VNC manage Commands

This section describes the following commands, which you can use to manage your VNC session:

• Set your VNC session password using vncpasswd.

• Start a session using vncserver_once.

• Check you session status using vncfinger.

• On a non-HMDC server, check your connection status using ps.

• Terminate a frozen or nonfunctional session using vnccleanup.

vncpasswd

Unless you use the HMDC Easy Connection script to connect to the RCE, your VNC client prompts you for a password when connecting to a session. This VNC session password is separate from the login account password required when you log in to the server. If you use the Easy Connection script, the script sets your VNC session password to your login account password.

On HMDC systems, the command vncserver_once sets your VNC session password to your login account password. On non-HMDC systems, the command vncserver prompts you to create a session password.

If you do not know your VNC session account password or if you choose to change it, type the command vncpasswd in the SSH connection window as follows:

> vncpasswd
Password: <new password>
Verify: <new password>

vnccleanup

To terminate a frozen or non-functional VNC session type the following command:

> vnccleanup

You will receive the following messages:

WARNING: This will end your current session. If you have unsaved work, 
WARNING: it may be lost.
Would you like to continue? [y/n]: y
*** Shutting down VNC session...Killing Xvnc process ID 4331...done
*** Shutting down gconfd-2...done
*** Shutting down bonobo...done
*** Shutting down GNOME keyring daemon...done
Remote access session has been cleaned up. 
You should now be able to start a new session.

Now you can connect to a new session of the RCE.

vncserver_once

To start a new session on a VNC server, log in using an SSH utility and then type the command vncserver_once. For example:

> vncserver_once
3

In this example, a user created a new VNC session and the system assigned session number 3 to that user.

vncfinger

To find your session number on a VNC server, use the command vncfinger to list the active VNC sessions and the username that owns each session. For example:

> vncfinger

Username VNC Session
dho 4
eray 3
hstoll 2
olau 5
svanderh 1

ps

To find your session number on a non-VNC server, use the command ps as follows:

> ps -fu `whoami` | grep Xvnc

user 24904 1 0 Jul19 ? 00:00:00 Xvnc :1 –desktop login.hmdc.harvard.edu:1X1

In this example, the session number is 1.