Saturday, April 24, 2010

Setting up NX Client access to Linux servers running FreeNX/NX

In order to talk to a Linux box running FreeNX/NX server...

1) Grab a copy of the NX client from NoMachine's download page. For Windows users, look for "NX Client for Windows".

2) Install the client software.

3) Start up "NX Client for Windows".

4) The "Login" field will be your username on the Linux server (i.e. "thomas"). The "Password" field is obviously, your login password on the Linux server. In the "Session" field, enter a descriptive name of the server that you are trying to connect to. (This name does not have to reflect the server's DNS name, IP address and can be any name or nickname.)

5) As you press [Tab] to leave the "Session" field, you will be prompted whether you want to "Create" a new session or "Rename" the existing session. In most cases, you'll want to pick "Create" so that you can setup a new session.

6) You will now be taken to the advanced configuration screen.

a) Server Host: Enter the fully qualified DNS name, or the IP address.
b) Server Port: Most servers run SSH on port 22.
c) Desktop: I usually use "Unix / Gnome"
d) Speed: ISDN or ADSL is a good first choice
e) Display: Choose full-screen or setup a window of any size that you want.

7) Before you click "Save" or "OK", check with your server administrator and find out whether you need to provide the NX client with a custom key. This key is located on the Linux server and is usually at the following location:

/etc/nxserver/client.id_dsa.key

If you need this key, be sure to obtain it, then use the "Server, Key" button on the advanced configuration screen. Just paste the key in to the provided box and you'll be able to talk to the server.

8) Click "Save" then "OK".

9) If everything is configured properly, you can now enter your login password and press the "Login" button to access the remote server.

...

When you are finished with your session on the remote server, you can either "Terminate" (logout) or "Suspend" it if you want to leave things running for later.