Linux mint xfce 20 server. VNCserver problems

[itachipirate]

I'm trying to setup a good vncserver on an extra computer to host game servers. I want to have no keyboard, mouse, or display connected to this extra computer but I'd like to be able to VNC into it and control it with little input latency from within the local network (all wired connections). I am connecting to the server via SSH and the vncviewer client on windows

 

I tried tightvnc but it creates separate desktops environments and I can't use full functionality as if I was sitting at the server computer with a moitor plugged into it. uninstalled tightvnc

 

I tried realvnc and it worked great for a while if I started the service via SSH on boot. When I logged in I got my regular black desktop background and resizeable window. That is no longer working for some reason

i tried to set this service to autorun on startup. after doing this (or maybe i fucked something else up who knows), the vncserver that runs on boot gives me a non changeable window resolution on my windows client, the background is blue with a picture of a mouse, and there is terrible input lag

 

Now I'm currently messing with x11vnc but I get the same blue background with a picture of a mouse and terrible 3 second-ish input lag.

 

If you've read this far you can probably tell I have no idea what im doing. I tried following a few different guides online for each of the vncservers i tried hosting. If anyone has any idea to help I would really appreciate it

[RONOTHAN##]

I do want to point out that if you're gonna setup a server, you're better off setting up a web management portal or doing everything through SSH. Something like Webmin would be a much better solution than trying to VNC into the server, more stable and less load on the server.

 

That said, if you're gonna go the VNC route (which again, is not really the best solution for what you're doing), I've personally had good luck with TigerVNC. It's easy to setup, and last time I set it up it didn't have the same problem that you have with tightVNC (that said, that was a year ago, so it might've changed). 

[itachipirate]

12 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

I do want to point out that if you're gonna setup a server, you're better off setting up a web management portal or doing everything through SSH. Something like Webmin would be a much better solution than trying to VNC into the server, more stable and less load on the server.

 

That said, if you're gonna go the VNC route (which again, is not really the best solution for what you're doing), I've personally had good luck with TigerVNC. It's easy to setup, and last time I set it up it didn't have the same problem that you have with tightVNC (that said, that was a year ago, so it might've changed). 

can I use a panel like webadmin to get full functionality of the machine as though I was sitting in front of it with a keyboard, mouse, and monitor?

I don't have my heart set on VNC in any way. I just want a quick responsive remote access over LAN

[RONOTHAN##]

5 minutes ago, itachipirate said:

can I use a panel like webadmin to get full functionality of the machine as though I was sitting in front of it with a keyboard, mouse, and monitor?

I don't have my heart set on VNC in any way. I just want a quick responsive remote access over LAN

Full functionality like you were sitting in front of a full desktop environment? no.

 

All the functionality you need for running a server, yes. It lets you manage which services are running on the computer, temps/usage statistics, add services to run, edit config files, etc. 

 

Once you setup everything with a server (you can do that through a DE if you want), you basically never have to do anything outside of software updates and the occasional reboot, both of which are usually easier to just do through SSH. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

Id personally put a hypervisor on the system like proxmox, then you can remote into the vms if you want. And it gives you all the advantages of a vm like snapshots and easy backups.

 

Why do you need a gui here? id just use ssh for management. I do all my servers this way, and it lets you do all you need for a server.

[itachipirate]

I guess the ssh would be easier than a gui. I'm going to be running two separate java 11 programs and i'll need to make them automatically restart if they crash.

 

If I ssh in and start the java server I can see the cmd line output in the ssh window, both in separate ssh windows. If i close the ssh on my windows PC and want to reopen the server info, I don't know how to do that... I'll figure something else out I guess but at one point I had realVNC working perfectly with no latency. I don't even know how it broke but I'm gonna try reinstalling mint entirely and doing realvnc again

[Electronics Wizardy]

2 hours ago, itachipirate said:

I guess the ssh would be easier than a gui. I'm going to be running two separate java 11 programs and i'll need to make them automatically restart if they crash.

 

If I ssh in and start the java server I can see the cmd line output in the ssh window, both in separate ssh windows. If i close the ssh on my windows PC and want to reopen the server info, I don't know how to do that... I'll figure something else out I guess but at one point I had realVNC working perfectly with no latency. I don't even know how it broke but I'm gonna try reinstalling mint entirely and doing realvnc again

You can use something like tmux, so the program will stay open even if you disconnect ssh.  It also lets you have multiple terminal windows at the same time open

 

You can do the auto restart pretty easy with a basic bash script.

[itachipirate]

I have solved it. It was runny badly because I had no monitor connected. I followed the guide below to setup a dummy display and it works great now

https://askubuntu.com/questions/453109/add-fake-display-when-no-monitor-is-plugged-in