Table of Contents
Overview
VNC = Virtual Network Computing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VNC enables you to set up a connection from a remote host (e.g. a PC offsite) to a session on a SLAC Linux host. For access to control system components such as edm displays or matlab programs, VNC often provides the best performance.
This document contains instructions for setting up a connection from a Windows PC to a VNC linux session.
Set up your PC (one time)
- Install vpn if you don't have it already. Instructions from SCCS are here: https://confluence.slac.stanford.edu/display/NetMan/How+to+Connect+to+SLAC+VPN
- Download and install the vnc for windows viewer client software executable from here: http://www.realvnc.com/products/free/4.1/winvncviewer.html
- Download and install putty, if you don't have it already. Once you install and run vpn, you can get putty from the SLAC xweb: https://xweb.slac.stanford.edu
Configure the vncserver (one time)
- vpn into the SLAC network, see https://confluence.slac.stanford.edu/display/NetMan/How+to+Connect+to+SLAC+VPN
- Using putty (or XWin-32 if you prefer) log into iris01.slac.stanford.edu, providing your unix username and password
- Create your vnc password:
- > vncpasswd
Provide a password following the usual SLAC password guidelines.
The password will be stored in ~/.vnc/passwd
To reset the password, run vncpasswd again.
- > vncpasswd
- Protect the password:
- > fs setacl ~/.vnc system:slac none
- > fs setacl ~/.vnc system:authuser none
- Start vncserver to create your xstartup file:
- > vncserver -localhost -nolisten tcp -geometry 1440x900
- Make note of the display number that is returned, for example:
jrock@iris01> vncserver -localhost -nolisten tcp -geometry 1440x900
New 'iris01:3 (jrock)' desktop is iris01:3
Starting applications specified in /u/cd/jrock/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /u/cd/jrock/.vnc/iris01:3.log
In this case, 3 is the display number, which is a unique ID for your particular vncserver session.
in the following instructions, the display number is indicated by displaynum
- Kill the server:
vncserver -kill :displaynum
for example
vncserver -kill :3
- Edit your vnc xstartup file to invoke kde at startup:
- > emacs ~/.vnc/xstartup
change last line from "twm" & to "startkde&", save and close
- > emacs ~/.vnc/xstartup
Run the vnc server (as needed)
- > vncserver -localhost -nolisten tcp -geometry 1440x900
(or use desired display parameters, see.....)
Again, make note of the displaynum - you'll need to use it to connect from Windows.
The session will continue to run until you -kill it, or until SCCS does.
HOWEVER, there are issues with tokens:
Connect from Windows (everytime you need to)
References
SLAC Linux VNC page: http://www.slac.stanford.edu/comp/unix/vnc.html
contacts:
- Judy Rock
- Jingchen Zhou