WebVNC

The WebVNC package is for easily setting up a web-page that let's readers access a Java applet for VNC connections. VNC is, simply put, graphical remote control desktop software. With a Fedora-based Amahi install, it takes a few steps on the server to 1) install the package, 2) turn on desktop sharing.

Note: This allows anyone with network access to this machine to connect to your session, if they know the password. Be sure this is what you want.

Install the Package

For now, the steps are just documented. But when the web app installer is complete, this will be much simpler :)

• Create an alias using the webapps setup tab. Call it "webvnc". It will create a folder: /var/hda/webapps/webvnc
• Log into the machine as root, change directory to /var/hda/webapps
• Download package: wget http://spatialguru.com/files/amahi/webvnc_v1.tgz
• Extract package: tar -xzf webvnc.tgz - this should create files in /var/hda/webapps/webvnc/html/...
• Set user permissions so that Amahi can clean up later if needed: chown -R apache.apache /var/hda/webapps/webvnc

That should be all you need to do for the web application setup!

Turn on Desktop Sharing

• Log into the computer running HDA, e.g. as a normal user
• Select SYSTEM menu, then Internet, then Remote Desktop
• Turn on the top two "sharing" options, turn off the "Ask for confirmation" option, but set a password below it.

Note: This allows anyone with network access to this machine to connect to your session, if they know the password. Be sure this is what you want.

Using the App

You should now be able to access: http://webvnc. Give it a minute to start up, then enter your password. Leave any questions or discussion on the Talk:WebVNC page.

Screenshot of desktop sharing setup below - sorry it's so huge.

http://content.screencast.com/users/spatialguru/folders/Jing/media/996c7c1d-05a9-4a92-9d87-f89167742a3c/00000032.png

Troubleshooting

Two typical scenarios pop up as problematic. One, is to make sure you have a password defined as above. Second, make sure the confirmation checkbox is deactivated, unless you are sitting in front of the HDA itself. Otherwise it will just sit there indefinitely waiting for someone to click a button on the screen of the HDA.

Please note that at the present time, and according to the above, only port 5900 (VNC display :0) is supported. If you want to change that, then manually edit /var/hda/web-apps/webvnc/html/html/index.html and change 5900 to desired number (e.g. :1 = 5901, :2=5902, etc)