The Arrival of NX, Part 5: Using NX

assign a name to the session; all other session parameters are stored under this name, with a .conf (in 1.4.0) or .nxc (in 1.5.0) suffix. If you connect to different NX servers or to the same one with various settings, this is a handy feature.

fill in the fully qualified hostname or the IP address of the NX server to which you want to connect.

use the correct port number to connect. Because NX utilizes the target system's SSH daemon for connections, this usually is port 22, but this need not be so. An SSH daemon may be configured to listen on multiple ports or on a more unusual one. If you plan to set up an "outside" NX server that you need to access from an internal network through a firewall, port 443 (usually assigned to the HTTPS protocol) often is convenient to use, because most firewalls and their admins already allow access to that port. If in doubt, check with your network administrator.

use the slider to change the level of NX compression from highest (Modem) to none at all (LAN). It doesn't hurt and often is beneficial to use the Modem compression level, even if you are on a DSL line. Notice that the LAN setting does not use any compression at all, so be sure to play with variations for that setting if the session performs too slowly for you.

this dropdown menu offers Unix, Windows and VNC connections

this dropdown menu offers KDE, Gnome, CDE or Custom sessions for Unix connections; it is grayed out and disabled for Windows or VNC connections.

the Settings button is enabled for Unix/Custom or Windows and VNC connections. A Unix/Custom connection and Windows or VNC ones are explained in other screenshots.

this field determines the window size of your remote NX session. 1.5.0 NX servers allow to change the size on the fly; 1.4.0 server sessions use the same fixed size throughout their lifetime. You can select between various pre-defined sizes, a custom size or Fullscreen. Fullscreen is particularly interesting in that it creates a window without any borders that overlays the original client machine screen. This way you can pretend to run a Linux KDE session even from a Windows NX client without much risk that the occasional observer will discover the "fake". If you choose a custom window size, you set the width and height in 4a and 4b. There is no restriction here; you even may choose a portrait type window for your remote desktop.

enabling "SSL encryption of all traffic" permanently is highly recommended. However, be aware that the ongoing encryption and its companion decryption of all traffic puts more load onto both CPUs, NX client as well as NX server. You may want to disable it for older client hardware with weaker CPUs, in case you are running your NX network inside an isolated corporate network with trusted users only.

your login name or user ID to use, as communicated to you by e-mail.

your password, not displayed in clear text but hidden behind the asterisks.

a self-invented name for your upcoming NX session. This name is used to store your selected settings in a sessionname.conf config file. You can have variants of settings for the same or various remote NX servers stored under different names for easier re-use at a later time. The Session field is editable. If you change it, NX asks you if you want to create a new configuration under the changed name or if you want to rename the old configuration.

the Configure... button brings up the advanced configuration dialog, which is discussed in other screenshots below.

click Login to start up a remote session.