Chicken of the VNC >> Help
 

Hi All-

Is there a dummies guide for setting up a VNC session? I am trying to 'view' a Linux computer from OS X. I downloaded Chicken of the VNC, entered in the host information, enabled vncserver on the linux box ... and tried to connect. I keep getting the following error:

Could not connect to server
ip_address:5900

Connection refused: connect()

I wonder if the firewall settings on the Linux computer are not setup to receive requests on 5900? I'm not even sure how to modify this.

Thanks in advance for the help.

I've got tightvnc running on my home linux box, and am connecting to it with chickenofthevnc. The info I had was that i needed to make sure that the file /etc/sysconfig/vncservers needed to contain an entry in the following format:

VNCSERVERS="<display#>:<username>"

So, for me I entered :

VNCSERVERS="0:retcynm"

But when I tried to connect to display 0 from my powerbook using CotVNC, I was getting the same error as you. I then tried changeing the entry to:

VNCSERVERS="1:retcynm"

and then tried connecting to display #1 on the Mandy box, and it worked. The point of this is I was never able to get a connection going on display 0/port 5900, I had to go above that.

It does smell like firewall. Can you run a Linux VNC viewer on the linux box? i.e. see your own desktop via vnc? (Produces some neat recursive effects). How you modify the firewall is anyone's guess, depends on the Linux and firewall flavour.

thanks for the replies. i can ssh (ssh -Y) into the linux box and run the linux default vncviewer. so maybe it is a firewall issue?

I get the same thing when I try to connect to my Powermac G3 machine. When I enable the Apple Remote Desktop in the Services tab, then hover the mouse over the Apple Remote Desktop entry in the Firewall list, it say's that it'll allow TCP/UDP access on port 3238, not 5900.

Trying to connect with CotVNC's Display: field set to 0, I get a 'Could not connect to server <ip_address>:5900 - Operation timed out: connect()' error message.

If I set the Display: field to -2662 (to get to port 3238), I get a 'Could not connect to server <ip_address>:3238 - Connection refused: connect()' error message.

I can ssh or telnet into the machine with no problems.

I can use CotVNC to access a XP laptop (had to install/run RealVNC server), and also a G3 Powerbook on the same LAN with no problem.

I can also connect from the Powermac G3 to the other machines, just not to it...

What is the error message telling me? What should I try next?

Thanks in advance for any help.

In this case you can tunnel the VNC connection within SSH - it would be the preferred way anyway since SSH is encrypted. If you use CLI ssh, the command will look something like this:

ssh username@remote_servers_ip -L 9999:remote_servers_ip:5900

Once that's done, you'd basically point the VNC app to localhost on port 9999.
The 9999 in the SSH command can actually be any port number - just make sure it's something that isn't already being used.

I'm struggling with the same problem. I get the same TCP port number when hovering my mouse, but I'm led to believe it's a typo--in actuality it's supposed to be 3283 NOT 3238?? Hard to believe this little flaw would squeak through the cracks, but even though it's hard to believe, Apple coders are humans too...

So then why is it not port 5900 like it's supposed to be?

Here's the definitive document on what ports (TCP and UDP) are used by Apple software:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106439

You'll see that Apple Remote Desktop (version 2) uses TCP ports 3283 & 5900 & 5988 (for different things) and UDP port 3283.

VNC uses only 5900 (TCP)

Apple remote desktop file sharing login is finicky.
 

I use cotvn to log into an imac and an ibook. The imac has tiger while the ibook has panther. What I have to do is use Vine Server(OSXVNC)

http://www.redstonesoftware.com/prod...ver/index.html

to set up the ibook and imac. It worked the first time without problems. It seems to handle the display issue better than file sharing ARD.

kind regards
RLC

Any chance there is a configuration issue in my router? I've never messed with the advanced settings, but..

Ping the IP and see
 

Ping the IP address of the remote computer. If you can ping it you have to then just make sure the port is accessible.

Ping and Pot is easy with Network Utility located in the Utlitiy folder of Applications.

kind regards
RLC

I can ping in both directions but port scan just spins endlessly with no returns. I suspect the router, but I don't know what to configure there, I can't find the firewall on it.

Make it easy on yourself. Restrict port scanning.
 

There are literally thousands of ports. Restrict your port scanning to the ports of interest.

For example, if you are using vnc, you only need to scan ports 5900 to 5909.

To understand what ports are being used for your purpose. Open up the terminal and type the following at the prompt.

yourprompt: vi /etc/services

This will show you the port necessary for what you are trying to do.

with warm regards
Ronald Cross

I did this and let it spin for almost 5 minutes and it never found anything.

It is hopeless trying to make some network service work if you don't have intimate knowledge of your router's configuration - especially the "port-forwarding" configuration. It sounds like you need to spend some quality time with your router's manual.

What if there is no router, but only a cable or dsl modem
 

Will the same problems arise if there is no router present and only a dsl or cable modem?

I turned the firewall off on the machine that I wanted to control and still couldn't get it.

I will try the terminal check and ping mentioned above.

If you are directly connected to the cable modem, then there is no router to worry about.

Ping, port, and connect should be a whole lot easier, unless of course, the modem itself has a firewall.

kind regards,
RLC

getting the correct ip
 

I should mention that I am not trying to connect through a LAN. I am connecting through the internet from 1 machine on dsl to anolther on dsl.

to get the correct ip for the computer that I want to control, can I just look it up by:

System Prefs > Sharing > Services

"Others can manage your computer using the address 192.168.1.xx." ?

Does the machine that will be the host or remotely controlled need some kind of server software like osxvnc installed on it?

Or is just going into the setting in the system prefs and turning apple remote desktop control on good enough for that machine.

If your IP address is 192.168.x.x then you ARE behind a router, whether you know it or not. This is known as a non-routable address. In other words, you cannot get directly to a computer with this address over the internet. There are literally millions of computers that share that same address, and they are all behind routers (which DO have routable IP addresses).

To find out your router's IP address (it's external address, which will be routable--it will also have an internal address such as 192.168.1.1), go to somewhere like http://iwantmyip.com/ .

Then, you will need to figure out where your router is, and how to configure it's port forwarding. It may be a part of your DSL modem, if you don't have any other box between you and the internet. Tell us exactly what manufacturer and model of DSL modem you have, and we'll try to help you with configuring the router.

Trevor

If you want a secure connection then you need to use SSH tunneling and a VNC sever on the mac that you want to remotely control. While the buiolt in software in OSx Is good, OSXVNC (Vine Server) is better.

I have a tutorial that I use to setup a SSH Tunnel and VNC. It may be of help.

http://jklinephd.com/vnc_through_ssh/index.html

Jeff