Chapter 15. TigerVNC

Procedure 15.1. Configuring a VNC Display for a Single User

• Specify the user name and the display number by editing /etc/sysconfig/vncservers and adding a line in the following format:

  VNCSERVERS="display_number:user"

  The VNC user names must correspond to users of the system.

  Example 15.1. Setting the Display Number for a User

  For example, to configure display number 3 for user joe, open the configuration file for editing:

  ~]# vi /etc/sysconfig/vncservers

  Add a line as follows:

  VNCSERVERS="3:joe"

  Save and close the file.
  In the example above, display number 3 and the user joe are set. Do not use 0 as the display number since the main X display of a workstation is usually indicated as 0.

Procedure 15.2. Configuring a VNC Display for Multiple Users

• To set a VNC display for more than one user, specify the user names and display numbers by editing /etc/sysconfig/vncservers and adding a line in the following format:

  VNCSERVERS="display_number:user display_number:user"

  The VNC user names must correspond to users of the system.

  Example 15.2. Setting the Display Numbers for Two Users

  For example, to configure two users, open the configuration file for editing:

  ~]# vi /etc/sysconfig/vncservers

  Add a line as follows:

  VNCSERVERS="3:joe 4:jill"

Procedure 15.3. Configuring VNC Display Arguments

• Specify additional settings in the /etc/sysconfig/vncservers file by adding arguments using the VNCSERVERARGS directive as follows:

  VNCSERVERS="display_number:user display_number:user"
  VNCSERVERARGS[display_number]="arguments"

  Expand

  Table 15.1. Frequently Used VNC Server Parameters

  VNCSERVERARGS	Definition
  -geometry	specifies the size of the VNC desktop to be created, default is 1024x768.
  -nolisten tcp	prevents connections to your VNC server through TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
  -localhost	prevents remote VNC clients from connecting except when doing so through a secure tunnel

  Show more
  See the Xvnc(1) man page for further options.

  Example 15.3. Setting vncserver Arguments

  Following on from the example above, to add arguments for two users, edit the /etc/sysconfig/vncservers file as follows:

  VNCSERVERS="3:joe 4:jill"
  VNCSERVERARGS[1]="-geometry 800x600 -nolisten tcp -localhost"
  VNCSERVERARGS[2]="-geometry 1920×1080 -nolisten tcp -localhost"

Procedure 15.4. Configuring VNC User Passwords

• To set the VNC password for all users defined in the /etc/sysconfig/vncservers file, enter the following command as root:

  ~]# vncpasswd
  Password:
  Verify:

  To set the VNC password individually for a user:

  ~]# su - user
  ~]$ vncpasswd
  Password:
  Verify:

  Important

  The stored password is not encrypted; anyone who has access to the password file can find the plain-text password.