Mailing List Archive

Ubuntu with Xvnc to :1 with no window manager at :0
Is it possible to boot Ubuntu, not load an X window manager and still run
Xvnc on :1 for remote access?

If I'm actually sitting at the machine, I have to load a window manager to
be able to see vncviewer, I assume?

Is that how it works?

What I've been doing is using IceWM in Xvnc and exclusively accessing the
system through that, but I have Gnome running all the time on :0, mostly
doing nothing but taking up space.

Mike

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RE: Ubuntu with Xvnc to :1 with no window manager at :0 [ In reply to ]
I'm using ...

Xvnc Free Edition 4.1.1

I use vncserver :1 -localhost

If I am not at the desktop, I connect via ssh via port forward using this
script:

------------begin script on next line---------------------------
#!/usr/bin/bash

ssh -f -L 25901:127.0.0.1:5901 me@mybox sleep 10
vncviewer -Shared 127.0.0.1::25901 &> /dev/null &
-----------end script on previous line--------------------------

Most ports on the network are blocked by a firewall, but ssh is open.

Thanks for replying.

I have to say, though, your questions seem generic and unrelated to my
question. I wouldn't have thought any information would be needed to
answer the question about what needs to be running on the system for VNC
to work. For all of these scenarios (connection, network, etc.) isn't the
answer the same about whether a window manager needs to be running on :0?
Or maybe you are thinking about other ways I might use VNC to get what I
want (e.g., connecting to :0). I'm definitely interested. Thanks.

Mike


On Wed, 25 Apr 2012, Linda Hawksworth wrote:

> HI Mike
>
> Please can you send as much information about your environment as possible
> (VNC Server and Viewer versions, Editions, OSs, etc). Please also send full
> details of your network configuration (network/firewall/antivirus/security
> software configuration). How are you connecting (locally/VPN/internet/3G)?
> How are you starting VNC Server? Please send the command line options or
> config file you are using.
>
> Regards
> Linda Hawksworth
> RealVNC Customer Support
>
> Please ensure you Reply to All and keep the subject line to ensure that your
> support ticket is appropriately tracked.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: vnc-list-bounces@realvnc.com [mailto:vnc-list-bounces@realvnc.com] On
> Behalf Of Mike Miller
> Sent: 25 April 2012 09:21
> To: VNC List
> Subject: Ubuntu with Xvnc to :1 with no window manager at :0
>
> Is it possible to boot Ubuntu, not load an X window manager and still run
> Xvnc on :1 for remote access?
>
> If I'm actually sitting at the machine, I have to load a window manager to
> be able to see vncviewer, I assume?
>
> Is that how it works?
>
> What I've been doing is using IceWM in Xvnc and exclusively accessing the
> system through that, but I have Gnome running all the time on :0, mostly
> doing nothing but taking up space.
>
> Mike
>
> _______________________________________________
> VNC-List mailing list
> VNC-List@realvnc.com
> To remove yourself from the list visit:
> http://www.realvnc.com/mailman/listinfo/vnc-list
>

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Re: Ubuntu with Xvnc to :1 with no window manager at :0 [ In reply to ]
By the way, I had no reply to this message except for the response from
Linda Hawksworth of RealVNC Customer Support, but that turned out to have
been a mistake (she didn't realize it was a list message and thought it
was a support request) and she could not help me.

So if anyone here knows about this...


On Wed, 25 Apr 2012, Mike Miller wrote:

> Is it possible to boot Ubuntu, not load an X window manager and still
> run Xvnc on :1 for remote access?
>
> If I'm actually sitting at the machine, I have to load a window manager
> to be able to see vncviewer, I assume?
>
> Is that how it works?
>
> What I've been doing is using IceWM in Xvnc and exclusively accessing
> the system through that, but I have Gnome running all the time on :0,
> mostly doing nothing but taking up space.
>
> Mike


Thanks.

Mike

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RE: Ubuntu with Xvnc to :1 with no window manager at :0 [ In reply to ]
-----Original Message-----
From: vnc-list-bounces@realvnc.com [mailto:vnc-list-bounces@realvnc.com]
On Behalf Of Mike Miller
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 11:03 AM
To: VNC List
Subject: Re: Ubuntu with Xvnc to :1 with no window manager at :0

< snip >

So if anyone here knows about this...


