                          Virtual Network Computing
     __________________________________________________________________

Note

   This version was edited by [1]Edward Betts for the Debian Operating
   System. The original version is available at the [2]VNC Home Page
   (extern).
     __________________________________________________________________

Getting Started with VNC

   VNC consists of two types of component.  A server, which generates a
   display, and a viewer, which actually draws the display on your
   screen.   There are two important features of VNC:
     * The server and the viewer  may be on different machines and on
       different architectures.  We expect the most common use to be the
       display of a Unix X desktop on a PC, for example.  The protocol
       which connects the server and viewer is simple, open, and platform-
       independent.
     * No state is stored at the viewer. Breaking the viewer's connection
       to the server and then reconnecting will not result in any loss of
       data.  Because the connection can be remade from somewhere else,
       you have easy mobility.

   So, to get started with VNC you need to run a server, and then connect
   to it with a viewer. Get the packages for the platforms you use from
   the [3]download page, if you haven't already, and install them. The
   current VNC software requires a TCP/IP connection between the server
   and the viewer, though there is no reason why the software couldn't be
   modified to use, for example, RS232 or Firewire.  We have internal
   versions that use other network transport layers. But for now you'll
   need to know the name or the IP address of the server machine.

   Most people will be running either a Unix server or a Windows server,
   though similar principles will apply to other platforms.
   _______________________________________________________________________

  Running a Unix server

   A VNC server appears, to the Unix applications which appear on it,  to
   be a standard X display just like the one you sit in front of; but it
   doesn't have a physical screen attached.  The applications don't know
   this.  They just carry on running whether or not a viewer is connected,
   in the same way as they would regardless of whether you were actually
   looking at your physical screen.

   You can start a new VNC server by typing:

     vncserver

   on a Unix machine.  (If you're sitting at a PC you may need to telnet
   to the Unix machine to get a command shell into which you can type
   this.)  The vncserver program is a Perl script which you may need to
   edit to set up the directories appropriate for your local installation.

   If you haven't run a VNC server before you will be prompted for a
   password, which you will need to use when connecting to this server.
   All your servers will use the same password, and you can change it at a
   later date using

     vncpasswd

   With a normal X system, the main X display of a workstation called
   'snoopy' is usually snoopy:0. You can also run as many VNC servers on a
   Unix machine as you like, and they will appear as snoopy:1, snoopy:2
   etc, as if they were just additional displays.  You can cause
   applications to use them by setting the DISPLAY environment variable to
   the VNC server you want, or by starting the application with the
   -display option. For example:

     xterm -display snoopy:2 &

   Normally vncserver will choose the first available display number and
   tell you what it is, but you can specify a display number if you always
   wish to use the same one:

     vncserver :2

   Nothing will appear immediately as a result of starting a server. To
   see anything you need to connect a viewer to the server. See below.
   The server will generate a log in your ~/.vnc directory. If you have
   problems at this stage, see the full [4]documentation and the [5]FAQ .

    Killing a Unix server

   You can kill a Unix VNC server using, for example:

     vncserver -kill :2

  Running a Windows server

   Install the Windows server, WinVNC, by running the Setup program
   included in the distribution.  This will create a VNC group in your
   Start Menu.

   Install the default registry settings using the option in the VNC
   group.

   Run the WinVNC server. If this is the first time you've used WinVNC on
   this machine you'll be prompted to set a password, which you'll need
   when you connect to the machine from a remote location. Normally you'll
   want to leave the other options on their default settings.  (Note that
   the default display number is 0 on a PC.  You'll need to specify this
   to the viewer when you connect.)  Click OK and the server should be
   running.  It will install a small icon on the system tray, and by
   right-clicking on this you can control most aspects of the server.
   (Full instructions for installing and running the [6]WinVNC server can
   be found under the [7]main documentation.)

   You can now go to another machine and connect a viewer to the server.
   (see below)
     __________________________________________________________________

  Running a viewer

   When you run the viewer, you need to specify the name of the server and
   the number of the desktop. If, for example, you have started a server
   as display 2 on a machine called 'snoopy', you can start a viewer for
   it by typing:

     vncviewer snoopy:2

   With the Windows viewer, you can run it from the command line, but you
   will more typically run it from the VNC group on the Start Menu. In
   this case, you will be prompted for the host name and display number.

   Enter it and click OK, and you will be prompted for your password,
   after which you should see the remote display.  (If you are connecting
   to a Windows or Mac server, the display number will be 0, unless you
   have explicitly changed it).

   If the machine running the server does not have a proper DNS entry, you
   probably won't be able to use the name and will have to replace
   snoopy:2 with something like 192.168.1.2:2 .  You can get round this on
   most platforms by creating a 'hosts' file which maps names onto IP
   addresses.  Consult your local guru for help with this.
     __________________________________________________________________

  Using a web browser as a viewer

   The VNC servers also contain a small web server. If you connect to this
   with a web browser, you can download the Java version of the viewer,
   and use this to view the server. You can then see your desktop from any
   Java-capable browser! (unless you are using a proxy to connect to the
   web). The server listens for HTTP connections on port 5800+display
   number.  So to view display 2 on machine 'snoopy', you would point your
   web browser at:

     http://snoopy:5802/

   The applet will prompt you for your password, and should then display
   the desktop.

   That's it!  For more details see [8]the documentation. The answers to
   lots of common questions can be found in the [9]FAQ .


     For comments, feedback, etc, please see the '[10]Keeping in touch'
                                    page.
                Copyright 1999 - AT&T Laboratories Cambridge

References

   1. mailto:edward@debian.org
   2. http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/start.html
   3. http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/download.html
   4. http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/docs.html
   5. http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/faq.html
   6. http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/winvnc.html
   7. http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/docs.html
   8. http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/docs.html
   9. http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/faq.html
  10. http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/intouch.html
