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I want a really simple VNC viewer that runs on a headless machine and connects to a headless machine, like a simple command line application, similar to the OpenSSH client.

I have looked online and in the Ubuntu and Debian repos but everything is geared towards opening up an X11 client. I see no reason for that as I am not connecting to an X11 display but only to a console based login.

Chopper3
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DisgruntledUser
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    I'm confused. What purpose whould a VNC connection between two headless systems have? – Ansgar Wiechers Sep 04 '12 at 20:05
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    It sounds like you're looking for a text-mode remote-console-viewer. Is that the case? – sysadmin1138 Sep 04 '12 at 20:27
  • That is exactly what I am looking for - a text-mode remote-console-viewer – DisgruntledUser Sep 04 '12 at 20:29
  • Are you wanting this at the OS level, or the hardware level? At the hardware level, some KVM switches can do this, but that does not work if the machine is headless since the KVM switches would connect to the video card. A terminal server (hardware, not to be confused with certain misnamed software) can connect to the headless machine's serial port, but VNC won't help (need SSH). Otherwise a VNC server in the OS, but all of those emulate X. If the machine is headless, you either run X in software or SSH to a shell. What do you expect to see in your VNC client? – Skaperen Sep 04 '12 at 20:31
  • I just want to see a regular command line environment like I would see if I opened a shell on my local machine. – DisgruntledUser Sep 04 '12 at 20:32
  • In theory a VNC server could be made (implemented) to serve up text. I've never seen this except for QEMU driven virtual machines running in text mode (you didn't say you were running a virtual machine so I assume this does not apply to your case). Most people would just use ssh as it is more efficient, more secure, and gives extra features. – Skaperen Sep 04 '12 at 20:34
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    A "regular command line environment" is exactly what SSH is for. – Skaperen Sep 04 '12 at 20:35
  • Yes, the servers I am connecting to are KVM based VPS's and yes I believe that the OpenSSH client should be able to do that. I have successfully connected to a VNC server using OpenSSH but all I get back is "RFB 003.008" I do not have admin access to the VNC server as I am renting VPS servers and the KVC server is supplied by the rental agent – DisgruntledUser Sep 04 '12 at 20:40
  • @user1538951 what OS is running on your VPS servers? – gravyface Sep 04 '12 at 20:42
  • The reason for the VNC requirement is because a VPS connection through a normal ssh user@host does not connect to the console. When installing a new version of the OS the sshd server is not running and so a virtual console connection through VNC is required. The servers are running various flacors of Linux and BSD - no windows servers at all. – DisgruntledUser Sep 04 '12 at 20:43
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    I think you're at the mercy of your VPC provider at this point. I have a 4 buck a month VPS running Ubuntu and have console access from my client web portal; works fine for the once a year `do-release-upgrade`. – gravyface Sep 04 '12 at 20:52
  • let us [continue this discussion in chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/4732/discussion-between-user1538951-and-gravyface) – DisgruntledUser Sep 04 '12 at 20:53
  • My impression from these comments is that people are not even fully reading the question and are unhappy if they cannot give an informed answer. I'm done with serverfault for good. – DisgruntledUser Sep 04 '12 at 20:58
  • @user1538951 I'm sorry if you feel that way - the comments all appear to be attempting to clarify what is a poorly asked question (You don't tell us enough to give you an *informed* answer. We don't like to guess here). If you would care to edit your question to (a) include some of the information explained in your comments, and (b) explain *why* you feel VNC is the right solution for this you may get "better" answers, but ultimately I think Michael Hampton has given you the best answer you're likely to get: You need to see what console-equivalent access your VPS provider offers. – voretaq7 Sep 04 '12 at 21:02
  • My question is perfectly clear. I guess it would be unclear if you were not familiar with the issue. Maybe people unfamiliar with the issue should not comment. – DisgruntledUser Sep 04 '12 at 21:10
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    @user1538951 I'm not sure how many people telling you "Your question is unclear and we need more details" it takes; but I'll add another name to the long list. If you'd like to discuss why this is an unclear question [please drop into chat again](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/4732/discussion-between-user1538951-and-gravyface). This is getting locked. – Chris S Sep 04 '12 at 21:13

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You're using a virtual server. You're limited to the remote console access provided by the service provider; contact them for details on how to use it.

Michael Hampton
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    Further, most provide VPS Serial access via SSH or something similar (also commonly web browser based) for doing upgrades and such. – Chris S Sep 04 '12 at 21:00