Running Remote Linux Sessions: NOMACHINE for Windows

nomachine download dialogue To connect to one of the Engineering computer lab Linux workstations, use the NOMACHINE NX client from a Windows computer.

Download

From the NOMACHINE download site, select the NX Client for Windows (you may need to scroll down to see the NX Client Products). Click NX Client for Windows or the arrow to the right of that text to open the download window. The current version is nxclient-3.1.0-3.exe. (See illustration at right.) Notice that there are also NOMACHINE clients for Linux, Macintosh OSX, and Solaris computers.

Install

You can install the NX Client without being administrator.

Run the .exe file installer and click Next at the first dialogue box. You must choose the installation directory next; we suggest using the default if installing on a computer you own. If you are installing on an administered computer, install in your home directory, for example, H:\Program Files\NX Client for Windows. The installation requires 14.4MB of space. Click Next.

Next the installer creates shortcuts. Accept or modify and click Next two times and then Install, then Finish when prompted.

Run

Start the NX Client and you will be prompted through the Connection Wizard. Click Next. Name the session (or called it "session" as in the illustration), use the Host desktop.engineering.uiowa.edu, and set your internet connection as appropriate. Click Next.

nomachine-session

On the next screen, leave Unix and KDE set. You can change the size of remote desktop screen to any of the pre-set options or create a custom window. The example below shows the fullscreen option. Click Next.

nomachine-desktop-size

The final dialogue box lets you put a shortcut on the desktop and gives the option of opening the Advanced Configuration dialogue box. Click Finish. The Advanced Configuration lets you set the amount of cache used in memory and on disk, change settings made above, etc.

NOMACHINE launches and requests the password for your Engineering account. Click Yes on the NX dialogue box that displays the RSA key fingerprint information, shown below. You will see this dialogue box only the first time you use the NX Client.

rsa-key-ok

After you complete a session, be sure to log out. (Thank you.)

new: 29 January 2008