Cannot get GUI running on Fedora cloud server. Authenication problem.

john3588 · 08-20-2012, 05:10 PM

New Fedora cloud server. I can ssh in using putty. I have done a yum command on vsftps and it seemed to install ok. I need to be able to get the private key so i can import it and get something running for a gui desktop. I have tried Nx client and server. Both seemed to install ok but will not connect. any ideas how I can get to a gui interface so I can install some simple software from the web. I am a fairly techie person but not with linux.some help would be appreciated

unSpawn · 08-20-2012, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john3588

any ideas how I can get to a gui interface so I can install some simple software from the web.

Welcome to LQ. Hope you like it here. While running a graphical Desktop Environment may be a convenience, especially if you're new to Linux and just want to point-and-click your way through installation and configuration, installing a graphical Desktop Environment enlarges your installation with more applications and dependencies than you need and increases resource usage and time spent keeping it safe and maintaining it and later on removing it. Also headless servers manage to run pretty much OK without any DE. I would strongly advice you to 0) get acquainted first with running Linux in general and Linux system administration specifically (see the Fedora web site?) because with that knowledge you will be able to admin your server more confidently, safer and more efficiently and 1) user a local virtualization guest (QEmu, VirtualBox, VMWare, whatever you like) to test things out in. If you snapshot / save state / make backups you won't have to fear fscking it or your production host up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by john3588

I need to be able to get the private key so i can import it

That said, specific questions are always more efficient. What do you mean "get the private key"?

john3588 · 08-21-2012, 10:59 AM

Thanks for your reply. I understand the need for some "learnin". I spent some time administering a unix box years ago but unfortunalely I lost most of those skills. I am a tech support person for a number of accounting systems and suport a number of customers with windows servers and multible workstations. I also do virtual hosting for most of them and do admin work through a whm control panel. I am going to learn to use linux again but it is daunting to start out. I am reviewing my basic commands and will get better in time. The problem right now is that I need a server to host a small licensing server with a fixed IP. I just let my ip go at the office. I touught it would be a good way to get back into linux to host this little program on a unix box. I was hoping it wasn't going to be this big of a learning curve although I should have known better. getting back to my original question, I started out installing nx client and server for desktop access. The client was aksing for a private key located in a folder on the unix box so it could set up encryption. It gave me the location where it was supposed to be. I thought the easiest way to get that file for import into the client would be to to ftp in and drill down. I was using flashfxp to connect. It seemed to connect but then would time out after a bit. I asked my hosting company and they said setup was outside their support without a contract but that I needed an ftp server. I did a yum svftpd and the program seemed to load ok and completed without error but when I tried to stasrt the service the job failed. So I decided to go back to see if I could find this file, somehow figure out ho to download without an ftp client and import the key into the client. All I want is to get to a browser, download the client for this license server and get that running. Then I can continue my learning curve. Any help on how better to accomplish this simple task would be very helpful.

john3588 · 08-21-2012, 03:47 PM

this is what I am getting

NX> 203 NXSSH running with pid: 6296
NX> 285 Enabling check on switch command
NX> 285 Enabling skip of SSH config files
NX> 285 Setting the preferred NX options
NX> 200 Connected to address: 209.208.79.199 on port: 22
NX> 202 Authenticating user: nx
NX> 208 Using auth method: publickey
NX> 204 Authentication failed.

unSpawn · 08-22-2012, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john3588

figure out ho to download without an ftp client and import the key into the client.

The file "client.id_dsa.key" should reside in /etc/nx*/ or /var/lib/nx*/. You can copy it over with say SSH. Which user you can copy it as depends on the access permissions. First try to find the file

Code:

find /etc/nx* /var/lib/nx* -type f -name client.id_dsa.key -ls

or over ssh

Code:

ssh user@hostn.ame "find /etc/nx* /var/lib/nx* -type f -name client.id_dsa.key -ls"

If you get no results but only "Permission denied" then the file is in a directory only root has access rights to. Best SSH into the server as unprivileged user then, use Sudo for the command or su to root and try again. Finally copy the key from the server, let's say for example it's at /etc/NXServer/client.id_dsa.key, with

Code:

scp /etc/NXServer/client.id_dsa.key remote_user@client_machine:/home/remote_user/

Here's a HOWTO. It's for Centos but should work for Fedora as well: http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/FreeNX and it's got pictures ;-p