[NBLUG/talk] GUI tools to install RPMs on remote hosts?

[Andrew]

Lincoln Peters wrote on Tue, 7 Jun 2011 10:50:03 -0700:

> I know there are GUI frontends to yum, [...] But does anyone
> know of such a GUI tool that can do that on a remote host?
> 
> If possible, I'd like to avoid using X11 forwarding or VNC to
> run a GUI tool on the remote host because it's connected to a
> slow DSL line.

I know of no GUI apps that do what you want, either for RPM or
DEB. But don't give up on remote GUIs. Give Nomachine's NX a try
(or FreeNX, if you want 100% FOSS). The performance is far
superior to plain X11 forwarding or VNC. I use NX over DSL all
the time and it's almost like using a local app.

Assuming you've already got SSH set up on the remote machine,
all you need to do is install the server packages on the remote
box and the client package on the local one and you're good to
go. (Caveat: if you run SSH on a non-standard port, edit
server.cfg and node.cfg in /usr/NX/etc/ to point to the new SSH
port.)

When you run the client, a wizard will guide you through the
setup. After you enter in the hostname or IP address of the
remote box, choose the "Unix" connection method. (Other options
are "Windows" (RDP), "VNC", and "Shadow".) You could choose to
run a full-blown KDE or Gnome desktop, but to reduce traffic
over the Net and improve responsiveness, I'd recommend running a
single app (your favorite RPM GUI, which must be installed on the
*remote* machine). Do this by selecting "Custom" from the
drop-down menu and clicking the "Settings" button. In the "Run
the following command" box, enter the /path/to/RPM-GUI. Click
"Next" and "Finish".

Now log into the remote box using the NX client. For system
administration, you'll probably need to log in as root (it's
probably not necessary to be root on the local machine). The RPM
app's window will appear on your screen. After you've done your
package management tasks, just quit the RPM app and your remote
session will end.

Hope this helps.

A.