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Windows to Unix With PuTTY and Xming

Using PuTTY (the best Windows SSH client going) and Xming (a free X Window server for Windows) enables you to log in from a Windows box to your Unix box, and then run an X session remotely. There are other ways of doing this as well (e.g., Cygwin/X), but this one is both neat and […]

Written By

Juliet Kemp

Dec 31, 2008

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Using PuTTY (the best
Windows SSH client going) and Xming (a free X Window
server for Windows) enables you to log in from a Windows box to your Unix box,
and then run an X session remotely. There are other ways of doing this as
well (e.g., Cygwin/X), but this one is both
neat and straightforward.

Install Xming from the website above — it’s a quick download and easy
install. You’ll need PuTTY as well, if for some reason you don’t already have
it.

Once Xming is installed, the quickest way to get going is to use the
XLaunch wizard. Choose the “start a program” option, after which you can give
the program you want to run (xterm is the most flexible option, as from an
xterm you can launch other graphical programs). Click “Run Remote” to connect
to a remote machine and run the xterm on that: You must select the “Using
PuTTY” option, and then fill in the hostname and your login
details. You shouldn’t need to pass any other parameters in (as per the next
screen) with a standard connection.

Hit Finish, and your connection should start. You now have graphical
access to your remote Linux box. Be warned — things may run very sluggishly,
depending on the speed of your connection. You can choose to use compression
during the XLaunch wizard, which may speed things up a little.

This is just the easy start option — Xming is capable of many more
complicated things as well. Check out the webpage for more information.

This article was first published on ServerWatch.com.