Deploying Suse Linux Enterprise Server
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Managing Your Server
- Post Configuration Procedures
- Running Applications Remotely
- Administration Applications
- Windows Administration Applications
Running GNU/Linux Applications Remotely
One of the greatest strengths of GNU/Linux Servers is the ability to securely run remote applications across any network (including the Internet). In my opinion, this alone nullifies the argument that Microsoft Windows Servers are easier to maintain than GNU/Linux Servers (actually, if you know what you are doing the opposite is true).
Running Remote Apps on GNU/Linux Clients
Most GNU/Linux Distributions include all of the software necessary to remotely run applications from other Servers. For instance to run an application from another server you can simply run the following command:
ssh username@serveraddress -X command
After issuing the command, you will be prompted for the password of the "username" you entered above (either through the command line or a window will pop up). So, in order to run the remote Yast Users Module on the "server1" machine you would enter:
ssh root@server1 -X yast2 users
You can, of course, put this command into a Desktop Launcher so all that you would have to do is Double Click the launcher to manage your Server's Users.
Note - If you decide to move the port number for the SSH Daemon on your server, simply add the "-p #" option to the command.
If you dislike the idea of having to enter a password every time you launch a command, you can setup what is called "SSH Key Exchange" so instead of using passwords, the SSH server will utilize encrypted keys instead. To do this, follow the following steps:
SSH KEY Exchange
On the Client Run:
ssh-keygen -b 2048 -t rsa chmod -R go-rxw .ssh/* cp .ssh/id_rsa.pub mykey.pub
Copy that Key to the Server:
sftp root@clientmachine put mykey.pub exit
Finally, on the Server Run:
ssh root@clientmachine ssh-keygen -b 2048 -t rsa cat mykey.pub >> .ssh/authorized_keys2 chmod -R go-rxw .ssh/*
Test the Key Exchange:
ssh -l root servermachine whoami
Running Remote Apps on Microsoft Windows Clients
Configuring a Microsoft Windows Client to remotely run applications off of your server is a little more complicated. The first thing is you have to install all of the required software needed for your Windows Machine. There are various different packages available to do this, however I am going to show you how to use software programs called the Xming X Server and the Putty SSH Client. Both of these applications can be downloaded from the Xming site at http://www.straightrunning.com/XmingNotes/.
Note - I provide an "easy to use" network installer for these applications which allow you to remotely install them on any computer connected to your Samba Domain. You can get it at: http://files.pcc-services.com/files/SLES10/
To install the software applications, download and run the "Xming Installer" and the "Xming-portable-PuTTY Installer" (the "Xming-Fonts Installer" is not needed for running remote applications). This will install all of the required software packages to your Microsoft Windows Workstation and configure any registry keys that need to be set.
Once the software is installed, you can now create what are called ".xlaunch" files. These direct the Xming and Putty applications to remotely connect to your server through SSH, run the application on your server and display that application on your Microsoft Windows Client. Xming does include a "Wizard" to help you create these ".xlaunch" files, but these files are simply text files and can be created using any Text Editor (such as Notepad or Notepad2). An example of an ".xlaunch" file is below:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<XLaunch xmlns="http://www.straightrunning.com/XmingNotes" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.straightrunning.com/XmingNotes XLaunch.xsd" WindowMode="MultiWindow" ClientMode="StartProgram" Program="yast2" ClientStart="PuTTY" PathToProtocol="C:\\Program Files\\XClient\\PortablePuTTY\\" RemoteHost="sles-test.private.lan" RemoteUser="root" Display="0" Clipboard="true" ExtraParams="-dpi 90"/>
The items you need to focus on are the "Program", "RemoteHost" and the "RemoteUser" directives. Simply adjust these to suit your network, then simply launch the ".xlaunch" file by double-clicking on it. If everything is configured correctly, you will be asked for the "root" password and the application should be displayed on your Windows Client.
Note: In the above example I did not use the default path to install the applications, you may need to remove the "XClient" part of the path if using the default installation directories. Also note that I add the -dpi parameter to my launchers. This allows you to adjust the "window size" for clarity.
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