FreeNX on Ubuntu

I have been using FreeNX on Ubuntu Linux as a terminal server for remote graphical access. (It’s similar to Remote Desktop on Windows.) It’s fast and works quite well on slow Internet connections. NoMachine provides clients for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux, which means I can connect to my machine from anywhere.

Most of the instructions are available in Ubuntu’s documentation for FreeNX. First, add the repository, update the package listings, and install the FreeNX package:

add-apt-repository ppa:freenx-team
aptitude update
aptitude install --quiet --assume-yes freenx

Finally, set up FreeNX. I opt to use the default SSH key pairs (“–setup-nomachine-key”) because it doesn’t require additional configuration for the client to connect. I added the “–clean –purge” to fix authentication errors that I began having after I upgraded to Ubuntu 9.10.

/usr/lib/nx/nxsetup --install --setup-nomachine-key --clean --purge

After I install a client, I can connect to my computer from anywhere and use it as though I were sitting in front of it.