Remote Connections

Contents:

      

Connect to Windows Desktop	Connect to Linux Desktop
Use Windows Apps	Use Linux Apps
Access Windows Terminal	Access Linux Terminal
Access files remotely	Access Printers Remotely

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Introduction

All EWS policies apply to remote desktop users. Additionally:

• Any session that is left idle (no user input) for 10 minutes will be automatically terminated.
• Any session that is disconnected will be automatically terminated if not reconnected within 10 minutes.
• All users will be logged off automatically at 5:00am. 10 minute, 5 minute, and 1 minute warnings will be given.
• Do not connect to multiple Windows remote sessions.

Connecting to Windows Graphically with Windows Remote Desktop

EWS currently offers two Windows Remote Desktop options. 24x7 Remote Desktop access is available by connecting to the Windows terminal servers graphically at ews-windows-ts.ews.illinois.edu , following the instructions on the graphical connection section. Please note that only applications that function properly in a terminal service environment are installed on the terminal servers. Thus, applications that are graphic intense or utilize 3D rendering are not available.

To connect from any edition of Windows XP or Windows 7:

1. First, make sure that you are connecting from an on-campus IP address, or using the CITES VPN.
2. Go to Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Communications -> Remote Desktop Connection.
   On some machines, Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Remote Desktop Connection.
   Alternatively, click Start -> Run.. and type mstsc.exe (the Remote Desktop executable) and press enter.
3. Type "ews-windows-ts.ews.illinois.edu" in the "computer" box and press enter.
4. Log in using your AD username and password as you normally would to an EWS workstation.(UofI\netid or netid@ad.uillinois.edu)

To connect from other versions of Microsoft Windows:
download the Remote Desktop Client from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/tools/rdclientdl.mspx. After installing and running the package according to included instructions, follow from step 2 above.

To connect from Mac OS X:
download the Remote Desktop Client for Mac from Microsoft at Mac RDP Client. After installing and running the package according to included instructions, follow from step 2 above.

To connect from another operating system such as Linux:
download rdesktop from http://www.rdesktop.org/ for platform independent source code (You will need to compile this on your system).

Accessing the graphical linux desktop with NX Client

Instructions detailing the download, installation, and configuration of the NX client software can be found here: http://www.ews.uiuc.edu/userguide/clrtxt/nx_setup/.

Accessing Windows Apps with Citrix

Instructions detailing the download, installation, and configuration of the NX c lient software can be found here: EWS Citrix Guide.

Using Linux Apps Remotely with X-Forwarding

"X" is a window system (often referred to as the X Window System), which is used on many Linux machines. Under this system, it is possible to easily run programs remotely and make them appear as if they were run on the local machine.

• X-forwarding for Windows:
  In order to run programs with X-forwarding, SSH and a Windows X server program is needed. The EWS Windows labs currently use Hummingbird's Exceed as their X server program. For home use EWS recommends the freely distributed cygwin package which contains an X server and openSSH. Due to the fact that this is a free package, the setup may be slightly less intuitive than commercial packages. See the online documentation for cygwin for more information. Xming is another free X forwarding program avalable for free home use. The following should explain how to configure necessary software to do X-forwarding:
  
  
  • Configuring and using Cygwin
  or if you prefer to use Exceed:
  • Setting up SSH:
    
    • Start Putty.
    • Under "Edit" select the "Settings" option.
      
    • Under "Profile Settings" select the "Tunneling" option.
      
    • The option "TunnelX11 connections" needs to be enabled.
      
  • Configuring Exceed for Windows:
    • X server programs typically do not need setting up beyond setting the window size. Run the X configuration for the X server program. In Exceed, choose the Xconfig option in the start menu in order to check the setup.
      
    • The easiest setup is to have a single window set at full screen.
      
  • Running X windows software:
    
    • When everything is configured, run SSH and the Windows X server software.
      
    • On SSH, connect to a client machine (ie. remlnx.ews.illinois.edu) and login.
      
    • Run the application (ie. Mathematica) you wish to start from the command prompt.
      
  
  
• X-forwarding for Macintosh:
  In order to run programs with X-forwarding on Macintosh OS X all you need is SSH (already provided) and X11 for Mac OS X, which is available from Apple for free. Follow the link and then download and install X11 for Mac OS X.
  
  
  • Configuring X11:
    
    • Download and install X11 for Mac OS X.
    • Beyond the install, no configuration changes are needed.
      
