Speaker
Mr
Zhijian Yin
(Brookhaven National Lab)
Description
In light source beamlines, there are times when remote operations from
users are desired. This becomes challenging, considering cybersecurity has
been dramatically tightened throughout many facilities. Remote X-windows
display to Unix/Linux workstations at the facilities, either with straight x
traffic or tunneling through ssh (ssh -XC), is quite slow over long distance,
thus not quite suitable for remote control/operations. We implemented a
solution that employs the open source FreeNX technology. With its efficient
compression technology, the bandwidth usage is quite small and the
response time from long distance is very impressive. The setup we have,
involves a freenx server configured on the linux workstation at the facility
and free downloadable clients (Windows, Mac, Linux) at the remote site to
connect to the freenx servers. All traffic are tunneled through ssh, and
special keys can be used to further security. The response time is so good
that remote operations are routinely performed. We believe this
technology can have great implications for other facilities, including those
for the high energy physics community.
Author
Mr
Zhijian Yin
(Brookhaven National Lab)
Co-author
Dr
Peter Siddons
(Brookhaven National Lab)
