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Article ID: 3994
Last update: 12-11-07
Issue:
How can I configure VNC to control the native X server in Red Hat Enterprise Linux?
Resolution:
If you configure VNC to control the native X server of a system, you can interact with the console while sitting at the system or from any other system that can run a VNC viewer program. Be sure to do this initial VNC implementation during a maintenance window for your server in case VNC does not work correctly with your video card.

Warning: The following solution is not graceful and should be tested throughly before utilizing it on a production system.

To set up VNC to control the native X server, follow these steps:
  1. On the system you want to control with VNC, run the program vncpasswd as root to set a VNC password. You will use this password when connecting with vncviewer or another VNC remote control program.

  2. Edit the file /etc/X11/XF86Config to include the following commands. The XF86Config file is divided into parts that begin with the word Section and end with the word EndSection. You will need to add the following lines to the indicated section, making sure they come before the EndSection tag for that particular section.

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and above uses the XOrg implementation instead of XFree86. Edit the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf instead of XF86Config

    In the section called Module, add this line: 
    Load "vnc"
    Make sure this is on a new line before EndSection.

    In section called Screen, add this line: 
    Option "passwordFile" "/root/.vnc/passwd"
    Make sure this is on a new line before EndSection.
After you have rebooted your machine, VNC will load automatically each time you enter runlevel 5 (graphical mode). If you do not want to reboot now, you can make the changes active by logging out of graphical mode and pressing Ctrl+Alt+Backspace to restart the X server.

Because you are connecting to the root console, you do not have to type a number after the machine name or IP address when connecting to this computer with a VNC viewer.

For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, append the following to /etc/X11/xorg.conf: 

Section "Module"
Load "glx"
Load "dbe"
Load "extmod"
Load "freetype"
Load "type1"
Load "dri"
Load "vnc"
EndSection

Make sure this is on a new line before EndSection.


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Red Hat Enterprise Linux > AS/ES/WS v. 3 > Issue <<   16  of  594  >>