[Hallc] Reminder: JLab remote desktop access

[Ole Hansen]

Hi all,

I have been asked to compile a list of methods for remote desktop access
to JLab systems. Having a remote desktop on a JLab system allows you,
among other things, to bring up a web browser with access to
JLab-specific resources such as MIS systems, online journals, etc.

First off, see here:

https://cc.jlab.org/remoteaccess

I can re-summarize the above with a few personal annotations:

1) VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (requires CUE credentials)

https://cc.jlab.org/vdi

You will need to install the VMWare client software on your home
computer. It came preinstalled on my JLab-issued MacBook, where it is
called "VMware Horizon Client".

Once connected, you'll have a virtual Windows desktop, including
browser, office software etc. It usually works well, but is occasionally
overloaded. If you experience connection issues, try again later.

2) ssh forwarding to the JLab Windows terminal server (requires CUE
credentials)

https://cc.jlab.org/windows/remotedesktop

This should give you a similar experience as (1), except that you'll be
using the Windows terminal server cluster instead of the VDI machines.
Anecdotally, the terminals servers seem to be overloaded less often than
the VDI servers.

3) JLab VPN (requires multi-factor authentication)

https://cc.jlab.org/vpn

Again, you need to install client software, as described on the web
paged linked above. The VPN setup will be intrusive to your machine's
networking configuration, so would be best to do on a dedicated system
such as your JLab laptop. I strongly recommend against running the VPN
client on your family computer.

For advanced users:

4) VNC access to various JLab desktops, including your office machine

You'll need to start a VNC server on the machine on which you want to
work. See the manual page for "vncserver". Next, you need to set up an
ssh tunnel to connect a local port on your home computer to that VNC
server's listening port. You will have to go through one of the login
gateways (e.g. login.jlab.org or hallgw.jlab.org) and so this will
involve two chained ssh connections, where the first forwards a
temporary port to the second. Finally, you connect to the local port
with a VNC viewer. A free VNC viewer, available e.g. from
https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/, will do.

Since this is advanced usage, I'll assume that interested parties will
be able to figure out themselves how to do this in detail. I have good
experience with this. In particular, it allows me to use my office
desktop as well as various counting house computers remotely with the
full graphical interface.

I hope this helps. This is a question that IT should answer (and have
answered), so if you run into specific problems (timeouts,
disconnections, access denials, etc.), your best bet is probably to open
a service ticket with them.

Regards,
Ole