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Old 11-01-2020, 05:36 PM   #1
ttlx01000
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Remote access to a linux machine machine?


I'm an experienced windows user, however new to linux.

Trying to host a linux machine in virtualbox that I can remotely connect to. Everything I have tried .. fails.

I'm not sure why this is so hard? I have to be missing something obvious?

I build a linux machine in Virtualbox.
Try various website/youtube methods of enabling RDP (xrdp).
I get blank/black screens every time.

This is from ground up Linux Mint (Mate/xfce), Ubunutu, even Redhat ground up installs.

Does it just not work?
 
Old 11-01-2020, 05:40 PM   #2
ferrari
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Welcome to LXQ. Is using VNC an option for you?

https://www.digitalocean.com/communi...n-ubuntu-18-04
 
Old 11-01-2020, 05:42 PM   #3
ferrari
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This might be the cause of your XFCE desktop issue when trying to access via xrdp

http://catch22cats.blogspot.com/2018...untu-1804.html
 
Old 11-01-2020, 05:47 PM   #4
bifferos
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Assuming the VirtualBox host is Windows...

Are you trying to use the RDP remote display in VirtualBox, or running it on the Linux guest?
What network settings have you used for Virtualbox? Is it using bridged networking?
Have you disabled the Windows firewall?
Are you by any chance running rdp on the Windows host, and it's using the same port as VirtualBox is trying to use, or the guest is trying to use?

I find VNC is often easier to setup than remote desktop, BTW.
 
Old 11-01-2020, 05:51 PM   #5
bgoodwin
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You might need to change your host system firewall settings. On my system the firewall is ufw and typically there is a gui version available from the menus. To be safe, you will probably need to set in=deny and out=allow, then add rules to allow other hosts access on an individual basis. Hope that helps.
 
Old 11-02-2020, 08:50 AM   #6
ttlx01000
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bifferos View Post
Assuming the VirtualBox host is Windows...

Are you trying to use the RDP remote display in VirtualBox, or running it on the Linux guest?
What network settings have you used for Virtualbox? Is it using bridged networking?
Have you disabled the Windows firewall?
Are you by any chance running rdp on the Windows host, and it's using the same port as VirtualBox is trying to use, or the guest is trying to use?

I find VNC is often easier to setup than remote desktop, BTW.
I can try VNC, I'm open to anything at this point.

The guest machine is the Linux Mint (currently) and the host is a windows machine. I want to remotely connect (not necessarily from the Windows host) from Windows to the linux machine.

Is there a set of VNC configuration steps that are known to work on Mint?
 
Old 11-02-2020, 08:59 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ttlx01000 View Post
I can try VNC, I'm open to anything at this point. The guest machine is the Linux Mint (currently) and the host is a windows machine. I want to remotely connect (not necessarily from the Windows host) from Windows to the linux machine. Is there a set of VNC configuration steps that are known to work on Mint?
Aside from VNC, I'd suggest you stop thinking like a Windows user. In Windows, pretty much your only option for things is RDP. Linux is far easier...use SSH instead. You can control and administer your Linux system over SSH easily with a simple terminal window.

And yes, you can have GUI based applications work as well. On the 'local' side of things, you need some sort of X windows system running that is capable of displaying the GUI based apps. When you connect via SSH, enable X forwarding (the Putty software can do this). The GUI program will run on the Linux system, but DISPLAY on your local system, just as if you were sitting at the console.
 
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Old 11-02-2020, 09:08 AM   #8
michaelk
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To elaborate on bifferos post, VirtualBox has a built in xrdp server and you can use that as a remote desktop server. This allows you access without regards to the network type i.e. NAT or bridged etc. and there is also no guest configuration required. The VB rdp server runs on the host and uses the same port as Windows remote desktop i.e. 3389. The Windows remote desktop server and VB rdp server can not be used at the same time.

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch07.html

If you want to connect directly to the guest you need to make sure the guest's network adapter is configured as bridged or NAT but use port forwarding to allow access to the guest. In this case I also agree that VNC is is better then rdp.
 
Old 11-02-2020, 09:33 AM   #9
ttlx01000
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Originally Posted by TB0ne View Post
Aside from VNC, I'd suggest you stop thinking like a Windows user. In Windows, pretty much your only option for things is RDP. Linux is far easier...use SSH instead. You can control and administer your Linux system over SSH easily with a simple terminal window.

And yes, you can have GUI based applications work as well. On the 'local' side of things, you need some sort of X windows system running that is capable of displaying the GUI based apps. When you connect via SSH, enable X forwarding (the Putty software can do this). The GUI program will run on the Linux system, but DISPLAY on your local system, just as if you were sitting at the console.

But I want the whole desktop, not just an application running.. that doesn't help. I am required to work in Windows, but I want to do some work in linux (trying to start), and the first step is to get a remote desktop on my daily work desktop. I have a large monitor, and my plan is to have a remote session to the other windows servers for work, but local Linux session as well, so I can intermittently learn linux.
 
