install FreeNX on Ubuntu

How to install FreeNX on Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin source

Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I am a vocal (and perhaps tireless) advocate of FOSS/GNU/Linux. I loves me some FOSS and GNU/Linux and I really like to help others with it as well!

So after writing my post: How to install NX Free Edition on Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin, I will follow it up with a story about FOSS. In this post, I will guide you through some easy instructions for installing the GPL,FOSS NX server variant called FreeNX, and the FOSS "qtnx" client that is used to connect to the FreeNX server.

The main difference is that, unlike NX Free Edition, which is licensed as proprietary ( 2 connections limit), FreeNX and qtnx are completely Free Open Source Software (FOSS, GPL)! Sounds good right? It's music to my ears. Afterall, this FOSS/GNU/Linux stuff makes the Technical world go around for everyone.

Update 01/02/13: Want to try something easier? Simply install xrdp:

1.) sudo apt-get install xrdp
2.) Add this to the ~ of the user you plan on logggin in with:
echo "gnome-session --session=ubuntu-2d" > ~/.xsession
3.) sudo /etc/init.d/xrdp restart
4.) Connect to your xrdp host from GNU/Linux with rdesktop , or from win with windows-key+R, mstsc /v:

So here are the simple instructions (and a couple of tweaks) that I used to install FreeNX on Ubuntu 12.04 GNU/Linux:

First, you need to add the freenx-team PPA for Ubuntu 12.04 GNU/Linux. Hit CTRL + ALT + t to get your Terminal, then type or paste in the command below, then hit Enter, then hit Enter to confirm the addition of the new source:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:freenx-team

Next, update your sources list, then install the FreeNX server software (there are two commands below, the 2nd only runs if 1st is successful). After verifying that no important packages will beremoved, hit Y then enter to install FreeNX server:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install freenx

Next, as noted in the community documentation for installing FreeNX - download the missing nxsetup script, untar it, then copy it to /usr/lib/nx (the command below is one entire line that runs 3 commands and ends with /usr/lib/nx):

wget https://bugs.launchpad.net/freenx-server/+bug/576359/+attachment/1378450/+files/nxsetup.tar.gz && tar xvf nxsetup.tar.gz && sudo cp nxsetup /usr/lib/nx

Now, run the nxserver setup script. I chose to use the parameter to install the default NoMachine provided encryption keys during this command so the NoMachine win-clients can connect as well as qtnx:

sudo /usr/lib/nx/nxsetup --install --setup-nomachine-key

At this point, you have FreeNX server installed, but now you'll want to configure the FreeNX server to configure clients to use ubuntu-2d session:

echo -e "\n#Use unity 2d for client sessions\nCOMMAND_START_GNOME='gnome-session --session=ubuntu-2d'"|sudo tee -a /etc/nxserver/node.conf

Next, restart the FreeNX server to ensure it takes in the .conf file:

sudo /etc/init.d/freenx-server restart

That's it for the FreeNX server, now let's move on to the client. First, install the 'qtnx' package on Ubuntu 12.04 so we can have a client application to access the FreeNX server. You'll have to launch the Ubuntu Software Center, then click 'Edit > Software Sources' from the top menu. Then place a check by "Community-maintained free and open-source software (universe). Also, uncheck "Cdrom with Ubuntu 12.04" if it's checked. Then close the Software Sources dialog and the Ubuntu Software Center.
Now, run the commands to update your sources and install the qtnx application from the terminal (CTRL + ALT + t):

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install qtnx

Ok, from the Unity menu or the CLI, start the 'qtnx' application. Enter the username/password for a user on the server, set the speed to LAN, then click configure. On the configuration dialog, set a name for the prfile, the hostname(or IP address) for the FreeNX server machine, the client resolution (I used 1024x768), network speed (LAN), and set the platform type to GNOME (see the example screenshot below).

Note: For the non-GNU/Linux clients, you can use nomachine.com's NX Client Free to connect to the server. Just use GNOME as the session.

That's it! Get your FreeNX connection on!

As for the version I tested with, it's: nxserver --version 3.2.0-74-SVN OS (GPL, using backend: 3.5.0)

Extra Tip: If for some reason your client wouldn't connect after testing, try deleting the entries in the ~/.nx directory. I'm not sure why this would help at all in most cases but it seemed to work for me. 


Extra Tip 2: If your clients are seeing the Network Manager 'Edit' buttons as greyed out while connected - have a look at this workaround: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1616355

Install FreeNX server on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid), 10.10 (Maverick) or 11.04 (Natty)

1. Enable the repository:
   sudo add-apt-repository ppa:freenx-team
2. If you're using 10.10 Maverick, run
   
   sudo sed -i 's/maverick/lucid/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/freenx-team-ppa-maverick.list
3. If you're using 11.04 Natty, run
   
   sudo sed -i 's/natty/lucid/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/freenx-team-ppa-natty.list
4. Update the repository:
   sudo apt-get update
5. Install FreeNX:
   sudo apt-get install freenx
6. Download the setup script:
   cd /tmp;
   wget https://bugs.launchpad.net/freenx-server/+bug/576359/+attachment/1378450/+files/nxsetup.tar.gz;
   tar zxvf nxsetup.tar.gz
7. Install the setup script:
   sudo cp nxsetup /usr/lib/nx/nxsetup
8. Run the setup script:
   sudo /usr/lib/nx/nxsetup --install