like vnc viewer)
what should i use? hope that explained it better

No, that's fine. I understood you needed a Windows client, just didn't understand the last bit!

The project I linked to is an XDMCP client for Windows. It's Free software too. Have a look at a screenshot of it doing XDMCP stuff.

Dave wrote: i cant get it to work

Ah, well this is a problem for me. I don't use Windows so can't test the program! What happens? How far do you get and what error messages do you get back?

*** EDIT ***
Does it just show the login screen and no matter how many times you try to login it shows the same screen over and over?

Ive been fiddling around and if i selected indirect connection i get this screen (see attachment

but when i click on the sever and then connect i just get a blank x window session, and i then cant connect to that screen again unless i restart the sever:confused:

Looking through their forums on sourceforge I can see one potential problem is the Microsoft firewall. Is the Windows XP firewall switched off on the computer you're trying to use it on?

You could also run it and create a logfile, so we can see what the problem is, try typing this into a command line:
C:\Program Files\Xming\Xming.exe :0 -logfile  c:\Xming.0.log'
Then when it horribly fails to work, you can look at c:\Xming.0.log to see why.

That looks like a terminal. You should be able to type stuff into it. Suppose you want to run KDE, you might type [incode]startkde[/incode]. To test it, you could try running something like [incode]xclock[/incode].

If I'm right, then all you need to do on the server is set up your ~/.xinitrc file to execute whatever window manager or desktop environment program you want.

thanks for the reply, i tried typing stuff in but to no outcome.
if i move the cursor down a little more in the gray bit then it turns in to a normal cursor not the text one its as if there was buttons to press but clicking there does not do anything

EDIT: i can log in under a fail safe terminal and run things like xclock but then i can run anything after that

Just tried this myself using VMs and all worked smoothly (see attached). Did you say that it shows the login window, then the screen goes blank when you put in your username/password, or does it not even get that far?

There are three possible problems that I can think of:

1. Windows XP Firewall (but you have that switched off right?)
2. Under System -> Administration -> Login Window, Disable multiple logins for a single user is checked, and you are logged in to the server, and are trying to login to the client with the same credentials.
3. Some other networking problem.

If it comes down to: 'some other networking problem', you might want to download Wireshark (probably useless trivia: unless you live in Germany where it's illegal) on the server. Just use [incode]Synaptic Package Manager[/incode] to download it, then setup a capture and have a look at what packets are being sent back and forth. This should reveal any networking issues, feel free to post it on here (but remove anything like external IP addresses etc. so you don't get cracked).

Am hopeful that the problem is option 2 though, and that you're logged in to the server and client with the same credentials.