how do I start a gui application and the Desktop on a remote computer threw ssh

lindylex · 04-13-2009, 08:38 AM

I have an ssh question that I have not been able to figure out.

I am sitting in front of computer A on computer B I would like to start mplayer and have it display a movie on computer B's screen. I think a better question might be how do I start a gui application and the Desktop on a remote computer threw ssh.

Thanks

[Partial SOLUTION]

Problem 1

To start say mplayer on the remote machine do the following.

Local Machine
Log into the remote machine.
ssh me@192.2.2.2

Remote Machine
export DISPLAY=:0

mplayer ILoveLindyLex.avi

Now mplayer will play on the remote machine.

Problem 2.

How do I start the remote desktop?

I got this solution from askvictor1 on IRC "openssh" channel on Freenode network.

Thanks, Lindylex

frieza · 04-14-2009, 05:40 PM

the answer depends.. if both systems are running linux and both already have running desktops then the answer would be, from computer b, ssh -X computer a, log in, then run mplayer and it should automatically forward mplayer from computer a to b
mind you full frame video might be laggy via network

you could also use xinit to start another X session with nothing but an xterm, ssh -X computer a, gnome-session& (or whatever desktop you want to run..) then run your application as normal.

but if videos on computer a playing on computer b is all you want then nfs is probably better

just add a line as such to /etc/exports on comp a

Code:

/path_to_video    ip.addr.of.compb(rw,root_squash)

then restart nfs services (/etc/init.d/nfs restart or perhaps /etc/init.d/nfs-kernel-server restart)
then add on comp b's /etc/fstab

Code:

/mount_point_for_videos   ip.addr.of.compa:/path_to_video nfs defaults 0 0

and then mount network share and play them as if they were local

lindylex · 04-21-2009, 07:40 AM

frieza, or any one else reading this. I am sorry if I confused you. My goal is not to display anything on computer A from computer B. I want to use computer A as full remote control for computer B threw ssh. Currently my first solution works well for starting gui apps on computer B.

Solution 1 start GUI apps on computer B

To start say mplayer on the remote machine do the following.

Local Machine
Log into the remote machine.

Code:

ssh me@192.168.2.2

Remote Machine

Code:

export DISPLAY=:0

Code:

mplayer ILoveLindyLex.avi

I still would like to know if it is possible to start the desktop without forwarding it since I do not use a login manager on computer B.

Thanks

Libu · 04-21-2009, 07:59 AM

lindylex:

Unless you do as suggested frieza you would not be able to open any gui on computer B and see it.

The way I see it, local machine is computer A and you want to run graphical applications on computer B !

The Partial Solution provided by you will run mplayer on computer B, but you will not be able to see it on your local machine (computer A), since you are setting the display to computer B. And if this is exactly what you want, then to start the desktop all you have to do is run the desktop application. For gnome that would be gnome-session.

mrclisdue · 04-21-2009, 08:00 AM

If I understand you correctly, once you're logged into B from A, you should be able to start a Desktop on B thusly:

Code:

$ startx -- :0

If you need the ability to see this desktop from A, you'll have to ensure that x11vnc (or FreeNx, et al) starts when X starts, then you can connect separately.

cheers,