vnc
Table of Contents

vnc

CentOS

sudo yum groupinstall -y "GNOME Desktop"
sudo yum install -y tigervnc-server
sudo cp /lib/systemd/system/vncserver@.service /etc/systemd/system/vncserver@:1.service

vim /etc/systemd/system/vncserver@:1.service


ExecStartPre=/bin/sh -c '/usr/bin/vncserver -kill %i > /dev/null 2>&1 || :'
ExecStart=/sbin/runuser -l vnc -c "/usr/bin/vncserver %i -geometry 1280x1024" 
PIDFile=/home/vnc/.vnc/%H%i.pid
ExecStop=/bin/sh -c '/usr/bin/vncserver -kill %i > /dev/null 2>&1 || :'


useradd vnc
su - vnc
vncserver

Ubuntu

sudo apt-get update 

sudo apt install  tightvncserver ubuntu-gnome-desktop lxde


sudo apt install gnome-session gdm3
sudo apt install tasksel
sudo tasksel install ubuntu-desktop

adduser vnc
passwd vnc

echo "%vnc     ALL=(ALL)       NOPASSWD: ALL" >> /etc/sudoers

echo '/usr/bin/startlxde' >> ~/.vnc/xstartup

vncserver
vncserver -kill :1

/etc/systemd/system/vncserver@.service 
[Unit]
Description=Start TightVNC server at startup
After=syslog.target network.target

[Service]
Type=forking
User=vnc
PAMName=login
PIDFile=/home/vnc/.vnc/%H:%i.pid
ExecStartPre=-/usr/bin/vncserver -kill :%i > /dev/null 2>&1
ExecStart=/usr/bin/vncserver -depth 24 -geometry 1280x800 :%i
ExecStop=/usr/bin/vncserver -kill :%i

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable vncserver@1.service
sudo systemctl start vncserver@1.service

Debian 8

apt-get update
apt-get -y upgrade
apt-get install xfce4 xfce4-goodies gnome-icon-theme tightvncserver xfonts-base iceweasel

adduser vnc
apt-get install sudo
gpasswd -a vnc sudo
su - vnc
vncserver
vncserver -kill :1
sudo nano /usr/local/bin/myvncserver

Add these contents exactly. This script provides VNC with a few parameters for startup.

/usr/local/bin/myvncserver

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#!/bin/bash
PATH="$PATH:/usr/bin/"
DISPLAY="1"
DEPTH="16"
GEOMETRY="1024x768"
OPTIONS="-depth ${DEPTH} -geometry ${GEOMETRY} :${DISPLAY}"

case "$1" in
start)
/usr/bin/vncserver ${OPTIONS}
;;

stop)
/usr/bin/vncserver -kill :${DISPLAY}
;;

restart)
$0 stop
$0 start
;;
esac
exit 0

Make the file executable:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/myvncserver

Our script will help us to modify settings and start/stop VNC Server easily.

If you'd like, you can call the script manually to start/stop VNC Server on port 5901 with your desired configuration.sudo /usr/local/bin/myvncserver start sudo /usr/local/bin/myvncserver stop sudo /usr/local/bin/myvncserver restart

Copy these commands to the service file. Our service will simply call the startup script above with the user vnc

/lib/systemd/system/myvncserver.service

[Unit]
Description=Manage VNC Server on this droplet

[Service]
Type=forking
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/myvncserver start
ExecStop=/usr/local/bin/myvncserver stop
ExecReload=/usr/local/bin/myvncserver restart
User=vnc

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Now we can reload systemctl and enable our service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable myvncserver.service

You've enabled your new service now. Use these commands to start, stop or restart the service using the systemctl command:

sudo systemctl start myvncserver.service
sudo systemctl stop myvncserver.service
sudo systemctl restart myvncserver.service

First, stop the VNC server:

sudo systemctl stop myvncserver.service

Edit your configuration script:

sudo nano /usr/local/bin/myvncserver

Change this line:

/usr/local/bin/myvncserver

OPTIONS="-depth ${DEPTH} -geometry ${GEOMETRY} :${DISPLAY}"

Replace it with:

/usr/local/bin/myvncserver

OPTIONS="-depth ${DEPTH} -geometry ${GEOMETRY} :${DISPLAY} -localhost"

Restart the VNC server:

sudo systemctl start myvncserver.service

We will use PuTTY to create an SSH Tunnel and then connect through the tunnel we have created.

Open PuTTY.

From the left menu, go to the Connection->SSH->Tunnels section.

In the Add New Forwarded Port section, enter 5901 as Source port and localhost:5901 as Destination.

Click the Add button.

PuTTY SSH Tunnel Configuration

You can now go to the Session section in the left menu.

Enter your Droplet's IP address in the Host Name (or IP address) field.

Click the Open button to connect. You can also save these options for later use.

PuTTY SSH Connection

Log in with your vnc user.

Keep the PuTTY window open while you make your VNC connection.

Now you can use your VNC viewer as usual. Just enter localhost::5901 as the address, and keep your SSH connection live in the background.

UltraVNC Viewer: localhost::5901

OS X

ssh vnc@your_server_ip -L 5901:localhost:5901

Authenticate as normal for the vnc user for SSH. Then, in the Screen Sharing app, use localhost:5901.