LOn Jun 29, 2023, at 13:48, Matthew Saltzman <mjs@clemson.edu> wrote:
I would like to set up a workstation in a network closet with no
monitor or keyboard attached and run a (GNOME shell) desktop session
from another machine on the local network.

What's the best way to do that in Fedora 38, and is there a good source
of documentation someplace? The GNOME desktop sharing facility requires
that the connection be to an active session logged in on the console.
Googling hasn't been much help for recent distros.

I used to manage a remote workstation service (running RHEL but it’s basically the same for Fedora). 

The way I did it was to create an xinetd (and later systemd socket) service that would launch

    Xvnc -inetd -query localhost -once

This would talk to a running GDM (with XDMCP enabled) to present the login screen. Then I’d use ssh to forward the port on the remote side and connect via VNC client to localhost on the forwarded port. 

This is pretty complicated. I actually have an even more complicated system I’m working on that uses OpenSSH’s ability to forward UNIX sockets, and the fact that Tigervnc can now listen on a socket instead of a TCP port, and just automate a one-liner that launched a session without needing GDM. 


In the end though, I’d suggest looking into Xpra, which is packaged in Fedora. It is significantly easier to set up. The only reason I didn’t use it at that job was due to how our 2fa auth broke the login process in Xpra. 

https://xpra.org/

It has Mac and Windows clients too. 

--
Jonathan Billings