Most people who are used to a Unix-style environment know that a machine
can be reached over the network at the shell level using utilities like
telnet or ssh. And some people realize that X Windows output can be
redirected back to the client workstation. But many people don’t realize
that it is easy to use an entire desktop over the network.
VNC is inherently a client-server technology. On the remote machine, the
server software is started. It is the job of this software to serve up
the machine’s desktop to the network. On a different machine, the client
software resides. Someone sitting at the latter machine can use the VNC
client to connect to the VNC server and see the full desktop of the remote
machine. VNC communicates over the
AT&T-developed Remote Framebuffer (RFB) protocol on multiple operating systems, including Windows.
Because the protocol involved is open, you can use it to contact a
Windows server from a Linux client, or view an OS/2 server from NetBSD, or
use a remote MacOS desktop from your VMS machine. All you need are the
appropriate client and server software pieces installed and running on the
platforms of your choice.
This software resembles popular PC programs like pcAnywhere and CarbonCopy. The client can use the server’s desktop, move the mouse, type into text boxes, and click on icons. This can be just the ticket for a support person
who needs to help a user in trouble. The support person can examine the
PC’s configuration remotely or demonstrate how to do a particular task
while the user watches how it is done. Because they are sharing the
desktop, each can take turns doing things to resolve the issue.
Another option allows the remote user to access the desktop in view-only
mode. This allows monitoring of the desktop without interference, which
could be very useful for demonstration purposes. The experience can even
be shared by multiple remote users.
Figure 1: Accessing Linux from Windows ME
But the fun doesn’t end there. Since the client and server programs are
all interchangeable, special purpose variants are also possible. Take,
for example, the fact that Linux and Unix-like operating systems are not
restricted to the concept of a single desktop for a single machine. There are VNC servers that do not seize the current user’s desktop, but instead create their own. Instead of providing functionality based on sharing the desktop with another user,
this style of VNC server allows multiple people to simultaneously work on
different desktops on the same machine at the same time.
What about security? Running a client-server combo over a LAN may be
fine, but how could you do this in a potentially dangerous network
environment like the Internet? Thankfully, the connection can also be
established over an ssh link. By using the secure shell, there is no need
to leave a port open on the server for crackers to exploit.
And, to top it all off, most VNC kits tend to be very compact. You can
easily place the kits for client and server on a single floppy, making it
a great addition to a techie’s support bag.
So what are my choices?
You can download VNC from the original AT&T site or RealVNC. Both sites offer GPL software for Linux, Solaris, Windows, and other platforms, and even give information on getting enterprise support for using VNC.
I found heXoNet‘s
x0rfbserver and xrfbviewer, a server and client that use the RFB protocol, installed by default on my Mandrake. The server
program, x0rfbserver, allows remote access to the current desktop. It
also allows the desktop to be shared by remote users and can allow access
in a view-only mode. Simply start the program and the server is online —
no elaborate configuration needed.
The client program, xrfbviewer, is a simple yet effective VNC viewer.
Start the program, enter the domain name or IP address of the machine
running the server, enter a password if the server requires it, and bingo
— you’re there. It also has the nice capability of being able to record
your sessions into a local file, where they can be played back using the
xplayfbs program. Unfortunately, I was never able to get playback to work
correctly. After installing some icons that weren’t included in the
Mandrake install I was finally able to record, but xplayfbs refused to
display anything other than a blank screen on playback.
Another very popular package is TightVNC‘s
vncviewer and vncserver (the latter acting as a wrapper for Xvnc).
TightVNC is available on Linux, Unix, and Windows, and even has a
Java-based viewer. It is an enhanced version of the original AT&T VNC
software, so it is both fully compatible with and has more features than
the original.
Using vncviewer and vncserver is no harder than using the heXoNet
equivalents, but the TightVNC variants offer a large array of
optional compression settings that neither the original AT&T VNC utilities
nor the heXoNet utilities have. This allows users to tune
connections to the quality of the network link. Compression can make VNC
more usable when a couple of fast machines are connected by a slow
network.
The biggest difference between heXoNet and TightVNC is on the
server end. The x0rfbserver sets up a VNC server that allows remote
users to control the desktop while maintaining the local monitor screen.
When a remote user moves the mouse or types in a window, the local user of
that desktop sees it as well. But vncserver
creates a new desktop in memory and allows the remote user to have full
control of that desktop without interfering with a local user who might be
doing other tasks. What’s more, since it can produce a number of these
desktops, multiple remote users can use the same system simultaneously
independent of one another.
Unfortunately, these innovations are not available in WinVNC, TightVNC’s
Windows software. Windows is much more wed to the concept of one desktop
per machine than Linux and Unix are.
Figure 2: Accessing Windows ME from Linux
But there’s one more surprise on the server end: a miniature Web server.
When you connect to a TightVNC server using a Web browser, the server automatically
sends the client a Java applet and allows you to use the remote desktop from the
browser. That can be quite a useful option in many situations.
TightVNC is easy to run over an ssh connection as well. Simply enable
incoming X Window traffic on the client machine using the xhost command.
Use ssh to log in to the remote system. Set the DISPLAY variable to point
back to the client machine (if it is not set automatically). Run
vncserver on the remote box to set up the desktop. Then run vncviewer on
the remote system and the X Window output of the server appears on the
local box. While it can run slowly depending on the link, it does the
job and keeps vncserver from needing to open itself to the outside world.
There are many VNC programs on other platforms available as well, including fbvncserver for Sharp’s Zaurus PDA. Installing that (and zlib, which it uses for compression) allows me to run a VNC session from my desktop Linux machine to my Zaurus SL-5500. Using my PC keyboard and mouse to manipulate the Zaurus is a real time saver. And watching my PDA seemingly moving about on its own while generating keyclick sounds is a kick, too.
In addition to the basic VNC software there are also user-friendly front-ends to enable many of the software’s options. Mandrake has been shipping
rfbdrake to do just that, and the latest version of KDE now includes KDE
Desktop Sharing, which does about the same thing.
I know several people who use VNC regularly and love it. But I know even
more people who have never even seen it in action. If you ever need to access computers remotely, I suggest giving this a simple and useful tool a try.
Russell Pavlicek is a consultant and author dealing
with Linux in business. He is a panelist on The Linux
Show weekly webcast, and is a contributor to a number
of Linux Web sites. He formerly wrote the Open Source
column for InfoWorld magazine.
