Resolution for Remote Desktop (Ub -> Ub)

PDD

Hi Folks,

I have a laptop running Lubuntu and a desktop running Ubuntu (both 10.10) and I have setup Remote Desktop Sharing between them. No problem connecting from the desktop to laptop and vice versa. However the problem I have is that when I connect to my laptop via remote desktop the max resolution I can put the screen at is 1024x860 but if I were to connect my laptop to my 22" monitor directly it can output at 1600x1200 no problem.

Is there any way I can bump up the resolution of my laptops desktop when I remote desktop into it? I am using KRDC and have tried adjusting the resolution settings in that but to no avail.

Any and all feedback welcome.

Dave

Khannie

I don't know how to fix your issue with RD, but consider using NX (www.nomachine.com). You can specify fullscreen or just hit ctrl+alt+f and it'll go to the resolution of the machine you're on.

PDD

@Khannie - cheers for the feedback mate. I've installed NX but can't seem to get it to connect. I know very little about it or remote desktop but Im guessing its a client for X over SSH and thats not what is setup on the laptop its just the vanilla VNC that comes packaged with Ubuntu for destop sharing. I can't see any option in NX to configure it to connect to VNC instead of SSH.

I have tried several other Remote Desktop apps and some have the ability to set the resolution but even then its simply a 1024x resolution scaled up image rather than the system outputing to a higher resolution.

Khannie

you need to install the nx server and openssh server on the computer you want to connect to. It will definitely give you the correct resolution then.

PDD

@Khannie - Ah ok so just to be clear so that this might be useful for someone else. I need to install NX Client & NX Server on both the machine I wish to view remotely and the machine I wish to view the remote machine with.

Khannie

Nearly, but not quite.

You need to install openssh-server (apt-get install openssh-server) on the machine you want to connect to. You also need to install nx server on the machine you want to connect to.

On the client machine you need to install nx client. Then you point nx client at the nx server (your laptop in this case) and that should be that. Specify full screen in the connection options (or use ctrl+alt+f). It is a great piece of kit.

To get out of full screen toggle with ctrl+alt+f or click the "magic pixel" which is the top right most pixel on the nx display (this minimises the nx client).

niallb

NX is excellent and far snappier than traditional VNC.
You might be able to get better results with VNC though by setting up a seperate desktop for the resolution you want remotely.

Is your main use for this sharing your existing desktop (which is sensibly set to - for example - your laptop's screen size)
or are you just concerned with making a connection and getting a new login taking advantage of the laptop's power and the desktop's screen or vice versa?

You can set up vnc as a server with any screensize within reason totally seperate to your X login.

As a practical example:

1) I have a ZT-180 android tablet with a 1024x600 touchscreen and a VNC client.

2) I also have a 24x7 headless media and network server in the house.

I've set up a VNC session on the server at a 1024x600 resolution running a really simple desktop, and just use the tablet as a display, so effectively I have a 2.8GHz android tablet with 2GB of RAM :-)

Onscreen keyboards are currently a little dodgy, but that's mostly my fault for working with a free VNC client - a few quid would sort it out if it was important enough, and the ZT-180 has a USB port, so I can plug in a mouse and keyboard if I'm that bothered.

My next step is to set up that VNC session to run 2D Unity as it should work better with the touchscreen setup. I'll post up a thread on that here if I get farther with it.
(Step 3 would have been an ondemand booting EC2 cloud machine with a VNC server, so I have this functionality wherever I am... Guess I don't have as much free time as I used to!)

The point is you can set up seperate sessions to take advantage of any combination of display hardware and host resources.

As you're running ubuntu, look at vnc4server or tightvncserver - the documentation has examples on how to do this. fedora comes closer to supporting this setup out of the box.
If it's not much bother to you, you can just write a script that runs the following, and use it when you need it:

vncserver -geometry (compromise between your 22 inch monitor and your eyes)

Edit the file ~/.vnc/xstartup to run something besides your normal desktop so you won't step on your own toes.