Linux Terminal Server

Purpose

The purpose of the terminal servers is to provide a standard linux desktop which also gives easy access to the linux grid facilities at DTU Compute. The servers are running a standard Ubuntu 10.04LTS. Access is done via dedicated hardware clients using the linux terminal server projects setup or software client using NX. The interface is based on the light weight LXDE

Compared to the SunRay servers the linux terminal servers should provide more up-to-date applications and better performance. However, the mobility provided by the smart card (i.e. one can move an existing session from one terminal to another)is no longer supported.

Hardware

The servers concist of 2 HP servers with 64GB RAM and 12 cores. Hardware this client are based on ????????.

Requirements

To use the terminal:

• The login shell should be /bin/bash (most users has this a login shell).
• The LANGvariable should be set in ~/.bashrc by adding *one* of the following linies:
  export LANG=en_US.utf8
  or
  export LANG=en_US
  Remove the following lines from your ~/.emacs if you set LANG=en_US.utf8:
  (set-terminal-coding-system 'iso-latin-1)
  (set-language-environment "Latin-1")
  (set-keyboard-coding-system 'iso-latin-1)
  Reason: SUN, hms1 &linuxgrid has en_US (i.e. a ISO based encoding)as default while linuxterm is having en_US.utf8 as default. By changing to a UTF8 based encoding all text file with special characters such as "æ", "ø" & "å" needs to be updated. This can for latex files be a significant challenge.

Mini FAQ

• How do Iconnect using a SW client?
  See this page.
• How do Ichange the keyboard to a US layout on my thin client?
  Send an email to itsupport@imm.dtu.dk with the number of your client
• How do I add Matlab to the main task bar?
  On top on the "File Manager" icon (2nd from left) click the right mouse button and choose "Application Launch Bar Settings". Follow the menu system from there.
• The screen is black and it says something about SquashFS errors?
  Turn off and on the hardware. This error occurs if the hardware have lost connection to the server.
• Can I use the terminal as client for the winterm server?
  Yes, you can switch between Linux and Windows by pressing CTRL-ALT-F3 for Windows and CTRL-ALT-F4 for Linux.
• How do I get black text on white background in the terminals? On a terminal, go to Edit -> Preferences and change the colours there.
• How do I enable autoraise? Edit the file ~/.config/openbox/lxde-rc.xml and make sure that <followMouse> and <raiseOnFocus> are yes.

Connecting

You can either use the web version which requires Java installed or installing a client on your computer.

Web version for Linux and Windows users

The web version is available from

https://linuxterm.imm.dtu.dk

When asked for username enter the one you would use if you were logging into a Sun terminal or Linux server.

The vendor hasn't yet made an OSX 10.7 version.

Improve responsiveness

Based on which Internet connection you connect from you can alter the responsiveness e.g. when moving windows.

Then the nxclient have been started click"Configure...". Here you can choose between

Modem, ISDN, ADSL, WAN, LAN.

If you conenct from within DTU without using wireless then LAN is a good starting point.

If you conenct from within home without using wireless then ADSL is a good starting point.

If you conenct from wireless connection then ISDN is a good starting point.

The setting changes the image compression, where the most compression is done with Modem, and is therefore gives the best response time, and LAN does almost no compression but requires more bandwidth.

Linux client

Download and install the one that fits your version of Linux distribution from https://linuxterm.imm.dtu.dk/clients/ .

When installed, start the client by entering

nxclient

and then exit it again and enter as your normal user

cd ~/.nx/config
wget --user=$(whoami) --ask-password https://linuxterm.imm.dtu.dk/clients/config/linuxterm.nxs

and enter DTU Compute passphrase.

When the client is started again linuxterm should be pre-selected in the "Session" box.

Now you are ready to connect.

OSX client

You start by downloading Opennx from the Internet:Go to opennx.net, and download the Mac-Client.

After having installed this, you also need to download the key from https://linuxterm.imm.dtu.dk/clients/config/linuxterm.nxs

Move the downloaded file into the OpenNX-folder, authenticate, and click to get started.

Click to start:PLEASENOTE: you have to login with your IMM-Unix ID/PW !!

and you are good to go :-)

Windows client

• Download and install the NX Client for Windows: https://linuxterm.imm.dtu.dk/clients/windows/nxclient-3.5.0-7.exe
• Installation is straightforward: Next - Next - Next - Next - Install - Finish
• Download the configuration file: https://linuxterm.imm.dtu.dk/clients/config/linuxterm.nxs
• Start "NX Client for Windows" and click "Cancel" -this will create the config folder
• Copy/move the config file linuxterm.nxs to: %userprofile%\.nx\config
• Either use "Run..." and paste the path or paste it in a file explorer.
• Run "NX Client for Windows" and connect using your IMM Unix login and password.

NB: it's possible to configure the "linuxterm" session settings - Use the Configure button before connecting (i.e. change desktop settings under the General tab)