On Wed, 25 Apr 2012, Mike Miller wrote:

> Is it possible to boot Ubuntu, not load an X window manager and
> still run Xvnc on :1 for remote access?
>
> If I'm actually sitting at the machine, I have to load a window
> manager to be able to see vncviewer, I assume?
>
> Is that how it works?
>
> What I've been doing is using IceWM in Xvnc and exclusively
> accessing the system through that, but I have Gnome running all the
> time on :0, mostly doing nothing but taking up space.
>
> Mike


Thanks.

Mike



Mike:

I use Gnome, not Xvnc, on my desktop, and I'm by no means an
expert, but my understanding is that Xvnc is an X server, and in
general, U should only have one of those running. My guess is that
Xvnc is your X server, and U're running IceWM as your window
manager on :1. Probably, the X startup/login script (~/.xinitrc?)
is launching Gnome (on the first available screen, perhaps?), and U
need to remove or comment out those commands to conserve resources.
U would also be able to run IceWM on :0 instead of :1.

HTH!

Thx, Phil Long

--------------------------------------------------------

Goss ... Innovation for Business

NOTICE: This e-mail and any attachment(s) may contain confidential and proprietary information of Goss International Corporation and/or its subsidiaries and may be legally privileged. This e-mail is intended solely for the addressee. If you are not the addressee, dissemination, copying or other use of this e-mail or any of its content is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient please inform the sender immediately and destroy the e-mail and any copies. All liability for viruses is excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender. No contract may be construed by this e-mail.


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RE: Ubuntu with Xvnc to :1 with no window manager at :0 [ In reply to ]
On Mon, 14 May 2012, Long, Phillip GOSS wrote:

> On Wed, 25 Apr 2012, Mike Miller wrote:
>
>> Is it possible to boot Ubuntu, not load an X window manager and still
>> run Xvnc on :1 for remote access?
>>
>> If I'm actually sitting at the machine, I have to load a window manager
>> to be able to see vncviewer, I assume?
>>
>> Is that how it works?
>>
>> What I've been doing is using IceWM in Xvnc and exclusively accessing
>> the system through that, but I have Gnome running all the time on :0,
>> mostly doing nothing but taking up space.
>
>
> Mike:
>
> I use Gnome, not Xvnc, on my desktop, and I'm by no means an expert, but
> my understanding is that Xvnc is an X server, and in general, U should
> only have one of those running. My guess is that Xvnc is your X server,
> and U're running IceWM as your window manager on :1. Probably, the X
> startup/login script (~/.xinitrc?) is launching Gnome (on the first
> available screen, perhaps?), and U need to remove or comment out those
> commands to conserve resources. U would also be able to run IceWM on :0
> instead of :1.


Thanks, Phillip. On my system, it seems that /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc calls
/etc/X11/Xsession and there is no ~/.xinitrc file.

Suppose I make it so that /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc doesn't start X11. I
guess I would then see a console window after booting. Can I just run
vncserver :1, say, from there, then run vncviewer from that console? It
just seems like that would fail because I don't have a graphical
interface. How can vncviewer run without a DISPLAY?

By the way, I have been running Xvnc on :1 for years without any failures
(that's RealVNC Free). It ran once for something like 500 days on
Solaris. It's really the same on Ubuntu -- no failures -- but I happen to
have the machine in a place where the power sometimes goes out and that
has limited me to only about 200 days of uninterrupted uptime.

Mike

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RE: Ubuntu with Xvnc to :1 with no window manager at :0 [ In reply to ]
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Miller [mailto:mbmiller@gmail.com] On Behalf Of Mike Miller
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 11:35 AM
To: Long, Phillip GOSS
Cc: VNC List
Subject: RE: Ubuntu with Xvnc to :1 with no window manager at :0

On Mon, 14 May 2012, Long, Phillip GOSS wrote:

> On Wed, 25 Apr 2012, Mike Miller wrote:

<snip>

Thanks, Phillip. On my system, it seems that
/etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc calls /etc/X11/Xsession and there is no
~/.xinitrc file.

Suppose I make it so that /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc doesn't start X11.
I guess I would then see a console window after booting. Can I
just run vncserver :1, say, from there, then run vncviewer from
that console? It just seems like that would fail because I don't
have a graphical interface. How can vncviewer run without a
DISPLAY?

