guide to the nomachine server gui · this guide is an introduction to the nomachine server gui. it...

Guide to the NoMachine ServerGUI

Guide to the NoMachine Server GUI

Prepared by:Silvia Regis

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Approved by: Sarah Dryell

Last modified:2019-04-05

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Table of Contents

Introduction1. What is the NoMachine GUI?

The Server Preferences GUI2. How to access the NoMachine 'Server preferences'

2.1. The Services Panel. Start and Stop a Service or Change its Port

2.2. The Security Panel. Configure Users' Interactivity Level and Notifications

2.3. The Devices Panel. Enable or Disable the Sharing of Printers, Disks, USB Devices and Others

2.4. The Tranfers Panel. Configure File Transfer Options (Download Folder and Permitted Size)

2.5. The Performance Panel. Choose the Display Encoding Method and Others2.6. The Updates Panel. Configure the Automatic Software Updates, Check Version and Manageyour License

Introduction

1. What is the NoMachine GUI?

This guide is an introduction to the NoMachine server GUI. It is intended to illustrate the settings thatcan be configured in order to tune access to the remote computer on which the server is installed.

The default configuration is suitable for the greatest number of environments but if a special set-up orbehavior is needed, you may configure the server from its graphical interface as explained below.

NoMachine server packages provide two interfaces:

I The server GUI ("server side") which manages the services of the remote host. This is availablewhen installing any of the NoMachine packages (free version and 'Server' products, including theTerminal Server Node.).

II The Player GUI ("client side"). This is available when installing any of the NoMachine packagesincluding Enterprise Client and allows to connect to another remote machine with NoMachineserver installed.



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This guide will look at what preferences can be configured in the server side interface. For guidance oninstallation and how to start a session to the remote computer, please consult the Tutorials &Installation Guides available in the Support Section of the website: https://www.nomachine.com. Thereis also a Guide to the client interface which provides in-depth details on its configuration:https://www.nomachine.com/DT10O00154

The Server Preferences GUI

2. How to access the NoMachine 'Server preferences'

You may access the graphical interface to administer your server and choose your custom settings intwo ways:

I click on the !M icon in the system tray to open the menu. Then click on Show the service statusand finally on Server preferences or

II launch NoMachine from your program menu, click on Settings and then on the Serverpreferences link at the bottom of the panel.

Fig. 1(i) - Open the !M menu and click 'Show the service status' to open it



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Fig. 1(ii) - Click on 'Server preferences' to open the GUI

The NoMachine Server preferences interface is made of six tabs to switch about the availableconfiguration panels: Services, Security, Devices, Transfers, Performance and Updates.

TIP

Administrative rights are required Check on the bottom left of the Preferences panel to see if changes are disabled (default) or not. By clicking on the Changes disabled link you will be requested to provide authentication credentialsfor a user with administrative privileges. You will be prompted with the same request also when tryingto modify any of the available settings if changes have not been previously enabled.

2.1. The Services Panel. Start and Stop a Service or Change its Port

The Service panel shows the current status of NoMachine Network services, but not of the server itself.

To see the NoMachine server status, click on the !M icon in the system tray and then select on 'Showthe service status'.You will be able to turn on/off the server. When choosing to shutdown the server you will be requested ifthe server has to be automatically restarted when rebooting.

In the Service panel, NoMachine Free and Terminal Server Node provide only 'NX' which is theNoMachine network service (nxd) in charge of accepting connections by NX protocol.



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Fig. 2 - Server preferences > Services

The other NoMachine servers list also the HTTP/HTTPS services necessary to serve sessions on the web.NoMachine on Windows has an additional built-in service to accept connections by SSH protocol(nxsshd):

Service Name(GUI)

Programname Default port Scope Note

NX nxd 4000 Accept connections byNX protocol

With all servers and onall platforms

HTTP and HTTPS nxhtd 4080 and4443 Accept web connections

With all servers (exceptNoMachine free) and on

all platforms

SSH nxsshd 4022 Accept connections bySSH protocol

With Cloud Server andEnterprise Desktop onWindows (on Mac and

Linux, NoMachine relieson the system SSH

server)

Click on any of the services listed in the GUI to access its administrative panel where you can:

a) Change the local port for the service(e.g. NX is using by default port 4000, you may change it to forexample 4200). This is the Service port, 'Port'.

b) Change the port mapped in the router or firewall to allow connections over the Internet. This is theGateway port, 'GW Port'.



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TIPS

I Changing the service's port requires to restart NoMachine.When changing the service port, it's always requested to restart the NoMachine server. This willterminate all current connections and on Linux it will terminate also all virtual desktops, eventhose disconnected.

