[clue-tech] how do I get gnome desktop to host x sessions from remote servers?

[Bruce Ediger]

On Thu, 8 Oct 2009, David Williams wrote:

> On the server (the x-client side) I run:
>  [davidw at callisto davidw]$ export DISPLAY=192.168.1.133:0.0
>  [davidw at callisto davidw]$ echo $DISPLAY
>  192.168.1.133:0.0
>  [davidw at callisto davidw]$ xhost $DISPLAY
>  xhost:  unable to open display "192.168.1.133:0.0"
>  [davidw at callisto davidw]$ xterm
>  xterm Xt error: Can't open display: 192.168.1.133:0.0

You know, this happened to me just a few days ago, maybe for the same
reason.

I just installed Arch Linux on a previously Windows XP machine.  I wanted
to run xpdf on another box, and have it show up on the Arch box.

No amount of "xhost +" etc etc would budge it.  There's some X server
file, /etc/X11/xinit/xserverrc on Arch linux, that told the X server *not*
to listen on a TCP port, only on a Unix domain socket.

The file now has one line in it:
exec /usr/bin/X # -nolisten tcp

The "-nolisten tcp" is now commented out, and I can open xterms from elsewhere
on it.

Arch seems pretty generic about where it puts files, but my Slacware boxes
don't have that file.

I guess I'd say look for xserverrc, or look at the command line of the X server
process in /proc: see if the "nolisten" flag got set.

You could also look in "netstat -a" output to see if some process listens
on TCP port 6000, or whatever /etc/services calls it.  My Slackware box
has this line in "netstat -a" output

tcp        0      0 *:x11                   *:*                     LISTEN

If the X server isn't listening on a TCP port, you'll never get to it, 
no matter what xhost says.