Linux notes

Random notes for using linux.

Remote access

All of our machines are behind the Building 420 firewall, as well as the Stanford firewall. The Stanford firewall is configured to allow access via port 22 (ssh) to all machines. However, only a select number of machines at the CNI allow port 22 from off-campus IP addresses through the local firewall. So if you have trouble connecting from off-campus, use the Stanford VPN. In general, all other ports are blocked by both firewalls (except for port 80/443 on select web servers). If you need to access a port other than 22, set up an ssh tunnel.

VNC

To use vnc to view your linux desktop, first make sure that vino is installed on your linux machine:

   sudo apt-get install vino

Then, configure and start vino:

   vino-preferences           # run this then configure it using the dialog
   /usr/lib/vino/vino-server  # this will start the server. To autostart, add to ~/.config/lxsession/Lubuntu/autostart

From another linux machine, you can use vinagre as a vnc viewer. It has ssh tunneling built-in. If your vnc viewer does not allow tunneling, just open up a terminal on the client machine and set up a tunnel:

   ssh 2259:localhost:5900 you@your.linux.box

Then connect the client's vncviewer to localhost:2259.