How to remote view an Ubuntu server?

Question

Level 1

21 points

How to remote view an Ubuntu server?

The computers are a 1st gen MacBook and a 24″ iMac. Both run running Snow Leopard.

I want to connect to a web server running Ubuntu 10. I can already successfully SSH into the server.

But what I really want to do is get some kind of screen sharing going.

I know that there's a nifty thing called X11 forwarding that can do the trick, but so far I haven't been able to get it to work successfully. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that all the instructions I've found so far seemed to be geared towards people who know way more about the command line than I do. I'm comfy following instructions on the command line, but I don't really know how to troubleshoot anything if it doesn't work as expected.

Anybody know how I could get some screen sharing with an Ubuntu server going?

 MacBook, White (2㎓ Core Duo, 2㎇ RAM) |  iMac (24″, 3.06㎓ Core 2 Duo, 2㎇ RAM), Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Jun 13, 2010 7:01 AM

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Answer 1

rccharles

Level 6

13,037 points

Jun 13, 2010 12:58 PM in response to Tony Rogers

You may want to try a VNC solution. Using vnc means that you will not have to mess with X11 or the terminal on your mac.

"VNC is a protocol that allows a desktop to be viewed and controlled remotely over the Internet. To use VNC, a VNC server must be run on the computer sharing the desktop, and a VNC client must be run on the computer that will access the shared desktop."
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/VNC

"About Chicken of the VNC
A fast, lightweight VNC client for Mac OS X. A VNC client allows one to display and interact with a remote computer screen. In other words, you can use Chicken of the VNC to interact with a remote computer as though it’s right next to you."
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/networking_security/chickenofthevnc.html

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Answer 2

BobHarris

Level 9

56,939 points

Jun 13, 2010 7:00 PM in response to Tony Rogers

Have you installed X11 on your Mac? Do you have Applications -> Utilities -> X11 ?

If you "ssh -X" or "ssh -Y" from the Mac to your Ubuntu system, what does


echo $DISPLAY

say? It should be something like localhost:11.0 or something like that.

As has been mentioned, you can also try VNC, but you will need to start the VNC server on Ubuntu, you will need to know the VNC server password. On the Mac you should be able to use vnc://ubuntu.address, or you can use different VNC client such as Chicken of the VNC.

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Answer 3

Bill Scott

Level 6

11,465 points

Jun 14, 2010 10:53 AM in response to Tony Rogers

NoMachine works really nicely with Ubuntu displaying on OS X:

http://www.nomachine.com/

Get the free stuff unless you are independently wealthy.

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Answer 4

Bill Scott

Level 6

11,465 points

Jun 14, 2010 11:46 AM in response to Bill Scott

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