Remote displaying
Table of contents
Introduction
The Huygens software allows users to display the user interface on other computers in the same network free of charge. These computers can run on any operating system like Windows, Linux, Mac OS, etc. The only requirements are that those computers are part of the same network as the computer on which Huygens is running.
So with a single Huygens license you multiply the locations on which it runs easily without any extra charge! Alternative ways of running Huygens on multiple systems, are Huygens Floating Licenses and the Huygens Remote Manager (HRM). In all cases you can use Huygens when and where you need it. With the floating license you will use every inch of all available computer power in the floating license area which can be multiple departments. With the Huygens Core (HRM) you are totally free to run Huygens via a web-interface anywhere, anytime.
How does remote display work?
The computer running Huygens is the server that will handle the actual computation, the computers displaying Huygens are clients.
Using this setup all users on the network can work with Huygens from the server without burdening their own computer with heavy computational work.
The benefits in nutshell:
- Remote compute capacities, so your regular (acquisition) work is not affected.
- Central place for computing and data-storage, shared investment in hardware capacity.
- Easy to install and expandable from the users side.
Using Windows as Server
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)
Windows uses by default the RDP, the Remote Desktop Protocol for remote viewing and assistance. Users can remotely login on the Windows server running Huygens and display the whole desktop on the client. It is not possible to display the application's user interface only.
Windows is restricting remote display severely (source: 2010 The SDK team):
- A standard Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista: no multiple connections to the same desktop are allowed; at all times there can only be one user.
- A Professional server of Windows 7, Vista: no multiple connections to the same desktop are allowed so at all times there can only be one user. The improvement is that when a second user wants to log in access will be denied until the previous user has finished.
- A Windows Server Edition (Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition or above): there can be three concurrent connections. This can be expanded with extra calls (users) for an additional fee.
Make sure that the server is configured to allow incoming remote connections:
If you are using another Windows computer as a client, then follow the steps in one of the links in the list above.
If you are using Mac OS as a client, then you need to install an RDP client application in order to login on the Windows server. For example:
If you are using Linux as a client, then you need to install an RDP client application in order to login on the Windows server. For example:
Virtual Network Computing (VNC)
VNC is a graphical desktop sharing system that uses the RFB protocol to remotely control another computer. Free VNC servers for Windows are for example:
If you are using Mac OS as a client, then you need to install a VNC client application in order to login on the Windows server. For example:
If you are using Linux as a client, then you need to install a VNC client application in order to login on the Windows server. For example:
Commercial applications
The following companies have server and client software for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux:
Using Linux or Mac OS as Server
X forwarding over SSH
When the Huygens software is running on a Linux or Mac OS server, it is possible to display the user interface remotely on the users computer using the X Window system. The X Window system allows to foward applications through the network over an SSH connection.
X11 is available for Mac OS X but may not be installed by default. See X11 for information on the X11 server on Mac OS X.
If you are using another Linux or Mac OS computer as a client, use the -X option to enable X11 forwarding over ssh. To run huygens on a computer named server and display the user interface on another computer named client, open a terminal on client and type ssh -X server:
user@client:~$ ssh -X server Password: Last login: Thu Dec 2 17:54:36 2010 from client.svi.nl Have a lot of fun... user@server:~> huygenspro
If you are using Windows as a client, then you need to install an X11 client application in order to connect to the server. Note that it is probably easier to install the free NX Server application on the Linux server, and connect using the free NX client application on the Windows client. X11 clients are for example:
- Xming (Freeware)
- Cygwin (Freeware; installation instructions)
- XWin32 (Commercial)
- OpenText Exceed (Commercial; formerly Hummingbird)
NoMachine NX Server
The Free Edition of the NX Server is available for Linux and Solaris. It allows 2 users to connect at the same time, and share the desktop or applications. Because this solution requires less bandwidth than X11 forwarding, it is a great solution for working at home.
The NX client software for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and Solaris is free too.
Commercial applications
The following companies have server and client software for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux:
See for other ways of running Huygens on multiple systems Huygens Floating Licenses and the Huygens Remote Manager.