II Port mapping is enabled by default only for NoMachine free. For all the other NoMachine servertypes it's necessary to flag the Gateway port to enable it. The automatic port mapping requires that the router supports the UPnP or NAT-PMP protocol.Otherwise it will be necessary to configure the router manually and open the requested port. Forexample if you use NoMachine free, you will need to open port 4000 on the router and map it tothe public IP address of your NoMachine (server) host.

III You may disable the port mapping by unflagging the Gateway port if you do not expectconnections from outside your private network.

In the Service panel you can also:

c) Define if the service has to be automatically started at every reboot (this is Start mode ->Automatic) or manually started (Start mode -> Manual).

d) See the current status of the service, Stop and then Start it or Restart the service.e) Start automatic services at startup to ensure that all services with the Startup option set to

'Automatic' will be started when the host machine is rebooted, see point c).f) Manage the visibility of this computer to NoMachine users in the same local network. Select

Advertise this computer on the network to let other computers running NoMachine find thiscomputer on the local network. This computer will not be visible outside the private network.

2.2. The Security Panel. Configure Users' Interactivity Level andNotifications

The Security preferences panel allows to configure the users' level of interactivity with the desktop, andnotifications about incoming requests for connections.



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Fig. 3 - Preferences > Security

These are the available settings in detail:

a) Automatically accept the incoming connection or ask for the desktop owner's authorization.Select Require permission to let remote users connect when the explicit approval of thedesktop owner is necessary. This option applies only to connections to the physical desktop whenthe connecting user is not the desktop owner. If the incoming user is the desktop owner, he/she willalways connect and no request for authorization is issued.The request for desktop owner's authorization is enabled by default.

b) Configure the interactivity level with the desktop.By default the connected user can interact with the desktop. Check Require permission to letthe remote user interact with the desktop to let the desktop owner allow or forbid the user tointeract with the desktop.This option applies only to connections to the physical desktop when the connecting user is not thedesktop owner. If the incoming user is the desktop owner, he/she will always be able to interactwith the desktop.

c) Manage the display of the !M icon in the system tray.When NoMachine is up and running, the !M icon is always present in the system tray. If it'snecessary to not show this icon, select Hide the NoMachine icon in the system tray. Note thatall notification pop-ups (for example about a user being connected) will be still displayed.When the !M icon is not displayed, the server administrative interface may be accessed from theNoMachine GUI.

d) Sound notifications. By default sound notifications for users' connection and disconnection are enabled, as well as whennotification dialogs requesting for user's interaction are issued (for example the dialog asking forthe user's interaction level). To disable sound alerts, unflag Use sound notifications when thereis an event.

e) Screen blanking. When the user connects to the remote physical desktop it's possible to activate the Blank the



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physical screen when somebody is connected option. In this case only a black screen will bedisplayed on the physical monitor of the server host. The local user in front of the physical monitorwill be not able to interact with the desktop until the NoMachine user logs-out. Use this option withthe screen locking to protect the computer while running unattended.

f) Screen locking.A new option for connections to the physical desktop (available since v. 6.1.6), allows to activatethe automatic lock of the remote screen: Lock the physical screen on disconnect . The screenlock is activated as soon as the last NoMachine user disconnects from the desktop.

TIPS

I If users will have to access a computer running unattended, it's necessary to turn off Requirepermission to let remote users connect or the user will be unable to connect.

For Linux virtual desktops, the desktop owner's authorization is requested by default when theconnecting user is not the desktop owner. This can be disabled by editing manually the serverconfiguration file (/usr/NX/etc/server.cfg), uncommenting and setting this key:VirtualDesktopAuthorization 0).

II Switching between the view-only mode and the interactive mode is possible at any time withoutthe need to restart the connection. Click on the !M icon in the system tray to open the menu andselect Yeld keyboard and mouse. This will open the list of the connected users: select the userwho will have exclusive control on keyboard and mouse. This option doesn't apply to the owner ofthe physical desktop.

III More details and instructions about how to use the screen blanking are available here:https://www.nomachine.com/blanking-the-host-screen-during-remote-control

Fig. 4 - Tip II: Choose the user who will control keyboard and mouse, all the other users's session will be in view-only mode



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2.3. The Device Panel. Enable or Disable the Sharing of Printers,Disks, USB Devices and Others

From this panel it is possible to manage which kind of devices can be shared within the session.Uncheck any of the available options to forbid the sharing of the selected device. This will apply to bothdirections: users will be not able to mount a local device from their machine to the remote session and aremote device will be not connected from the server host to the user's machine.

