SSH X11 Forwarding on N900

[tomassey]

I haven't seen anybody mention this, and it was missing from http://wiki.maemo.org/Remote_desktop so I've added it there.

May be of use, I think it's pretty cool.

SSH X11 forwarding allows you to run applications on a remote computer running an X11 server and have them displayed on a local X11 client, using the SSH protocol to keep the connection secure. For the purposes of Maemo devices, this allows you to connect to your Linux machine from your N900, run any X11 application on your Linux machine, and have it forward the display and keyboard/mouse capture to your N900.

You will need to have installed an ssh client on your N900 to do this.

The below assumes you are connecting to a Linux PC called 'host', with a user account 'user'.

Open an xterminal on your N900 and type:

~$ ssh -X user@host

Answer the password prompt:

user@host's password:

You now have a CLI prompt from which you can launch any X11 applications on your Linux machine and have them displayed on your N900.

user@host:~$

[johnel]

It never occured to me to try this on the n900!

I've used this with other systems in the past and it is genuinely useful.

I found it useful for keeping an eye on compiling stuff remotely. With a static IP address you can do this across the internet as well.

[benny1967]

What I tried to do with previous Maemo versions is make this work the other way round: start an app on the N900 and control it on either my Ubuntu or my Gentoo box.

Sometimes it's just nicer to have a mouse and a full keyboard, especially when you experiment a lot or go through a process step by step and want do document it with screenshots.

I never succeeded, though. (There should be some threads about this here.) - I don't have the N900 with me now... so... does it finally work with Maemo 5? Did you try?

[therock]

i played around with it alot and i got Linux laptop --> N900 openoffice

but i could not get it the other way around N900 --> Linux laptop

i think it has something todo with authentication

see this thread
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php...ighlight=xauth

[benny1967]

pity.

i'd find this much more useful than displaying desktop applications on the N900.... although my use cases are very special.

[jaeezzy]

Originally Posted by johnel

It never occured to me to try this on the n900!

I've used this with other systems in the past and it is genuinely useful.

I found it useful for keeping an eye on compiling stuff remotely. With a static IP address you can do this across the internet as well.

I would be grateful if you could give step by step guide to sshing across the internet. That would be coool. Thanks.

[therock]

me 2 i would love to have xauth and X11 forwarding working both ways

[tomassey]

Mmm, would be useful to be able to do it the other way. Really should be possible.

The /etc/ssh/sshd_config file on the N900 has X11Forwarding yes

Far as I can tell it's identical to the sshd_config file on Debian Lenny.

Vague thought would be to compile xauth for Maemo 5. Or perhaps xhost, though that wouldn't be very secure.

Also wonder about ssh -X user@N900 instead of root.

Have to give the user account a password. Or allow ssh logins without a password, perhaps.

[ruskie]

To be precise you need an X11 server localy(which of course there is)[it's the server that displays].
The remote end just needs a client which any X app would basically be

[tomassey]

I'm actually wondering if it's possible to install the Debian package x11-xserver-utils from http://packages.debian.org/lenny/arm...utils/download

Which should give you xhost. Run xhost + on the N900, should get rid of any authentication problems.