FreeNX on Ubuntu

[jwf]

Hi,
I've just installed FreeNX on my Ubuntu desktop (8.10) and have installed the Client component on a XP laptop workstation in my house (so I'm connected via my router as a 102.168.0.xxx address. This works great!
What steps do I need to perform to connect to my desktop via the same laptop from an outside location, like from a friends house miles away?
(I guess this also applies to just logging on remotely through port 22.) (sshd connection).

Thanks in advance.

[meton_magis]

yeah, just forward all ports used (I think it is only 22, but I dont know NX that well) from your router to your ubuntu PC. Then connect to your external IP address (the one that apears when you go to whatismyip.com .... or is it .net .... whatever)

you can use (as root) `netstat -tunap | grep LISTEN` to see what applications are bound to what port. SSH is required, but if anything else is bound for FreeNX, it will show up there .... usualy.

[jwf]

Thanks meton_magis
This should do it.
The missing info I needed was how to get my outside IP address. Thanks for the info on whatismyip.com.

[meton_magis]

your welcome.

BTW, how does NX work? i've considered using it in the past, but I never got it to work right. Is it stable enough for working from across the internet?

[jwf]

BTW, how does NX work?

Since I've only used it (tested) within my home, I am unable to give a qualified answer to how it would work over the Internet. Functionally, from what I've experienced, it seems to do everything from a windows computer running the NX client as if I was right in front of my Ubunbtu terminal.
NX appears to do nothing special other than using SSHd, so if your Internet path bandwidth from your client side to your linux server side is adequate, I see it as a viable, worthwhile remote client.

As soon as I can find my password to my router, I'll forward port 22 to my Linux machine and do a remote test.
I visualize loading Ubuntu on a bootable memory stick with the FreeNX client installed and then I can access my home machine and all its data/information from someone else's computer without have to install anything on their machine.
That is of course, I get a handle on how long my external ipaddress is set for. I assume my ISP provider (through DNS) sets my ipaddress for a specific period, then after the expiry date, the next time I login a different ipaddress is selected from a pool.

[meton_magis]

I dont know about the IP, I find mine lasts for quite some time. If you have one that is configured for dyndns, you can register them for free at dyndns.org. That is how I get around that little problem, but I find my account expires because I have the same IP for 30 days +, and it sees my acount as idle and deletes it.

If you're looking for your password for the default config for a router, it is usualy default, or you can google your brand and usualy find it. If you changed and lost it, there is usualy a reset button on their underside or back.