By the way, I have been running Xvnc on :1 for years without any
failures (that's RealVNC Free). It ran once for something like 500
days on Solaris. It's really the same on Ubuntu -- no failures --
but I happen to have the machine in a place where the power
sometimes goes out and that has limited me to only about 200 days
of uninterrupted uptime.

Mike



Mike:

Once again, I have to emphasize that I am *not* an expert, nor have
I ever used Xvnc, so I'm just going by what I have ready over the
years; unfortunately, I can't tell U off-hand where I happened to
read these things, other than to say that it was most likely on the
RealVNC website.

I poked around on the RealVNC website a bit, and on the page

http://kb.realvnc.com/questions/10/How+do+I+run+multiple+screens%7B47%7D
sessions+of+VNC%3F
it says that there is an X server built into the vncserver. It
also shows one case in which U want to have more than one X server
(running one or more copies of "vncserver"). In fact, much to my
surprise, it also shows that U can attach "vncserver" to an
already-existing X server. I didn't know U could do that!

"vncserver" is an X server, with its own "display;" U work with it
by setting the DISPLAY environment variable to the appropriate
value (:1, :2.0, :0.1, etc.), just like U do with X11. It will
work with your default window manager, or U can use a different one
(changed in ~/.vnc/.something-or-other). If U modify xinitrc, U
would change it to launch "vncserver" instead of "X;" as a general
rule, I try Really Hard not to change system-wide stuff, but in
this case, I'm not sure how to implement Xvnc in user-mode. If my
understanding is correct, your X server would then be running on
display :0.0. Since this would be a system-wide change, all users
on the system would experience this change. So long as they
interact with the X server using their window manager (which
everybody does), they probably wouldn't notice any change (any
differences would probably mean that one X server or the other had
a bug, or was making an alternate assumption about something).
Running "vncserver" as your primary X server would have the
advantage of allowing anybody who connected your machine to see
your desktop, just like it works on MSWindows; of course, working
like MS Windows is not always seen as an advantage!

Thx, Phil Long

--------------------------------------------------------

Goss ... Innovation for Business

NOTICE: This e-mail and any attachment(s) may contain confidential and proprietary information of Goss International Corporation and/or its subsidiaries and may be legally privileged. This e-mail is intended solely for the addressee. If you are not the addressee, dissemination, copying or other use of this e-mail or any of its content is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient please inform the sender immediately and destroy the e-mail and any copies. All liability for viruses is excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender. No contract may be construed by this e-mail.


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RE: Ubuntu with Xvnc to :1 with no window manager at :0 [ In reply to ]
On Wed, 16 May 2012, Long, Phillip GOSS wrote:

> Once again, I have to emphasize that I am *not* an expert, nor have I
> ever used Xvnc, so I'm just going by what I have ready over the years;
> unfortunately, I can't tell U off-hand where I happened to read these
> things, other than to say that it was most likely on the RealVNC
> website.
>
> I poked around on the RealVNC website a bit, and on the page
>
> http://kb.realvnc.com/questions/10/How+do+I+run+multiple+screens%7B47%7Dsessions+of+VNC%3F
>
> it says that there is an X server built into the vncserver. It also
> shows one case in which U want to have more than one X server (running
> one or more copies of "vncserver"). In fact, much to my surprise, it
> also shows that U can attach "vncserver" to an already-existing X
> server. I didn't know U could do that!

Yes, that is another option but I think it is slower.


> "vncserver" is an X server, with its own "display;" U work with it by
> setting the DISPLAY environment variable to the appropriate value (:1,
> :2.0, :0.1, etc.), just like U do with X11.

Right. I have been using it on Linux/UNIX systems for 15 years now. The
thing I don't think I can do is run vncviewer on a Linux box that doesn't
have the window manager running. Right? So I have to have a minimum of
two X sessions going -- one in :1, say, and the other on :0, to be able to
do what I want.

Connecting remotely isn't an issue. It's when I'm at the desktop on
touching the machine that has my vncserver :1 running in it. To see it I
have to run vncviewer, and to do that I need a window manager.

Maybe I could run Gnome in vncserver :1, and then use a lightweight window
manager like ICEwm on :0. I do more work remotely than at the desktop. I
do have a lot of memory and disk, though. The thing is I can't run two
Gnome sessions at the same time.

Now Ubuntu is using Unity and I don't know how that's going to work out.

Mike

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