Re: Invoking GUI programs over SSH

[Jeremy Bopp <jeremy at bopp dot net>]

On 1/17/2011 3:46 PM, David Antliff wrote:
> I just tried this - in fact I used the AdministrativeTools/Services
> applet to set the Cygwin SSHD service to "Allow service to interact
> with desktop". This actually had a useful effect - I can now start
> 'notepad' or 'calc' and I see the process appear on the main desktop.
> 
> However, unfortunately, I still get the same error from Synplify Pro.
> I wonder if it's looking for more than just GUI services?

Yeah, the error message you described originally didn't sound like a
problem with starting the GUI.  The message really looks like it's
failing to read some configuration information.  Maybe there is some
strange permission on an important registry setting or a file that is
preventing the authenticated account from accessing the necessary
information when logging in through SSH.

Is it possible that Synplify Pro is attempting to access some network
resource or a special dongle for verifying its registration or something
similar?

> Also, having that option set causes any SSH connection attempts *from
> Cygwin* to connect, then immediately terminate. However if I connect
> from a Linux host, it connects fine. If I turn off the "Allow service
> to interact with desktop", then I can connect again. Not a big deal,
> but odd.

Someone else would have to explain that one.  It's definitely odd that
it only affects a Cygwin-based SSH client.  Maybe there is some detail
in /var/log/sshd.log.

> I've also tried running the sshd service as the same user currently
> logged in (i.e. running the desktop). However when I do this, the sshd
> service fails to start with no error message other than "service could
> not be started. The service did not report an error."

There is more than one thread about this in the list archives.  The
summary is that you'll most likely fail to do this right unless you're a
serious expert in Cygwin, SSH, and Windows permissions.  Furthermore,
people are discouraged from attempting it and then asking for help
making it work or undoing what they did.  The solution I've seen most
often is essentially "reinstall Cygwin from scratch and use
ssh-host-config."

It's possible that you'll find more details concerning the failure in
the /var/log/sshd.log file.  You can probably also examine the
ssh-host-config script to see how it goes about configuring things for
the account it uses by default.

Have you tried contacting Synplify Pro's author/distributor to see if
they have suggestions for automating its use as you're attempting?

-Jeremy

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