Computer Science | Mathematics | Statistics and Actuarial Science | Applied Mathematical and Computational Sciences | Informatics

Using the NoMachine NX Client

Prerequisites:

• To install the client, you must have permissions to install software on your Mac.
• You must have the X11 packages installed on your computer. For OSX Tiger (10.4), the X11 packages are on the OSX install cd/dvd (if it is installed, you'll have an application named X11 in Applications->Utilities).

Installation Instructions

1. Go to http://www.nomachine.com/download.php and find the link for "NX Client for Mac OSX"
2. After you finish downloading, the installation program should start. The software installation is consistent with all other Mac OSX software installs.

Configuring the application:

1. Go to Applications and launch "NX Client for OSX." Click "Next >"
   
   
   
    
2. Enter "CSG Linux Desktop" for Session and "linux.divms.uiowa.edu" for Host and click "Next >"
   
   
   
    
3. Select "GNOME" in pull down menu next to "Unix." Select "1024x768" for the size of your remote desktop and click "Next >".
   
   
   
    
4. Click "Finish" and the login window should come up
   
   
   
    
5. Ensure the Login field contains your Mathematical Sciences username, enter your Mathematical Sciences password in Password field, and then click Login.
   
   
   
    
6. You will be connected to a Linux desktop environment on a server in Mathematical Sciences.
    

Troubleshooting:

When logging in, I get a window with a red exclamation icon saying "The authenticity of host 'linux.divms.uiowa.edu...."  What should I do?

The NoMachine software uses the secure shell protocol to transmit data.  You are connecting to the correct server if the window shows this RSA fingerprint: 45:61:23:71:74:9f:f7:fd:18:b9:5f:d2:c3:d5:71:b6.  If so, just click "Yes".  You should see this window only once.
 

When I run Mathematica I get a warning about fonts not being installed correctly. What does this mean and what should I do?

Mathematica relies on locally installed fonts. If you don't have Mathematica installed on your system, you'll get this error.

The solution involves downloading the fonts from Wolfram (makers of Mathematica) and installing them on your local system. We will be adapting the instructions from instructions that were formerly at http://support.wolfram.com/mathematica/systems/unix/general/fonterrors.html.

1. Go to http://support.wolfram.com/technotes/fonts/windows/latestfonts.html. Read the License and download the MathFonts_6.0.zip file if you agree to the license. You should end up with the file MathFonts_6.0.zip on your desktop.
2. Open the Terminal application and run these commands:
• sudo mkdir /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Mathematica
• cd /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Mathematica
• sudo unzip ~/Desktop/MathFonts_6.0.zip
• sudo chown -R root:wheel Fonts
• sudo mv Fonts/* .
• sudo rmdir Fonts
3. If you haven't altered your /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc file, you can download this xinitrc to your Desktop folder and then run:
   sudo cp /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.bak
sudo cp ~/Desktop/xinitrc /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc
sudo chown root:wheel /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc