VNC Configuration Notes


To get the same environment that is supported within the OCC computer labs, you will need two pieces of software.  One of them is a telnet package.  If you don't have one, you can download and install NetTerm.  The second is an Xclient and our recommendation is VNC.  These notes are from a MS Windows XP machine running NetTerm Release 4.2 and VNC Release 3.3.3 R9..


After installation, connect to your Internet Service Provider and start the telnet application up.  Once you've connected to csc.oakton.edu, your screen should look something like the following.  Start the process by issuing the vncserver command.



You will be prompted for a VNC session password.  You should use the same password as was used for your Oakton network and LINUX accounts, which is your birth date in the 6 letter format MMDDYY.  You will only need to do this the first time that you issue the vncserver command on the Oakton LINUX system.


 Once that you've entered and verified your VNC session password, the vncserver command will respond with a message similar to the following.

New 'X' desktop is online:port_number

... where the port_number is an integer between 0 and 100.  In this example, the port number is 2.


Find where on your computer the VNC software is and execute VNCWin in listen mode.  Newer versions of the software might call this VNCListen.  This will create an icon on the lower right hand corner of your screen.  Clicking on that icon will open a menu of commands, from which you should choose New Connection.  Newer releases of VNC can create the connection by double-clicking on the icon rather than opening the menu..



At the connection prompt, you will need to identify your machine as well as your port_number.  Again, in this example, we were issued port_number 2 by the vncserver command.  Consequently, our response to this prompt is csc.oakton.edu:2.


You will be prompted for your VNC session password.  You should use the same password as was used for your Oakton network and LINUX accounts, which is your birth date in the 6 letter format MMDDYY.  You will need to do this every time that you attempt to connect to the OCC LINUX machine.


At this point, the VNC window should open with an xterm in it.  You can now use all of the graphic applications that you can use in the OCC network computer labs.


Having done this, you can now issue the emacs command complete with the ampersand (&).


Once you're in the emacs environment you can type in and edit programs in a manner similar to what you do in the OCC labs, including using your mouse to control the menus.  Once out of emacs, you can logout of your xterm by using the exit command.


Once your xterm session has ended, you can shut down the X background by clicking on the boxed  × in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.


All that need be done at this point is to disconnect your telnet session, which can be done with the exit command.


At this point, you can shut down your telnet software and the VNC software.  Note that this environment will not be pleasant to work in unless you have speeds that are equivalent to network connections.  Broadband and DSL lines are certainly acceptable, but using traditional phone lines and dial up Internet service may not be very enjoyable.