Fig. 5 - Preferences > Devices

Devices that may be connected inside the NoMachine session are:

a) DisksWhen this option is enabled, disk partitions can be mounted inside the session making their filesystem accessible. This is a two-way service and can be used for example for transferring a filefrom the remote desktop directly to a folder on the user's computer or vice-versa.Users may decide if their connected disks will be private or public. A private disk is accessible onlyby the user who connecte it, public disks will be available for all users who will connect to the same(physical or virtual) desktop. By default private disks are mounted in the user's desktop, whilepublic disks are mounted in the following directories: - on Windows in C:\Users\Public- on Linux in /media- on OSX in /Volumes

Other ways to copy a file between the user's device and the remote server host:- Drag and drop the file from the local desktop to the remote desktop in the NoMachine session orvice-versa.- Use the transfer file option available in the !M menu (click on the !M icon in the system tray toopen it).



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b) PrintersWhen this option is enabled, two-way printing is supported: client-side printers can be integratedwith the server-side printing subsystem and vice-versa.Note that since the CUPS printing subsystem (on Linux and Mac) doesn't accept printer namescontaining spaces, NoMachine replaces a blank space with an underscore.When users print from their PC to a printer on the remote printer in a session running on Linux,they cannot have feedback on the print job status due to a limitation of the printing subsystem.When connecting their printer, users may make it private or public. A private printer is accessibleonly to the user who shared it, while a public printer will be available for all users.

TroubleshootingSpecific system configurations may be requested when the NoMachine server is on Linux or Macsystems. When the NoMachine Server is installed on Linux or Mac it's possibile that the printingsystem doesn't work out-of-the-box and some configurations on the server host may be required. Inparticular:- Print with CUPS 1.4 or later: https://www.nomachine.com/AR05K00674 - Print to Mac 10.10: https://www.nomachine.com/AR09M00860

c) USB devices When this option is enabled, users can forward USB devices over the network such as hard disk,web cams, barcode readers, and pen drives from local to remote desktops and vice-versa.Note that when users forward a local USB device to the remote session, this devices is connectedon the remote machine and is no longer visible on the user's computer. For example, if it's apendrive, it will stop to blink on the user's computer until it is connected with NoMachine. If it's amouse, all inputs will be transferred on remote and will not have any effects on the user's localcursor.

TroubleshootingThis applies to NoMachine server installations on Linux. If the USB service is disabled in the Serverpreferences interface, it is likely that the USB module has not been compiled on your Linux duringthe installation of NoMachine. Instructions for manually compiling the USB module are availablehere: https://www.nomachine.com/AR12J00658

c) Smart card readersWhen this option is enabled, users may forward the smart card reader plugged into their computerto the server host and make available the smartcard authentication inside the session. This can beintegrated with a Kerberos Ticket system for example to implement single sign-on (SSO). The users's smart card device should support the PKCS#11 industry standard for smart cardinterfaces.

e) Network portsWhen this option is enabled, users can create virtual network interfaces and establish a bridgebetween local and remote sides or vice-versa to provide transparent access to network resources.This service allows access to any of the default network servers like Samba, CUPS, FTP, SSH andTelnet or any other type, for example a MySQL server.

f) Enable audio streaming and microphone forwardingThis further option in the Devices panel allows to disable audio to avoid that sounds or musicplayed inside the session is forwarded to the user's device. The same applies to the user'smicrophone.

For end-usersWhen users connect to the physical desktop, they may decide if forwarding their audio or not in the'Audio streaming' panel that is displayed at session start-up. By default the 'Mute audio on theserver while I'm connected' option is enabled and audio played inside the NoMachine session is notplayed on the server host.



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By default microphone is always disabled: users will have to activate it from the NoMachine menupanel inside the session, by clicking on the 'Mic in' icon button. Click on the right upper corner ofthe session window to open the menu or press Ctrl+Alt+0

TIP

Connecting disks, printers, USB devices and Network ports are all two-ways services. It's possible todisable the device forwarding only from client to server or vice-versa by manually editing the nodeconfiguration file (node.cfg). For more detailed instructions, refer to:https://www.nomachine.com/DT10O00151

2.4. The Tranfers Panel. Configure File Transfer Options (DownloadFolder and Permitted Size)

Fig. 6 - Preferences > Transfer

From this panel it's possible to:

a) Forbid users to upload files from their devices to the remote server. Uncheck the Allow clients toupload files option for that.