  • Running X11:
    
    • Run /Applications/Utilities/X11.app to start X11. This should bring up an xterm.
      Note:You might also want to create a shortcut on the dock to this.
      
    • At the prompt in the xterm, connect to an EWS workstation by typing:
      ssh -X your_netid@remlnx.ews.illinois.edu
      or, if the -X gives you problems
      ssh -Y your_netid@remlnx.ews.illinois.edu
      The -X enables X-forwarding. Sometimes, you might need to use -Y instead, this enables trusted X-forwarding. Hostnames (i.e. remlnx.ews.illinois.edu) for each lab can be found on the Hours and Locations page.
      
    • Run the application (ie. Mathematica) you wish to use from the command prompt.
      
  
  
• X-forwarding for Unix/Linux:
  To run applications with X-forwarding on a non-ews unix/linux machine, you need to make sure you have X installed and you need SSH.
  
  
  • Connecting and running an application:
    • Once you have X running on your system, open an xterm. At the prompt, connect to an EWS workstation by typing:
      ssh -X your_netid@remlnx.ews.illinois.edu
      The -X enables X11 forwarding. Hostnames (i.e. remlnx.ews.illinois.edu) for each lab can be found on the Hours and Locations page.
      
    • Run the application (ie. Mathematica) you wish to use from the command prompt.
      
      
• Using a Remote Font Server:
  In some cases an application will require additional fonts which are not available to the X client on the machine that is connecting to EWS. When this is the case, the easiest solution it to add the EWS Font Server to the font path. After connecting to the remote EWS machine using SSH, run the following command at the prompt to add the font server to the font path:
  
     linux_prompt> xset +fp tcp/fs.ews.uiuc.edu:3389
  
  Once the font server is in the font path the application can be run.
  
  

NOTE:It is important to keep in mind that X applications require more data to be sent to the display than traditional Linux text-based applications. Please exercise good judgment when X-forwarding graphic-intensive applications from the EWS workstations.

Accessing the Windows Terminal Remotely

The windows terminal can be reached remotely by following the instructions in the graphical windows section.

Accessing the Linux Terminals remotely with SSH

The College of Engineering and the Engineering Workstations Labs (EWS) are committed to providing a secure computing environment. To achieve this goal EWS has disabled any protocols that transmit clear text passwords. EWS users should use SSH and/or SFTP clients to connect to remlnx.ews.illinois.edu. To download and use secure clients, see "Obtaining secure clients and configuring them" on this page.

• SSH for Windows:
  

  EWS recommends using Cygwin (www.cygwin.com), a very robust Linux-like environment for Windows, for SSH connectivity from Windows. Cygwin is freely available from www.cygwin.com.

  • Configuring and Using Cygwin: http://www.ews.uiuc.edu/clrtxt/cygwin/
  • Xming an alternative to Cygwin:http://www.straightrunning.com/XmingNotes/
  • Overview of SSH for Windows: http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/security/ssh/winssh.html


• SSH for Macintosh OS X:
  
  • SSH comes with versions 10.1 and above. See your system manuals for configuration directions.
  • Overview of SSH for Macintosh: http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/security/ssh/unixssh.html


• SSH for Unix (OpenSSH):
  The OpenSSH packages for various flavors of Unix are available from the OpenSSH project Web site: http://www.openssh.org/portable.html. Each platform-specific package includes both SSH and SFTP.
  
  • Overview of SSH for Unix: http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/security/ssh/unixssh.html
    

Accessing your files with SFTP

• SFTP for Windows:
  

  For SFTP connectivity, WinSCP is freely available for download from http://winscp.sourceforge.net.

  • Overview SFTP for Windows: http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/security/ssh/winscp.html
    


• SFTP for Macintosh OS X:
  
  • SFTP connections can be made with Fugu, which has been released by the University of Michigan's Research Systems Unix Group.
  • Overview of SFTP for Macintosh: http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/security/ssh/unixscp.html
    


• SFTP for Unix (OpenSSH):
  The OpenSSH packages for various flavors of Unix are available from the OpenSSH project Web site: http://www.openssh.org/portable.html. Each platform-specific package includes both SSH and SFTP.
  
  • Overview of SFTP for Unix: http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/security/ssh/unixscp.html

Printing on EWS printers from your laptop

Instructions for printing to the EWS printers can be found on the EWS printing page.

Contacts

Please send all questions or comments about these policies to ews@illinois.edu.

EWS Manager: ews-support_AT_ews.illinois.edu
©2010 Engineering Workstations,
College of Engineering,
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign