What are people using for headless X displays on Slackware these days?
 

Neither Xvnc or Xvfb+x11vnc seem to give me working mouse buttons 8 & 9, so I was just wondering are there any alternatives? I was using TightVNC as viewer in both cases.

Also, I seem to get a messed up mouse cursor using the Xvfb+x11vnc combination.

Thanks,
Biff.

The NX server works wonderful.

Thanks, I will check it out. The website appears down at the moment, doesn't inspire confidence, but I'll take a look.

Do you mean OpenNX, the above site, or something else?

Thanks, and sorry for the questions, but I'd never heard of this before today.

Biff.

They are gone? Sad.

OK, then they had a PRO solution, but also offered a free variant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NX_technology

The OpenNX is a replacement of the client software. You will find an (open source) server in the Slackbuilds.org

bifferos --

The NoMachine 'Free Forever' Version 3.5 NXClient / NXServer Pair is gone.

I tried to get an old copy of NXServer 3.5 running on Slackware64 14.2 + Multilib without any luck and the newer stuff is no longer free.

However there is a better way !

Check this fairly recent LQ thread:

https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...are-4175617278

The xrdp + xorgxrdp system works great on Slackware64 14.2 and it allows one to access a headless Linux server via any-ole RDeskTop Client ( Linux and Windows tested, I have no OSX to test )

Do use the SlackBuilds that allend appended to Post #16 in the Thread allend's post #16.

I am a week behind cleaning up and documenting the SlackBuilds and submitting them to SBo and with my WorkLoad, getting behinder all the time.

Anyhow, try xrdp + xorgxrdp ?

HTH

-- kjh

Is there some reason for not doing the obvious?

Add defaultserverargs="-listen tcp" to startx

on local machine
xauth list
( copy the line my.full.fqdn:0 MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 L0NGR4ND0MTH1NGY )

on remote (headless) machine
xauth
add
( paste the thing from above )

type
DISPLAY=hostname:0 xterm &

enjoy?

Still remained the FreeNX, you know... ;)

OldHolborn --

Yes, the Native X Protocol works great on the LAN.

And it can work in a pinch when running remotely across the internet.

But I've been spoiled by the 'near native' speed of the NoMachine and RDesktop ( and VNC ) protocols.

-- kjh

Please tell me where I can get an up-to-date and secure version.

I'm unable to locate it.

We've got 'a zillion' instances the old NoMachine Version 3.5 NXClient/NXServer on CentOS 6 out in the world that sorely need updating.

Thanks.

-- kjh

Thanks kjhambrick

Can NoMachine and VNC forward just the window?

I have to have 3 Windows RDP desktops open on my desktop at work at the same time, all the time. Entire desktops, not just the app, but the entire bloody desktop. Yes, I can resize it a bit, but only to a degree as the app has a habit of hopping around the screen.

With that colouring my experience I've not felt the need to move from native X and the sanity of just the app window being forwarded.

My bad. Both the examples I gave (Xvnc and Xvfb) were in support of long-running GUI processes on the server, but I should have also stated that was my requirement.

OldHolborn --

NXClient does the entire Desktop. Not sure about VNC.

Remote Desktop can display a single App and that feature does work when you're running xrdp + xorgxrdp on a Remote Linux Box.

The linux man page for rdesktop ( `man rdesktop` ) mentions SeamlessRDP which is apparently available for Windows too: http://www.cendio.com/seamlessrdp

I don't use RDP on Windows Machines much ( at all ) ... I just needed a replacement for NXServer / NXClient and xrdp + xorgxrdp seems to be 'it' for me.

Maybe SeamlessRDP can help with your Windows Sessions ?

Attached are pictures of /usr/bin/xterm via RDesktop on a Windows 7 Client and from my Slackware64 14.2 Laptop on a remote Test Machine.

When I exit the remote xterm session, the RDesktop Session closes as one would expect.

I suppose it depends on the remote GUI App you need to run ... xrdp + xorgxrdp seems to work fine on the remote Slackware64 14.2 machine ( samsung laptop )

HTH but after all I've written, I am not sure I am addressing your Qs ...

-- kjh

You kind of are! It's that black area of desktop background that bugs me!

As for work and seamlessrdp, alas the IT department are too busy running about putting out fires to fix niceties like that.

I'm afraid this has got me pretty confused. According to the diagram on this page:

https://github.com/neutrinolabs/xorgxrdp

This xorgxrdp sits atop Xorg, so that presumably means I need something like Xvfb if I don't want a real display, correct?

And yet it later says:
"xorgxrdp supports screen resizing"

But I didn't think you could resize an Xvfb to arbitrary sizes. Or is that possible now?

Anyhow, I'm very happy to try this out, but think I need some config files. I ran xrdp and connected locally with rdesktop, it just froze when I connected and selected Xorg (or most of the other options), so that part isn't working in isolation. Xorgxrdp builds and installs fine for me (Slackware current, from Git), but I guess I need to plumb it into xrdp to actually get a display?

cheers,
Biff.

The NoMachine website seems to be back up: https://www.nomachine.com/

EDIT: There seems to be a new release 6.0.66, dated 27 Nov 2017. The structure seems to have changed significantly from the 3.5.0 slackbuild (https://slackbuilds.org/repository/14.0/network/nx/).