Old 11-02-2020, 11:31 AM   #10
ttlx01000
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Originally Posted by michaelk View Post
To elaborate on bifferos post, VirtualBox has a built in xrdp server and you can use that as a remote desktop server. This allows you access without regards to the network type i.e. NAT or bridged etc. and there is also no guest configuration required. The VB rdp server runs on the host and uses the same port as Windows remote desktop i.e. 3389. The Windows remote desktop server and VB rdp server can not be used at the same time.

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch07.html

If you want to connect directly to the guest you need to make sure the guest's network adapter is configured as bridged or NAT but use port forwarding to allow access to the guest. In this case I also agree that VNC is is better then rdp.
This worked. I just setup the Virtualbox's remote desktop, and I'm running.

So I have at least one solution that works.

I have several windows Guests also, all of which I'm capable of RDPing (I have the networking setup bridged, firewall open etc).

In all my attempts to get VNC to work within the Linux guest, I was fairly sure it wasn't a network issue since I would get the VNC login, but I never saw a desktop, either seeing all grey, or all black screens after.
 
Old 11-02-2020, 11:48 AM   #11
Turbocapitalist
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ttlx01000 View Post
So I have at least one solution that works.
Excellent. That's most of what matters.

Sometime, on the list of things to do, after you're a little more comfortable, I'd second the suggestion to take a look at using SSH to connect. These two links might be of use then:

I make that suggestion because, while most of the graphical desktops are noticeably superior to Vista10, the real power is in the shell. Some top advantages are:
  • The shell is more or less the same on all versions of all distros, even if graphical interfaces differ by a lot.
  • It behaves the same whether you are physically touching an attached keyboard or logging in remotely from another part of the world.
  • For the most part it has more capabilities than the graphical interfaces. And, perhaps most importantly,
  • it is a full interpreted language so anything you can type can be saved as a script or vice versa. That makes automation a snap.

Windows still doesn't have anything close ... yet ... and M$ has spent many years and lots of money disparraging "the command line". So there may be a prejudice to overcome first. However, there are great many powerful advantages. The above are just a sample.
 
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Old 11-02-2020, 11:51 AM   #12
TB0ne
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ttlx01000 View Post
But I want the whole desktop, not just an application running.. that doesn't help.
The question remains WHY do you want/need the whole desktop? What do you get by having it??? And that answer is "nothing"...except a desktop. Again...you can run the exact same applications, with their GUI's, over SSH. You just do not need the entire desktop to run a file manager, or run pretty much any other GUI application.
Quote:
I am required to work in Windows, but I want to do some work in linux (trying to start), and the first step is to get a remote desktop on my daily work desktop. I have a large monitor, and my plan is to have a remote session to the other windows servers for work, but local Linux session as well, so I can intermittently learn linux.
And the best way to learn Linux is by using it...you are going to find most folks use SSH (and not VNC/RDP) to manage servers, because there simply isn't a need to. You are introducing security holes/vulnerabilities for no reason. Glad you got things working, but I do realize that you are used to Windows and a very narrow scope of how they force you to use things. Linux is far more flexible.
 
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Old 11-02-2020, 11:56 AM   #13
Turbocapitalist
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TB0ne View Post
Again...you can run the exact same applications, with their GUI's, over SSH. You just do not need the entire desktop to run a file manager, or run pretty much any other GUI application.
To add to TB0ne's comment, one way to run graphical applications on the GNU/Linux machine and interact with them remotely would be to use PuTTY and Xming:

https://kb.iu.edu/d/bdnt
http://laptops.eng.uci.edu/software-...re-xming-putty

With an SSH connection, Xming will let you launch the programs in the GNU/Linux VM and display them and interact with them on the Vista10 host. It can come in handy from time to time. However, I say again, the real power is in the shell.

http://www.linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php/
 
Old 11-02-2020, 12:02 PM   #14
TB0ne
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Turbocapitalist View Post
To add to TB0ne's comment, one way to run graphical applications on the GNU/Linux machine and interact with them remotely would be to use PuTTY and Xming:

https://kb.iu.edu/d/bdnt
http://laptops.eng.uci.edu/software-...re-xming-putty

With an SSH connection, Xming will let you launch the programs in the GNU/Linux VM and display them and interact with them on the Vista10 host. It can come in handy from time to time. However, I say again, the real power is in the shell.

http://www.linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php/
Agreed on both counts. OP, a good deal of Linux servers don't even have X windows INSTALLED...so GUI apps may not even be an option, much less a full desktop.
 
Old 11-03-2020, 10:23 AM   #15
ttlx01000
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TB0ne View Post
The question remains WHY do you want/need the whole desktop? What do you get by having it??? And that answer is "nothing"...except a desktop. Again...you can run the exact same applications, with their GUI's, over SSH. You just do not need the entire desktop to run a file manager, or run pretty much any other GUI application.

And the best way to learn Linux is by using it...you are going to find most folks use SSH (and not VNC/RDP) to manage servers, because there simply isn't a need to. You are introducing security holes/vulnerabilities for no reason. Glad you got things working, but I do realize that you are used to Windows and a very narrow scope of how they force you to use things. Linux is far more flexible.
I'm not managing a server, I'm doing development work in linux, if that helps. I want to build SVN for Synology NAS.
 
  


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