How to Configure a Trusted Extensions System With Xvnc for Remote Access

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Virtual Network Computing (VNC) technology connects a client to a remote server, then displays the desktop of the remote server in a window on the client. Xvnc is the UNIX version of VNC, which is based on a standard X server. In Trusted Extensions, a client on any platform can connect to an Xvnc server that is running Trusted Extensions, log in to the Xvnc server, then display and work on a multilevel desktop.

For more information, see the Xvnc(1) and vncconfig(1) man pages.

Before You Begin

You have installed and configured Trusted Extensions on this system that will be used as the Xvnc server. The global zone on this system has a fixed IP address, that is, it is not using the automatic network configuration profile, as described on the netcfg (1M) man page.

This system recognizes the VNC clients by hostname or by IP address. Specifically, the admin_low security template identifies either explicitly or by using a wildcard the systems that can be VNC clients of this server. For more information about configuring the connection securely, see How to Limit the Hosts That Can Be Contacted on the Trusted Network.

If you are currently running in a GNOME session on the console of the future Trusted Extensions Xvnc server, you do not have Desktop Sharing enabled.

You are in the root role in the global zone of the future Trusted Extensions Xvnc server.

Load or update the Xvnc software.

# pkg search vnc
... set    VNC client based on the TigerVNC open source release that 
           displays a session over RFB protocol from a VNC server
           pkg:/desktop/remote-desktop/tigervnc@version
... set    X Window System server based on X.Org Foundation open source
           release and TigerVNC open source release that displays over
           RFB protocol to a VNC client
           pkg:/x11/server/xvnc@version
...

One option is the TigerVNC X11/VNC server software.

# pkg install server/xvnc
# pkg install remote-desktop/tigervnc

Note - If you are unable to open the GUI, add the local root account to the X server access control list. Run this command as the user who logged in to the X server.

% xhost +si:localuser:root

For more information, see the xhost(1) and Xsecurity(5) man pages.

Enable the X Display Manager Control Protocol.
Modify the GNOME Display Manager (gdm) custom configuration file. In the /etc/gdm/custom.conf file, type Enable=true under the [xdmcp] heading.
```
[xdmcp]
Enable=true
```

Insert the following line in the /etc/gdm/Xsession file around line 27.
Tip - Save a copy of the original Xsession file before making the change.
```
DISPLAY=unix:$(echo $DISPLAY|sed -e s/::ffff://|cut -d: -f2)
```
The files in Step 2 and Step 3 are marked with the package attribute preserve=true. For information about the effect this attribute has on your modified files during package upgrades and package fixes, see the pkg(5) man page.
Enable the Xvnc server service.
```
# svcadm enable xvnc-inetd
```
Log out all active GNOME sessions on this server.
```
# svcadm restart gdm
```
Wait about one minute for the desktop manager to restart. Then, a VNC client can connect.
Verify that the Xvnc software is enabled.
```
% svcs | grep vnc
```
On every VNC client of this Xvnc server, install the VNC client software.
For the client system, you have a choice of software. You can use VNC software from the Oracle Solaris repository.
(Optional)Audit VNC connections.
For information about preselecting audit events per system and per user, see Configuring the Audit Service in Managing Auditing in Oracle Solaris 11.2 .
To display the Xvnc server workspace on a VNC client, perform the following steps:
1. In a terminal window on the client, connect to the server.
```
% /usr/bin/vncviewer Xvnc-server-hostname
```
  For command options, see the vncviewer(1) man page.
2. In the window that displays, type your user name and password.
  Continue with the login procedure. For a description of the remaining steps, see Logging In to Trusted Extensions in Trusted Extensions User’s Guide .

Example 12-2 Using Vino to Share a Desktop in a Test Environment

In this example, two developers are using the GNOME Vino service to share the display from the Launch → System → Preferences → Desktop Sharing menu. In addition to the preceding steps, they relax Trusted Extensions policy by enabling the XTEST extension.

# pfedit /usr/X11/lib/X11/xserver/TrustedExtensionsPolicy
## /usr/X11/lib/X11/xserver/TrustedExtensionsPolicy file
...
#extension XTEST
extension XTEST
...