[nzlug] Remote sessions via xdmcp

[David Kirk]

Hey,

> I installed cygwin/x on my WinXP machine with a hope to be able to run
> XWin that connects to my Ubuntu machine. In other words, I'm hoping
> that I can work on my Ubuntu from my WinXP machine via XWin. Why?
> Because my Ubuntu machine isn't of high spec, and by using XWin from
> my high spec laptop, I'm hoping to share the load (its also handy to
> be able to access my Ubuntu machine remotely).
>
> My questions are:
>
> 1. Is this what XDMCP for? Or should I be looking for something else? TightVNC?
> 2. Do I need to have XWin server running on both machines? Just my
> Ubuntu? Or just my WinXP?

You have a couple of options.  One is to use XDMCP which will give you
access to the full desktop on your Ubuntu machine (you will need to
enable XDMCP on Ubuntu because it is probably off by default).

The other option is to run individual applications remotely.  They
will look just like they are running on your Windows XP box.

I used to use Cygwin/X, but someone on CLUG put me on to Xming
http://www.straightrunning.com/XmingNotes/.  It has a normal windows
installer and you can use Xlaunch to launch an XDMCP session or a
single application via ssh using Plink (part of the PuTTY suite).  You
can save your Xlaunch settings for an application to your desktop and
just double click it to launch the remote application like you would
any local application.
-- 
Later

David Kirk