How do I share my desktop?

[jaywalker]

I have x2go servers configured on a number of MGA3,4 and 5 machines which I typically use for background work - installing software, running video render jobs, managing or even watching MythTV - that sort of thing.

I normally use the x2go client software on MGA3 or MGA5 machines and I have never been able to find the x2godesktopsharing extension which appears to be a requirement for achieving this function with x2go.

I was wondering what other solutions might be available and capable of being integrated into the x2go client/server model. This would be my prime goal as I already have the necessary infrastructure in place and all relevant firewall configurations tweaked.

If there is not another way, has anyone succeeded in building the x2go extension? I don't mind spending more time on this but as I am still struggling (read that as _failing_) to get sound over x2go to work, I would rather get pointers from others wo may have working desktop sharing by x2go.

Richard

[wintpe]

for local access i always use vnc

however for remote support of other people i use teamviewer.

this works fine in Unix as long as the desktop is working.



regards peter

[jiml8]

I use vnc for remote connections too. Just tunnel it through ssh.

I did not respond before because I don't think this solution matches OP's requirements.

I use teamviewer when I have to, but since that involves communication with the teamviewer servers, I greatly prefer vnc/ssh.

[jaywalker]

I use teamviewer when I have to, but since that involves communication with the teamviewer servers, I greatly prefer vnc/ssh.

I wasn't familiar with Teamviewer before. I had a look at it yesterday but wasted a lot of time looking for a readable description of the system and how to use it so it went on the back burner. If it really does call home to achieve the magic it claims then I think I'll turn that burner off.

I suspect that vnc over ssh is what I will end up doing - when I have to. Most of the time I can get by with plain ol' x2go. It is so ... easy. Yes there are problems when you think you are logged on to your pc but it insists on treating you like a highly suspect interloper, but that's progress, I suppose.

I had hoped that someone would have cracked the puzzle of getting x2godesktopsharing to work on Mageia as I suspect that would take care of all my authentication and session management needs in the familiar x2go interface but I will accept the inevitable and have another look at vnc/ssh recipes.

Thank you both for your input.

R

[doktor5000]

teamviewer has clear advantages, if you want to provide remote support for people who are not that familiar with computers, and it easily travels through firewalls.
They just provide you with the ID they see, and you can login, be it to windows or linux system and it simply works.

What description do you require how to use it? Run it and it's pretty obvious. The left side shows your ID and the password if you want other people to connect to your box,
and the right side is to connect to other boxes, simply enter the ID of your counterpart and click remote control and enter his password when asked.
They also offer the same functionality via the website, but for that you need to create a free account.

On the security part, their servers are only required for the handshake, afterwards there's a direct connection.
You should read up on https://www.teamviewer.com/en/products/security.aspx which also contains an explanation of their security model and explains the encryption they use.

You may also want to check http://security.stackexchange.com/quest ... te-support
or maybe http://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/ ... er.343464/

[jiml8]

Teamviewer is clearly the superior solution when you are providing support for a clueless client, or accessing a machine that you don't routinely access (particularly one that belongs to someone else).

For remote controlling machines that you DO routinely access, vnc over ssh is, IMO, a better choice, just because it does not hit any foreign servers. Granting it is only for the handshake, it is still revealing information to Teamviewer, and not revealing information unless absolutely necessary should be everyone's default position.

[jiml8]

Also, if your usage is commercial, the Teamviewer license requires you to pay for the service. It is only free for personal use.

[jaywalker]

What description do you require how to use it? Run it and it's pretty obvious. The left side shows your ID and the password if you want other people to connect to your box,
and the right side is to connect to other boxes, simply enter the ID of your counterpart and click remote control and enter his password when asked./

It sounds like I must have stumbled at the first hurdle. I don't see anything you have described, probably because I didn't follow the installation instructions properly. I get confused fairly easily these days when things don't work the way they seem to be described. I am never sure whether I have done something wrong or I have just fallen victim to the old problem of out-of-date instructions.

Still, I am quite happy to shelve the whole thing for a bit while I potter about with the x2go solution. I may come back to Teamviewer later, if I am desperate,

They also offer the same functionality via the website, but for that you need to create a free account.

On the security part, their servers are only required for the handshake, afterwards there's a direct connection.
You should read up on https://www.teamviewer.com/en/products/security.aspx which also contains an explanation of their security model and explains the encryption they use.

You may also want to check http://security.stackexchange.com/quest ... te-support
or maybe http://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/ ... er.343464/

Colour me paranoid. It may be free but it doesn't "feel" free. I can't explain what I mean by that - it is just a feeling I get, possibly from the way they manage the information they provide. I got more information from what you posted than I got from half an hour looking for a decent overview on the Teamviewer site.

Teamviewer is clearly the superior solution when you are ... accessing a machine that you don't routinely access (particularly one that belongs to someone else).

That is not the typical use case I have in mind. I tend to agree with your assessment of vnc over ssh as the best fit for my needs but I have to say that I would only consider using vanilla vnc where something faster is not available. X2Go is something faster - by some considerable margin - and I have used it for all sorts of remote admin tasks on machines I have set up for family members.

There does appear to be a subtle but significant flaw in the method which has been a problem recently. I don't know enough to be sure my diagnosis is correct, but x2go seems to struggle to let me access or prevent me from accessing resources in various support scenarios. If I am right then using MY x2go session on my brother's machine is causing confusion for his rather too fragile Pulse server settings and some tasks needing root access don't work in the way I would expect.

Hence my search for a "simple" way to get desktop sharing to work. My reasoning is that the secret police on the remote system will not be able to tell the difference between his mouse click and my mouse click, so everything should just behave - and the Pulse server settings should remain untouched (if that is really what is causing his sound to fail during my "visits")!

According to what I have taken from the x2go documentation (also well distributed in a confusing way on the web site - it has to be me just getting older) the x2godestopsharing facility should be just what I am looking for so I have started to try to put together the necessary resources on one target machine to see if I can get it to live up to its promise. So far, so good. I have built the missing x2go modules and I think I have them installed correctly on a compatible version of the server (using the stock MGA4 x2goserver). The machine is working as a PVR so I have to be careful about crashing anything. I may have to wait until the weekend to visit it in person and try it out more thoroughly.

My fingers are crossed (and I am holding my thumbs) so that must explain the typos;~)

R

[wintpe]

have you considered xrdp

this uses the windows rdp protocol on linux.

its a bit like vnc in many ways.

you can use rdesktop of freerdp as the clients

regards peter

[jaywalker]

Thanks for the suggestion Peter, I hadn't come across that solution before. If my x2go forays prove too challenging I will come back to that and other possible answers.

I may be tackling this problem from the wrong end, but my main goal is to avoid complications in the use of a remote desktop both for me (in trying to set it up safely) and for the remote host (who has a similar aversion to complications). Our problem is the slowly increasing intolerance to faffing about which comes gratis with advancing years.

The "good thing" about x2go is that we have set it up already and it works sublimely well - now. There were many problems getting to a solid working state, some of which still exist, but are avoided. The x2godesktopsharing extension seems to be the best way to get the trouble-free benefits of secured authenticated connection with existing clients and server. It sidesteps the problem of having to establish yet another route through my brother's firewall to yet another server port on his machine and wrap the whole thing up in a secure encrypted link between us,

Yes, of course it can be done for services other than x2go, but as it will always be needed for its ability to provide a nearly local experience for a remote user for those highly interactive jobs I will undertake then I am prepared to take a bit more time to figure out why the x2go route is still reluctant to take me to my brother's desktop session. For that I still have to use the car :~)

R

[jaywalker]

I've had a good look at the documentation for xrdp and it looks encouraging. The attraction appears to be in incorporating Windows machines, or dual-boot systems where the target may be either Windows OR Mageia at any given time. That could be extremely useful.

R