Windows

Other OSs: Linux Mac OS ChromeOS/Browser Android iOS

If using Windows 8, you will need to use the Desktop rather than the Metro interface. This described how to set up a VNC connection using standard Windows Desktop programs. It is also possible to connect from Windows (either the Desktop or, if set as the default browser, Metro interface) using Chrome browser apps, please see the Chrome instructions for further details. These instructions are for Windows for PCs (XP/Vista/7/8), not for Windows RT tablets or Windows Phone.

These instructions use the Tight VNC (a vnc viewer) and the Putty ssh client. Both are available for free download from the links above. While the instructions use TightVNC, the method here is to use Putty to forward the VNC session to the local machine so any VNC viewer for Windows should work. If you know of a VNC viewer for Windows that has SSH tunnelling built in, please let me know!

When you start Putty, it opens on the ‘Session’ screen. In this window set:
Host name = remote.naic.edu
Protocol = ssh
You can now hit ‘Connect’ to open an SSH window on remote (you will need to enter your account username and password), from where you can logon to dataview to start you VNC session.

You will next need to start a second Putty session to open the tunnel used to forward the VNC session to your local machine. Set up the ‘Session’ screen as above, then use the selector on the left side of the window to open the ‘Tunnels’ screen (found in Connection > SSH > Tunnels). On this screen, set:
Source port = 59MM
Destination = dataview:59NN
Where NN is the VNC display number from above (including a leading 0 if necessary), and MM (again including a leading 0 if necessary) is the local display number you want to use (59NN is thus the port number on the remove machine, 59MM the port number on the local machine). If you wanted to forward display 48 on dataview (from the example above) to display 1 on your local machine, you would set:
Source port = 5901
Destination = dataview:5948
After setting this on the ‘Tunnels’ screen, you will need to press ‘Add’, after which it should appear as a tunnel. You can now return to the ‘Session’ screen and press &lsquo'Connect’ (you will need to enter your account username and password again). This will forward the desktop from dataview:N to localhost:M.

In TightVNC you should now open a connection to localhost:M (not dataview:N). This connection is now visible through a tunnel on your local machine, so you should only have to provide your VNC password.