Re: running x over ssh?

[Cameron Simpson <cs zip com au>]

On Thu, Jun 07, 2001 at 09:25:42AM -0500, Young, C Bryan <cbyoung ukans edu> wrote:
| |	What I'd like to have happen is start an ssh session in to a
| machine,
| | then load x, so that the output appears on my ssh terminal.
| 
| Not sure if I can contribute anything here -- but it sounds to me that you
| want an xdm-type login over a SSH tunnel.  
| 
| That is, you don't just want to open an x app from a remote machine on your
| local machine, but you want the entire x windows screen from the remote host
| to appear on your local monitor (without running X on your local machine).
| 
| I guess the question to those in the know, then, is can an xdm login be
| launched through SSH?

Sure.

BUT...

He _still_ needs something to do the graphics on his local display.
If he's in console mode, he must first start X; an ordinary tty is _not_
graphics capable.

Now, the XDM logiin _is_ an X client. So he can start X, ssh to the
remote host, and run its XDM.

Positing he hasn't got X running, he really wants to run startx or xinit
with a special .xinitrc file, like this:

		#!/bin/sh
		ssh -o 'forwardx11 yes' remote-host run-the-login-client

Of course, the login stuff must run as root...

But given that he's already "logged in" maybe he doesn't need the login
side - it would be enough to run the appropriate session:

		#!/bin/sh
		ssh -o 'forwardx11 yes' remote-host /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession

Note that in the long run you are merely running an X cleint (or a bunch
of them) from the far end using your local X server, because you _must_
have a local X server for the graphics to actually happen.
-- 
Cameron Simpson, DoD#743        cs zip com au    http://www.zip.com.au/~cs/

What would this country be without this great land of ours?	- Ronald Reagan