VNC (Virtual Network Computing) is a remote control program that allows you to operate another machine remotely through your local workstation. It's similar to pcAnywhere and Remote Administrator. However, it's free and works well across the windows and 'nix platforms. It comes from AT&T Research Laboratories in Cambridge.
Read the basics for installation on Linux. Mostly it's just copying files and making sure you have a current copy of Perl. You might have to change the first line of the vncserver (perl) script to point to the appropriate place for perl.
Next, secure shell into the server (or telnet if you want to be unsafe), run the vncserver script (type it in and press 'enter') and note the display number (after the colon). Then use the VNCviewer program from your workstation (Linux, Windows, Mac, etc.). You'll have a new Xwindows session.
There is also a methodology for connecting to remote computers through using SSH. Basically, you run vncserver and note the display number. Then setup your SSH client (such as TTSSH) to do port forwarding for local port 5902 to the remote server on port 59XX where XX is the display number. Then run your local vncviewer and connect to localhost:2. This will forward the traffic through the SSH connection to the remote server. Pretty ingenious, I'd say. You could also setup the remote server to forward to a local computer:port say through a firewall. Also amazing.
All this info comes from the main VNC website. Visit it!
last updated: 07/02/01 22:52:42 -0500
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