Re: [SLUG] How 2 run headless Linux via Win2K?

From: Chad Perrin (perrin@apotheon.com)
Date: Sun May 30 2004 - 23:53:04 EDT


Bill Canaday wrote:

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> On Sunday 30 May 2004 09:58 pm, Ken Elliott wrote:
>
>> My NEC monitor went BOOM. I'll repair or replace it, but what I'd like to
>>do is be able to control my SuSE Linux box via my Win2K PC. I've been able
>>to share it via VNC, but the VNC server always asks if I want to accept the
>>connection. Can't do that headless.
>>
>>Ideas?
>>
>>Remember, I'm new to Linux, so you should talk to me like I'm 4...<grin>
>>
>>Ken Elliott
>
> Okay, small words then. 8-}
>
> KVM
> man ssh
> google PuTTY

Before you begin, you should know that most computers complain and stop loading the moment they realize there's no keyboard attached. If you don't have a KVM, you might want to hook an extra keyboard up to the otherwise headless box and just leave it there for when it needs to be booted even if you never use that keyboard (if you have one handy). Otherwise, you'll probably have to switch your keyboard back and forth between machines when you want to boot the SuSE box.

I'm using PuTTY to access a Debian server from Win2k as we speak. If all you need is command-line access, then all you need is PuTTY. It's really the simplest, easiest way to do it if you don't need graphical tools. If you go this route, just choose SSH, type in the host name of the computer you're trying to access, and click "open". That should get you in the door, presenting you with a command line request for your login name and password. You can also use raw, telnet, or rlogin, though all three of these transmit plain-text, which means that if anyone is monitoring your network they can pick up your usernames and passwords very easily -- for security reasons, SSH is by far a better option. PuTTY is extremely easy to use, and it has made my life very easy. The downside of an approach like this is that you may have to hook the SuSE box up to a head to configure it to allow SSH connections if you haven't already done so (or if it's not set up by default), but as I rec
all SuSE defaults to starting an OpenSSH server automatically, so that shouldn't be an issue for you.

If you do need graphical user interface for whatever it is for which you use your SuSE box, you might look into getting an electronic KVM switch. KVM stands for "keyboard video mouse", unless I'm mistaken, and it's basically a device that you plug these three objects into. It has two sets of cables coming out (or more, if you get an expensive model) that you can use to connect two (or more) computers so that you can switch back and forth between these computers with the same set of interface devices. KVMs are definitely preferable, in my experience, to trying to run an X server from another box when accessing a machine remotely, if the other machine is nearby -- remote logins with an X session running will incur a lot of resource overhead, which means everything will run frustratingly slowly, while using a KVM doesn't slow your system down at all. Aside from using PuTTY to admin my Debian server, I'm also using a two-port electronic KVM switch (KVM for short) to switch b
etween the aforementioned Win2k box and whatever testbed, project box, or client's basket-case I happen to be working on at any given time. Even if I had six monitors sitting around, I'd be using KVMs to keep the amount of interface peripherals I'm using down to a manageable number. The one I'm using is the smallest model of iView KVM, and it does the job admirably. Be careful not to use the Ctrl Ctrl F2 key combination to switch between computers while editing in Vim, however, if you get this one. I got mine for about $35, and most places online seem to be offering it for between $40 and $50. You can see what it looks like at one of these two URLs: http://store.ultraspec.us/2mikvmswwiin.html http://shop.store.yahoo.com/cablesonline/2mikvmswwiin.html
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