reliable VNC ???

djbeta · #1 September 3rd, 2007, 10:36 AM

Hi,

Can someone please tell me what the end all end all is of VNC reliability for controlling both Mac and PC machines from Macs?

Chicken of
VNC ???---> Mac OS X native ?
OS X (Vine) Server ?

nixgeek · #2 September 3rd, 2007, 01:14 PM

I use Chicken of the VNC as a client on the Mac and Vine Server as a VNC server for my Mac. So far, both have been very stable for me. However, remember that VNC is insecure unless you tunnel it through SSH.

http://www.freemacblog.com/mac-serve...nc-connection/

As for the VNC protocol, it's standard across all platforms. So you can use Chicken of the VNC on a Mac to remote into a Linux or Windows computer using RealVNC server, or even use a VNC client on Linux or WIndows and access a Mac running Vine Server.

djbeta · #3 September 4th, 2007, 11:26 AM

Does the Mac's "Remote Desktop" sharing "Allow VNC Connections" preference conflict with Vine Server? Does it have to be enabled ?

nixgeek · #4 September 4th, 2007, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djbeta

Does the Mac's "Remote Desktop" sharing "Allow VNC Connections" preference conflict with Vine Server? Does it have to be enabled ?

Yes, it does conflict. I prefer using Vine Server over the included VNC option under the Sharing pane of System Preferences because Vine Server gives you a lot more options and is more stable in my experience. The integrated Apple one isn't that great and I noticed that it doesn't work if the Mac is at the login screen.

If you're going to use Vine Server, disable the integrated one in OS X.

djbeta · #5 September 4th, 2007, 04:12 PM

the only issue I'm having with Vine Server and Chicken of the VNC is that I lose the connection on User Account Logout.

I can then reconnect.. I don't have the server set to automatically terminate on a fast user switch.. any ideas why I get disconnected?

nixgeek · #6 September 4th, 2007, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djbeta

the only issue I'm having with Vine Server and Chicken of the VNC is that I lose the connection on User Account Logout.

I can then reconnect.. I don't have the server set to automatically terminate on a fast user switch.. any ideas why I get disconnected?

In the Vine Server application, there's a section where you can enable it to launch on system startup. Once you enable that, Vine Server will have its VNC daemon start on bootup so that it's always running even when a user is not logged into the desktop. I usually restart the Mac so that the settings take effect after I've enabled that option.

That part had slipped my mind....my apologies.

djbeta · #7 September 4th, 2007, 06:03 PM

No, I did enable that and rebooted. So I think I'm good in that respect. Could there be another reason. Note, I've noticed this sort of activity on other Macs running Chicken of the VNC connecting to OSXVNC/Vine... sometimes it seems that if I reboot the client machine (COVNC), then it will connect to the server.. but it seems to be sporadic.. i get the dialog that says "server has disconnected you choose Reconnect or Okay "

nixgeek · #8 September 5th, 2007, 09:13 AM

Try and disable the BonJour option in Chicken of the VNC and see if it still maintains the connection. Also, if the Mac running the VNC server is going into a sleep mode, then that might be killing the session from the client to the server (sleep tends to kill the network connection sometimes).

Incidentally, is the Mac running Vine Server accessing the network through Ethernet or through wireless? If it's wireless then that might be the cause of the problem as well.