On Fri, 2003-04-04 at 08:04, Norine wrote:
> I am setting up a 5 user LTSP system. This system will be about 2 hours
> travel from me and I will have to provide ongoing support.
>
> Is there a way to take over a user's session remotely, so if a user has
> a question I can take control of the users desktop (aka MS netmeeting)
> and answer the users question? This not so much support to correct a
> problem, but to provide training (User: How do I...)
>
> I thought about VNC as a local app on the client, but would like
> something simpler if it exists. Such as a way to see the users session
> on the server, if that capability exists.
There aren't any non-proprietary solutions for this. It shouldn't be
that hard to put this together, though.
Here's a first draft:
Have the LTSP server start five VNC servers as :1, :2, :3, :4, and :5.
You probably want this started out of inittab, like so:
vnc1:5:respawn:/usr/bin/Xvnc -rfbwait 120000 -rfbport 5901 \
-geometry 1024x768 -query INSERT-SERVER-NAME-HERE
vnc2:5:respawn:/usr/bin/Xvnc -rfbwait 120000 -rfbport 5902 \
-geometry 1024x768 -query INSERT-SERVER-NAME-HERE
vnc3:5:respawn:/usr/bin/Xvnc -rfbwait 120000 -rfbport 5903 \
-geometry 1024x768 -query INSERT-SERVER-NAME-HERE
vnc4:5:respawn:/usr/bin/Xvnc -rfbwait 120000 -rfbport 5904 \
-geometry 1024x768 -query INSERT-SERVER-NAME-HERE
vnc5:5:respawn:/usr/bin/Xvnc -rfbwait 120000 -rfbport 5905 \
-geometry 1024x768 -query INSERT-SERVER-NAME-HERE
NOTE: You CANNOT use backslashes like this in inittab with many versions
of init. The about should be five lines, not ten, in your inittab.
Have each workstation start the VNC viewer instead of asking for a
login. You'll need to change /opt/ltsp/i386/etc/rc.local so that it
writes a different version of /tmp/start_ws. The new start_ws would
need to take the last number of the IP address of the workstation (ie,
192.168.0.3 would be "3") and start X and vncviewer :3.
The ability to do this kind of tinkering is one of the great strengths
of open-source software. However, I would not recommend this to a
beginner; there are a lot of other issues that would need to be
addressed.
A far simpler solution is to use VNC only as needed. A user who needs
help with an app would close the app, start VNC and note the display
number (change the vncserver script to display it prominently and
obnoxiously, if necessary), start the app inside VNC, and then call
you. This doesn't help with "I can't save my work" problems, however.
A third option is to modify your session scripts (on the server, in
/etc/X11/gdm/Sessions if you are running GDM and RedHat) so that they
always run inside VNC. This is probably the easiest solution that gets
what you really want.
Your Session script needs to
1. run vncserver
2. save the DISPLAY variable (eg, REALDISPLAY=$DISPLAY)
2. change the DISPLAY variable to point to the VNC display
3. start the session (/etc/X11/xdm/Xsession gnome, WITHOUT THE EXEC)
4. start vncviewer on $REALDISPLAY in the forground
5. when vncviewer exits, run vncserver -kill $DISPLAY
I might suggest copying whatever session you use, eg,
/etc/X11/gdm/Sesssions/GNOME, to /etc/X11/gdm/Session/VNC. Tinker with
your VNC session file until it works properly (you can select sessions
when you sign in, so you can always get back if necessary). Once you're
happy, link default to VNC and everyone gets it.
-David
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