The available configurations for files to be uploaded on the server host, when 'Allow clients toupload files' is enabled, are:



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- Limit the size of files to be uploaded. Check the Disallow files bigger than option and specify the size in MB. Default is 100 MB.- Specify the directory where the uploaded files will be saved on the server.Check the Automatically save files in option and choose the preferred path.

b) Forbid users to download files from the server host to their devices by unchecking the Allowclients to download files option.

When 'Allow clients to download files' is enabled, it's possible to limit the size of files to bedownloaded. Check the Disallow files bigger than option and specify the size in MB. Default is 100 MB.

2.5. The Performance Panel. Choose the Display Encoding Methodand Others

From this panel you may select the display encoding to be used for the NoMachine video streamingtechnique.

Among the other options, you can enable/disable from this panel the use of HW acceleration for displayprocessing and the X11 vector graphics mode.

Fig. 7 - Preferences > Performance

In the Performance panel you can:



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a) Select Use a specific display encoding if you need to modify the encoding.

In general VP8 and H.264 are suitable for all situations, while MJPEG can be an alternative when theend-user's computer is less powerful and the user is experiencing slow responsiveness.

H.264 SW encodingSince v. 6.6.8, all NoMachine server packages, included the evaluation and the free version, providethe H.264 encoder. NoMachine Enterprise Client v. 6.6.8 or later provides the H.264 decoder.

H.264 HW encodingNoMachine supports H.264 hardware encoding provided by graphics cards with Nvidia Keplermicroarchitecture onward and Intel Quick Sync video cards on Windows and Linux (with manualconfiguration).

b) Request a specific frame rate . This option refers to the number of images that are displayed inone second of video streaming.

If you enable this option, consider that using a higher frame rate allows to reproduce motions moresmoothly but requires more CPU and may slow down other applications running on the server host.Deciding to use a higher or lower frame rate mainly depends on what users will play and on theserver host HW resources. For example watching an action movie or game may require a higherframe rate while a lower frame rate should be enough for surfing the web or using an application.

c) Enable/disable using HW acceleration for frame processing on the server. To enable support for HWacceleration, select the Use acceleration for display processing option.

HW acceleration for display processing is applicable to Windows only with support for DirectX(OpenGL on Mac and Linux coming soon).

Due to the huge possible combinations of drivers, video cards and operating systems, it is possiblethat hardware acceleration doesn't work with NoMachine. In this case it's suggested to disable it.

Note that it's possible to use HW acceleration for Linux virtual desktops in X11 vector graphicsmode through the use of the VirtualGL library. This is independent from the 'Use acceleration fordisplay processing' option in the GUI.

d) Enable/disable the X11 vector graphics mode by means of the Use X11 vector graphics modefor virtual desktops option. This applies only to virtual desktops and custom sessions running ina virtual desktop. Note that custom sessions running in a floating window are always in X11 vectorgraphics mode. X11 vector graphics mode can instead be disabled/enabled for custom sessionsrunning in a virtual desktop.

The X11 vector graphics mode is enabled by default. It reduces the bandwidth usage (and the HWrequirements because it is less CPU intensive) on both client and server by optimizing the X11protocol by means of compression techniques, round trip suppression and cache algorithms. Thismethod is convenient when working with traditional GUIs or large amount of text to avoid loss ofimage quality, but it's not suggested for multimedia contents or applications with many graphicaleffects.

2.6. The Updates Panel. Configure the Automatic Software Updates,Check Version and Manage your License



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From the Updates panel you may manage the automatic software updates and your licenses.

Fig. 8 - Preferences > Updates

These are the available options:

a) Software updates NoMachine software by default is configured to fetch the repository for automatic updates. Todisable it, unflag the Automatically check for updates option. When this is instead enabled, it'spossible to let the software download the updates automatically by selecting Install updates inbackground. Installing updates always require an explicit approval.

b) Version and License The License information field in the Updates panel reports information about the product typeand the current version. From the same section you may read the license by clicking on the server.lic or node.lic link.

The Replace button allows to navigate through your computer directories to load a new license file.Replacing the license is necessary in the following cases:1. A fresh new installation made with the server package downloaded from the Customer Area. Replace the package license (server.lic an node.lic) with the customer license you have received atthe time of your purchase, This license may be also downloaded from your Customer Area.2. Your customer license has expired and you might want to replace it with a valid one.3. You are using an evaluation version and have received a new license from our Sales Team toextend the trial period.

Note that the license of NoMachine free never expires. In case of a different behavior due to



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leftovers from a previous installation, we suggest to uninstall NoMachine, delete the installationdirectory if present, re-install NoMachine.



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