My Tech Notes: nx

Showing posts with label nx. Show all posts

Install nomachine on remote headless virtual machine

Install desktop system on the virtual machine
```
sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop
```
Install nomachine for linux
The system display manager should be stop and disabled, otherwise, the remote desktop screen will be limited low resolution. Use the script below to do so:
```
dm=$(basename "$(cat /etc/X11/default-display-manager)")
sudo systemctl stop $dm
sudo systemctl disable $dm
sudo systemctl restart nxserver
```

Setup Centos Linux VM and enable Nomachine remote desktop

Setup ssh access to the Linux VM:
```
ssh ec2-user@centos_vm_2020
```

Create user account:

sudo dnf install zsh
sudo useradd -s /bin/zsh wxyz
sudo usermod -a -G adm wxyz
sudo usermod -a -G wheel wxyz

Enable ssh public key authentication (add public key to ~/.ssh/authorized.keys):

sudo su wxyz
mkdir ~/.ssh
vim ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
chmod 700 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Install GUI desktop:
```
sudo dnf groupinstall Workstation
```

Install nomachine:

cd /tmp
wget https://download.nomachine.com/download/6.9/Linux/nomachine_6.9.2_1_x86_64.rpm
sudo rpm -i /tmp/nomachine_6.9.2_1_x86_64.rpm

Reboot the VM:

sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target
sudo systemctl isolate multi-user.target
sudo reboot

Install gnome-tweaks:
```
sudo dnf install gnome-tweaks
```
and tweak the desktop environment on CentOS 8.

Enable Nomachine public key authentication (add public key to ~/.NX/config/authorized.crt):

mkdir -p ~/.NX/config
touch ~/.NX/config/authorized.crt
chmod 700 ~/.NX/config/authorized.crt

Remote desktop to Ubuntu Linux via x2go

I. Install X2Go server on the remote Ubuntu Linux host

Add the X2Go repository:
```
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:x2go/stable
```
and confirm this with [Enter]. Then, update the package lists:
```
sudo apt-get update
```

Install the X2Go server:

sudo apt-get install x2goserver x2goserver-xsession

Install extra bindings depend on what window manager you use:
- for LXDE:
```
sudo aptitude install --reinstall lxde lxsession-logout x2golxdebindings
```
- for GNOME:
```
sudo apt-get install x2gognomebindings
```
  GNOME only works for versions earlier than gnome 3.10, better earlier than gnome 3.08
- for KDE:
```
sudo apt-get install plasma-widget-x2go
```
Test if the service is up and running:
```
sudo service --status-all | grep x2go
```
If not, try starting it manually:
```
sudo service x2goserver start
```

II. Install X2Go Client on the local computer

Windows: Download and install the newest windows client from the X2Go website
Linux:
```
sudo apt-get install x2goclient
```
Mac OS:
- Download and install XQuartz.
- Download and install X2Go client.

III. Connect to remote Linux host using X2Go client

For Mac OS, starts XQuartz first then X2Go client. You need to set the prefences of XQuartz to allow connections:

NoMachine: Setup public key authentication

Server side:

Edit ~/.nx/config/authorized.crt and append public key to it.
```
mkdir -p ~/.nx/config
vi ~/.nx/config/authorized.crt
```

Install Nomachine NX Server Free Edition on Debian Linux

The Nomachine nxserver free edition has limitation: allows only 2 concurrent user sessions. But it is fine for me to connect to my Linux workstation at work. It is easier to setup than the freenx server. See the guide below:

Run the following commands to download and install nomachine nxclient, nxnode and nxserver packages:

if [[ $(uname -m)=="x86_64" ]]; then export MARC=amd64; else export MARC=i386; fi
wget http://web04.nomachine.com/download/3.5.0/Linux/nxclient_3.5.0-7_${MARC}.deb
sudo dpkg -i nxclient_3.5.0-7_${MARC}.deb
wget http://web04.nomachine.com/download/3.5.0/Linux/nxnode_3.5.0-9_${MARC}.deb
sudo dpkg -i nxnode_3.5.0-9_${MARC}.deb
wget http://web04.nomachine.com/download/3.5.0/Linux/FE/nxserver_3.5.0-11_${MARC}.deb
sudo dpkg -i nxserver_3.5.0-11_${MARC}.deb

Setup your own server private key instead of the nomachine key:

sudo ssh-keygen -t dsa -f /usr/NX/home/nx/.ssh/id_dsa
sudo chown nx:nx /usr/NX/home/nx/.ssh/id_dsa
sudo mv /usr/NX/home/nx/.ssh/authorized_keys2 /usr/NX/home/nx/.ssh/authorized_keys2.old
sudo cat /usr/NX/home/nx/.ssh/id_dsa.pub >> /usr/NX/home/nx/.ssh/authorized_keys2

You can now use the private key in /usr/NX/home/nx/.ssh/id_dsa for your client to connect to the nxserver.

Secure ssh for NX server by editting /etc/ssh/sshd_config as root:
- Enable PubkeyAuthentication for all:
```
PubkeyAuthentication yes
```
- Disable PasswordAuthentication for all:
```
PasswordAuthentication no
```
- Allows PasswordAuthentication only for the FreeNX users by appending the following line to sshd_config:
```
Match Group nxusers 
    PasswordAuthentication yes
```
  or if you want to allow individual users:
```
Match User john alex
    PasswordAuthentication yes
```

My Tech Notes

Search This Blog