123 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
123 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Remote Desktop Access
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#tags:
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keywords: NX, nomachine, remote desktop access, login node, merlin-l-001, merlin-l-002, merlin-nx-01, merlin-nx-02, merlin-nx, rem-acc, vpn
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last_updated: 07 September 2022
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#summary: ""
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sidebar: merlin6_sidebar
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permalink: /merlin6/nomachine.html
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---
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Users can login in Merlin through a Linux Remote Desktop Session. NoMachine
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is a desktop virtualization tool. It is similar to VNC, Remote Desktop, etc.
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It uses the NX protocol to enable a graphical login to remote servers.
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## Installation
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NoMachine is available for PSI Windows computers in the Software Kiosk under the
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name **NX Client**. Please use the latest version (at least 6.0). For MacOS and
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Linux, the NoMachine client can be downloaded from https://www.nomachine.com/.
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## Accessing Merlin6 NoMachine from PSI
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The Merlin6 NoMachine service is hosted in the following machine:
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* **`merlin-nx.psi.ch`**
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This is the **front-end** (hence, *the door*) to the NoMachine **back-end nodes**,
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which contain the NoMachine desktop service. The **back-end nodes** are the following:
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* `merlin-l-001.psi.ch`
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* `merlin-l-002.psi.ch`
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Any access to the login node desktops must be done through **`merlin-nx.psi.ch`**
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(or from **`rem-acc.psi.ch -> merlin-nx.psi.ch`** when connecting from outside PSI).
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The **front-end** service running on **`merlin-nx.psi.ch`** will load balance the sessions
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and login to any of the available nodes in the **back-end**.
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**Only 1 session per back-end** is possible.
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Below are explained all the steps necessary for configuring the access to the
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NoMachine service running on a login node.
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### Creating a Merlin6 NoMachine connection
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#### Adding a new connection to the front-end
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Click the **Add** button to create a new connection to the **`merlin-nx.psi.ch` front-end**, and fill up
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the following fields:
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* **Name**: Specify a custom name for the connection. Examples: `merlin-nx`, `merlin-nx.psi.ch`, `Merlin Desktop`
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* **Host**: Specify the hostname of the **front-end** service: **`merlin-nx.psi.ch`**
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* **Protocol**: specify the protocol that will be used for the connection. *Recommended* protocol: **`NX`**
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* **Port**: Specify the listening port of the **front-end**. It must be **`4000`**.
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![Create New NoMachine Connection]({{ "/images/NoMachine/screen_nx_connect.png" }})
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#### Configuring NoMachine Authentication Method
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Depending on the client version, it may ask for different authentication options.
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If it's required, choose your authentication method and **Continue** (**Password** or *Kerberos* are the recommended ones).
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You will be requested for the crendentials (username / password). **Do not add `PSICH\`** as a prefix for the username.
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### Opening NoMachine desktop sessions
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By default, when connecting to the **`merlin-nx.psi.ch` front-end** it will automatically open a new
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session if none exists.
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If there are existing sessions, instead of opening a new desktop session, users can reconnect to an
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existing one by clicking to the proper icon (see image below).
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![Open an existing Session]({{ "/images/NoMachine/screen_nx_existingsession.png" }})
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Users can also create a second desktop session by selecting the **`New Desktop`** button (*red* rectangle in the
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below image). This will create a second session on the second login node, as long as this node is up and running.
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![Open a New Desktop]({{ "/images/NoMachine/screen_nx_newsession.png" }})
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### NoMachine LightDM Session Example
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An example of the NoMachine session, which is based on [LightDM](https://github.com/canonical/lightdm)
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X Windows:
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![NoMachine Session: LightDM Desktop]({{ "/images/NoMachine/screen_nx11.png" }})
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## Accessing Merlin6 NoMachine from outside PSI
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### No VPN access
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Access to the Merlin6 NoMachine service is possible without VPN through **'rem-acc.psi.ch'**.
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Please follow the steps described in [PSI Remote Interactive Access](https://www.psi.ch/en/photon-science-data-services/remote-interactive-access) for
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remote access to the Merlin6 NoMachine services. Once logged in **'rem-acc.psi.ch'**, you must then login to the **`merlin-nx.psi.ch` front-end** .
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services.
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### VPN access
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Remote access is also possible through VPN, however, you **must not use 'rem-acc.psi.ch'**, and you have to connect directly
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to the Merlin6 NoMachine **`merlin-nx.psi.ch` front-end** as if you were inside PSI. For VPN access, you should request
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it to the IT department by opening a PSI Service Now ticket:
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[VPN Access (PSI employees)](https://psi.service-now.com/psisp?id=psi_new_sc_cat_item&sys_id=beccc01b6f44a200d02a82eeae3ee440).
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## Advanced Display Settings
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**Nomachine Display Settings** can be accessed and changed either when creating a new session or by clicking the very top right corner of a running session.
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### Prevent Rescaling
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These settings prevent "bluriness" at the cost of some performance! (You might want to choose depending on performance)
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* Display > Resize remote display (forces 1:1 pixel sizes)
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* Display > Change settings > Quality: Choose Medium-Best Quality
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* Display > Change settings > Modify advanced settings
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* Check: Disable network-adaptive display quality (diables lossy compression)
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* Check: Disable client side image post-processing
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