/novnc-startup

A NoVNC + WebSocket (using websockify) setup repository for both bare metal and docker implementation

Primary LanguageDockerfileMIT LicenseMIT

NoVNC with Websockify

Information

Background

NoVNC is a Web/browser-based VNC client that uses websockify as a dependency for Websocket capabilities.

Using websockify, it can essentially intercept the VNC server's display output and redirect it to NoVNC.

Additionally, 
    - NoVNC being a generic browser-based VNC client, it can be used with other mediums 
    - For example 
        + as the target for QEMU/KVM, as QEMU/KVM CLI utilities has VNC as a display output

Project

  • for more information, you may refer to my NoVNC documentation here (WIP and still needs cleanup though)

Setup

Dependencies

  • If using Docker
    • docker
    • docker-compose
  • If using on Host system
    • novnc : A Web-based VNC client that connects to an existing VNC server and displays it on a browser using WebSocket
      • If installing using Package Manager
        • apt-based (Debian) 
          apt install novnc
      • Manual Build from Source
        • Just download the repository from NoVNC GitHub and place it in the folder '/usr/share/novnc'
    • websockify : A Websocket framework made in Javascript; Used with NoVNC to support the displaying of a VNC server on a browser
      • If installing using Package Manager
        • apt-based (Debian) 
          apt install websockify
      • Manual Build from Source

Pre-Requisites

  • Ensure the NoVNC client is installed
    • Take note of the path that contains the NoVNC client source
  • If you are using docker-compose
    • Customize the docker-compose

Documentation

Using docker run

  • Building Dockerfile image

    docker build --tag thanatisia/novnc -f docker/Dockerfile .

  • Starting up

    docker run -itd --name novnc -p 8080:6080 -v "/path/to/novnc:/usr/share/novnc" -e VNC_WEB_CLIENT=/usr/share/novnc -e VNC_WEB_PORT=6080 -e VNC_SERVER_HOST_IP=localhost -e VNC_SERVER_HOST_PORT=5901 thanatisia/novnc

Using docker-compose

  • Starting up (WIP)
    • You can try, but there are some issues, please refer to ISSUES for the list
    docker-compose up -d --build

Bare-Metal

  • Starting up
    • Explanations
      • novnc-webui-path : The path to the NoVNC WebUI folder; Default: /usr/share/novnc
      • novnc-webui-port-number: The WebUI Port Number; Default: 6080
      • novnc-webui-host : The WebUI Host IP address/name; Default: localhost
      • vnc-server-port-number : The VNC server port number; This port corresponds to the port used to connect to the VNC server you set up + display number; Default: 5901
    websockify -D --web=[novnc-webui-path] [novnc-webui-port-number] [novnc-webui-host]:[vnc-server-port-number]

Wiki

Snippets and Examples

  • Starting up NoVNC WebUI
    • Open up your browser
    • Access the URL http(s)://[server-ip-address]:[vnc-web-port-number]/vnc.html

Configurations

Docker

  • Environment Variables
    • VNC_WEB_CLIENT : The path to the VNC Web/browser-based client source file; Default '/usr/share/novnc'
    • VNC_WEB_PORT : The WebUI HTTP port number; Default: 6080
    • VNC_SERVER_HOST_IP : The VNC Server Host IP address/domain; Default: localhost
    • VNC_SERVER_HOST_PORT: The VNC server port number; This port is equivalent to the port used to connect to the VNC server you set up; Default: 5901
    • OTHER_OPTIONS : The VNC Web/browser client other options; Default: '-D'

Resources

References

Remarks