Running Linux, 5th Edition - Matthias Kalle Dalheimer [501]
Let's see how to set up and use FreeNX. We use an example that utilizes two free Linux distributions, Fedora and Ubuntu. First, we install FreeNX on Ubuntu, after obtaining it from the Ubuntu backports community at http://backports.ubuntuforums.org. Follow the directions on the site and add the recommended mirrors to your /etc/apt/sources.list file. Then run apt-get install FreeNX to add FreeNX to your server.
Once installed, add a user, as shown in Figure 28-14.
Following the setup, if you log out and log back in, you will see FreeNX added to the Applications menu under Internet. See Figure 28-15.
Next, obtain and install the RPMs for Fedora from http://fedoranews.org/contributors/rick_stout/freenx. Be sure to install both the client and the server. Again, add yourself as a user.
Client configuration involves running a wizard. As the wizard says, "The most important part of the initial connection is the key file. This file, client.id_dsa.key, must be copied from the server to your client machine." Following these directions, I executed the following commands:
bash-3.00# scp /var/lib/nxserver/home/.ssh/client.id_dsa.key
username@192.168.1.109:~/
Figure 28-14. Adding users to the FreeNX server
Figure 28-15. FreeNX on the menu
The authenticity of host '192.168.1.109 (192.168.1.109)' can't be
established.
RSA key fingerprint is 40:54:e3:c9:5e:81:39:2d:ac:70:b9:bf:44:a9:ec:a8.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
Warning: Permanently added '192.168.1.109' (RSA) to the list of known
hosts.
Password: password entered here
client.id_dsa.key 100% 672 0.7KB/s
00:00
bash-3.00#
Once you accomplish these tasks, you should be able to use the FreeNX server to connect as a remote client and see a complete Linux session. If you run into any problems, many support sites exist on the Internet to assist you. You can also find answers on the FreeNX mailing lists or in its archives at http://developer.berlios.de/projects/freenx.
FreeNX opens sessions quickly. You will also notice that FreeNX can suspend sessions rather than close them. When you resume a suspended session, the client revalidates but still resumes midsession, at the point where you left off. Although this is not a stateless session in the purest terms, it does save bandwidth; see Figures 28-16 and 28-17.
Figure 28-16. Resuming a session from Fedora to Ubuntu
FreeNX has many advantages for Linux uers. It provides an excellent and free thin client environment. It's fast, and it uses a proven encryption methodology (OpenSSH) that has made it through major FIPS 140 criteria tests in source code form. FreeNX also is available for most commercial Linux distributions. Free distributions of Linux such as the Fedora Project and Ubuntu have extensive community support.
Figure 28-17. Running a FreeNX session on Ubuntu with the server on Fedora Core 3
Finally, FreeNX can use a Linux server as a proxy to VNC and RDP servers. Run either vcnviewer or rdesktop on the Linux server and use those remote applications to start a Windows session. By using FreeNX, you speed up the VNC sessions, encrypt them, and provide broader access to Windows applications through RDP.
Appendix A. Sources of Linux Information
This appendix lists various online sources of Linux information. Although all these documents are available electronically on the Internet, many are also available in printed form.
Linux distributions often include some of this documentation in the distribution itself and make them available on the runtime system. As mentioned in the text, documentation on a Linux system can be found in a number of places, including Unix manual pages, GNU Info pages, and HTML help documentation (such as that displayed by the KDE Help Center).
Most Linux distributions store documentation on individual programs, such as README files and release notes, under the