VPS - VNC or similar?

[sparky2002b]

Hi. On your VPS plans, do you allow remote access to the server? If so, is it graphical or command-line? (i.e. if you have a redhat virtual server, can you use VNC or something similar to use the OS remotely)?

Thanks,
Sparky

if you don't know what VNC is, click here (http://www.realvnc.com/what.html)

[matta]

You have root... you can do whatever you like. You'll most likely need to install an X server locally along with vncserver, but it is known to work.

[limey]

Wouldn't installing an X server slow the VPS down quite a bit though? If not, I think realVNC provides a VNC server with built in X server (you have to install some graphics drivers though apparantly) which removes the need from installing an actual seperate gui to your VPS if you see what I mean.

I'll try to find the link to it if its worth doing.

Chris

[adkap]

[QUOTE=limey]Wouldn't installing an X server slow the VPS down quite a bit though? [/QUOTE]

Not at all. Simply running X-style windows manager will have a nominal effect on your system. It is once you remotely connect to the Xserver - and forward your display - that your VPS will grind to a near halt.

You would need one of the higher #unixshell packages to run multiple X apps remotely. These VPS's do not only share CPU time, they also share disk I/O, memory and network bandwidth. I would venture to guess that any plan under the 128 would not provide a smooth Xserver<->Xclient experience (...but i may be wrong).

[QUOTE=limey]If not, I think realVNC provides a VNC server with built in X server (you have to install some graphics drivers though apparantly) which removes the need from installing an actual seperate gui to your VPS if you see what I mean.[/QUOTE]

No. That is not how an X server works. The "gui's" are compiled into your applications, which still must exist on the server.

When you connect your Xclient to an Xserver, you have the option of forwarding the server display to your local Xclient. Then, when you execute an app with a GUI, the X server will forward the GUI to your client. It can do this easily because local and remote Xclients are basically the same thing. When you sit at a local unix machine and start your favorite browser, the Xserver checks to see if you have specified an alternate display. If not, it connects to the local display "unix:0.0" which is essentially the same as 127.0.0.1:0.0.

So you see, installing an X server does not "remove the need from installing an actual seperate gui to your VPS." In fact, it actaully removes the need for installing the GUI (and entire app) on your LOCAL machine.

[QUOTE=limey] I'll try to find the link to it if its worth doing.

Chris[/QUOTE]

If you do try this, lemme know how it works out.

Cheers
Adam

[wjcarpenter]

Another technology to consider is NX. There is a free version here http://developer.berlios.de/projects/freenx/ , based on this commercial offering http://www.nomachine.com/ .

I've fiddled with these a bit but not on a VPS. Works great with "normal" machines.

[matta]

My X server here is using 137MB VSIZE / 53MB Resident while running many applications (Gnome, GAIM, Evolution, XMMS, FireFox, Gnome Terminal, Applets). I think with no apps an X server only consumes about 10-15MB of memory. I'd still recommend 96MB+ of RAM ... it all depends on what you are running though (as always).

[sparky2002b]

I think I will mess around on VMWare5. I can install the same OS as on my server and set it up as a "dedicated" one - and I'll install a window manager and VNC. Will post once done.