[ale] Something faster than X-Windows but more secure than VNC server?

[Michael H. Warfield]

On Wed, 2014-10-01 at 10:45 -0400, JD wrote:
> So ...  didn't really want to write this ... google has most of this data and
> 10 minutes installing and running x2go would let you see it for yourself ...

I've played with it in the past.  The problem is that I have to support
multiple simultaneous sessions, across multiple remote sites, some of
which are RDP (remote Windblows boxen), some of which can be VNC
(embedded devices and remote installs), and a lot of which are NX.  I
like having the one client to rule them all.

Right now, I need a decent server I can run on Android and connect to
from outside a NAT.  Looking like a reverse VNC connection may be my
best bet there but I'm trying to get IPv6 to this particular site
(remote support up in Michigan from down here in Georgia - field trips
are not an option), which I know Android will support, and see what I
can get for a remote control option (hell, the bad guys can do it with
their Android RATs, there's got to a way).

> Tried remmina a year ago - meh. Didn't see the point. Either I'm on the LAN
> and don't really need a remote desktop client (X/Windows works) or I'm far
> away and need 1 session to get me back to the LAN, from there, remote X works
> through x2go/NX fine.

Yeah, see, different requirements.  For a single session client, I'm
sure it's just fine.  For what I need, a full featured multiprotocol
client fits the bill.

> x2go is my replacement for FreeNX (and whatever NX client is used - there are
> many).

I gave up on nxclient a long time ago.  Remmina was much more stable.
Plus I hated having 4 different remote desktop clients side by side at
the same time.

> x2go has clients and servers for all the popular computing platforms that
> support X/Windows.  Sadly, that does not include Android currently. That is
> the only real issue. A $200 netbook is a nice replacement for a
> tablet+keyboard - drop whatever Linux desktop you like and be happy.
> 
> No need to use NoMachine's closed-code, if you don't want.  I did use their
> v3.5.x clients on both Windows and Linux. The v4.x client never worked for me,
> but I haven't tried in a while either. Seemed they wanted to make it easier to
> work/discovery with THEIR servers ... meh.
> 
> Setup of x2go server on Ubuntu is easier than FreeNX.  It is just aptitude
> install. No rebuilding server-keys needed (or is everyone else using the
> commonly-known-to-everyone FreeNX keys?). That is a plus and a minus.
> 
> x2go client is also a nominal install. On UNIX platforms, it will use existing
> ssh keys. No special effort needed.  I haven't bothered to get the keys
> working on Windows - wouldn't use that OS on the internet anyway.  Do use x2go
> Windows client daily, from inside the LAN.  On the LAN, remote video is better
> than any other free remote desktop tool that I've seen - including SPICE.
> Audio works too.  Audio works over the internet too.
> 
> x2go over the internet is nice.  Haven't tested it overseas since switching,
> but NX was tested extensively and I don't see any reason that x2go wouldn't be
> slightly better.
> 
> I dumped FreeNX after Ubutu 12.04 due to support reasons. There is a FreeNX
> beta for 14.04 (don't bother with non-LTS releases), but it had some issues
> for me at the time. x2go HAD server-side CPU utilization issues due to an ssh
> bug. Be certain to get the newer Windows clients (August 2014) to avoid this.
> I saw spikes to 100% CPU every 5 seconds on the server side. Since this was on
> a shared VM server machine, the other VMs were being impacted negatively. It
> was bad.
> 
> x2go has downsides
> * I dislike that only 1 session seems possible at a time.  OTOH, connecting to
> 1 desktop, then using it to connect to others on the same LAN works nicely
> (even Windows via rdesktop/RDP).
> * the fact that a miscofigured/buggy client can impact the server bothers me.
> * font support seems to be an afterthought. It mostly just works on Linux, but
> Windows terminals sometimes don't resize fonts as expected.  Sometimes they do
> - haven't needed to worry about this much.
> * DO NOT USE UNITY - that really isn't a downside.  LXDE, XFCE, and every WM
> that I've tried just work.
> 
> SPICE is nice for inside a LAN, assuming the keyboard mapping issue has been
> solved. It wasn't fixed for my needs and missing 3 important characters just
> isn't an option. SPICE is not encrypted, so a full VPN is probably the best
> remote solution to make that secure. Sure, you can setup SSL certs - hassle
> for a small network.
> 
> Overall, I wish I'd switched from FreeNX/NX to x2go sooner for my Ubuntu
> remote desktop VMs. Basically I have a personal VM for this and a work VM for
> this that others use too. For non-video stuff, it works well.  During the
> installfest I showed a few people how well it worked.  There wasn't any real
> lag - even showing 7MC schedule data changes a page at a time.
> 
> 
> 
> On 10/01/2014 10:08 AM, Michael H. Warfield wrote:
> > On Tue, 2014-09-30 at 15:02 -0400, Jim Kinney wrote:
> >> If both ends are *nix, look at X2GO. It's an easier freenx than, um, 
> >> freenx. good for single connections. Not tabbed like remmina. (doesn't 
> >> crash as often as remmina either :-)
> > 
> > Negatives are that X2GO is not compatible with "standard" NX versions such
> > as FreeNX or NoMachine NX, which can be a significant problem depending on
> > deployment.  No plugin for Remmina, which is still my favorite
> > multiprotocol client (and doesn't crash for me at all).
> > 
> > On the plus side, if the client limitations aren't a deal breaker as they
> > were for me, they do have Windows and MacOS clients, so it's not limited to
> > both ends being *nix.  For FreeNX, you would need the NoMachine NX client
> > as Remmina is not available for Windows.  Remmina should run under Cygwin
> > but I've never tried it.
> > 
> > This is this multiprotocol client, similar to Remmina, for Windows:
> > 
> > http://www.mremoteng.org/
> > 
> > Downside, doesn't seem to support NX and certainly doesn't support X2GO.
> > 
> > Downside to FreeNX server:  May not work on all versions of Ubuntu due to
> > conflicts with Wayland and some deprecated multimedia libraries.  Not sure
> > about X2GO there.  Looks like X2GO may have similar conflicts. Refer to
> > their FAQ.
> >> 
> > Regards, Mike
> >> 

Regards,
Mike
-- 
Michael H. Warfield (AI4NB) | (770) 978-7061 |  mhw at WittsEnd.com
   /\/\|=mhw=|\/\/          | (678) 463-0932 |  http://www.wittsend.com/mhw/
   NIC whois: MHW9          | An optimist believes we live in the best of all
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