1. RealVNC Help Center
  2. Documentation
  3. VNC 5.x

v5.x - Installing and Removing VNC Server and VNC Viewer on legacy UNIX platforms

Follow
Avatar
Jack N RealVNC
Updated

Important: we have now announced the end-of-life for VNC 5.x. Learn more here.

Solaris

These instructions explain how to install VNC 5.x on legacy Solaris computers.

VNC Connect (version 6+) is not available for Solaris.

You will need a valid license key. You may have an historic VNC 5.x Personal or Enterprise key, but if not then you will need to purchase a new VNC Connect Enterprise subscription. A license key for VNC 5.x is made available from the Deployment page of your RealVNC account.

Upgrading to VNC 5.x

If you already have an earlier version of VNC 5.x, run the following command as a user with administrative privileges to remove existing packages before installing the new ones:

/usr/sbin/pkgrm RVNCsrv RVNCvwr

If you are upgrading from VNC Enterprise Edition 4.x, you must remove the software entirely. To do this:

  1. If you have a valid support and upgrades contract, preserve your license key by copying /etc/vnc/licensekey to a safe location. If you do not have a valid contract, you need take no action; you will need to obtain a new license key anyway.

    To find out whether you have a valid contract, run the command vnclicense -list. A contract is typically valid for one year from the date of issue of the license key, so in the following example until 18th November 2016:

    1   10 desktops   2016/11/18   [full]

  2. Uninstall VNC Enterprise Edition by running the following command as a user with administrative privileges:

    /usr/sbin/pkgrm vnc-E

Downloading VNC 5.x

Contact Support the appropriate VNC package installer for the architecture of the computer you want to control. VNC Server and VNC Viewer are included as separate installable packages.

If you do not have administrative privileges, or want to specify non-default installation locations, download the appropriate generic installer instead, and run the script provided.

Installing VNC 5.x

To install VNC Server, run the following command as a user with administrative privileges, and accept all the recommendations:

/usr/sbin/pkgadd -d <VNC-Server>.pkg

To install VNC Viewer, repeat this operation for <VNC-Viewer>.pkg.

Licensing VNC Server

VNC Server must be licensed or remote access will not be available. If you own an historic VNC 5.x license key but do not know it, contact Support.

VNC Viewer does not require a license key.

Reinstating a valid VNC Enterprise Edition license key

To do this, copy a preserved license key file back to /etc/vnc.

At the command line

Run the following command as a user with administrative privileges:

/usr/local/bin/vnclicense -add KEY

Setting up the environment for VNC Server

Paths

Programs are installed in /usr/local/bin. To configure paths for all users, and to provide access to the reference documentation, add the following to /etc/profile:

PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin:/usr/openwin/bin
MANPATH=$MANPATH:/usr/local/man

VNC Server in Service Mode

If you are using dtlogin (other display managers may be affected), VNC Viewer users cannot connect when the computer is at the login screen. Uncomment (or add) the following command to /usr/dt/config/Xconfig:

Dtlogin*grabServer: False

If you are using CDE (other desktop environments may be affected), the VNC Server user interface (a status dialog and icon) may not be shown. Run the following command as the desktop owner (not as root), or add it to a user’s .xstartup or equivalent file:

vncserver-x11 -serviceui

Printing

If you wish to print under Solaris 9 or 10, perform the following operations.

Starting VNC Server

To see how to start VNC Server in your choice of mode, consult the appropriate man page.

Removing VNC 5.x

Run the following command as a user with administrative privileges:

/usr/sbin/pkgrm RVNCsrv RVNCvwr

To completely remove (benign) configuration and other files or settings that may remain, follow these instructions.

HP-UX

These instructions explain how to install VNC 5.x on legacy HP-UX computers.

VNC Connect (version 6+) is not available for HP-UX.

You will need a valid license key. You may have an historic VNC 5.x Personal or Enterprise key, but if not then you will need to purchase a new VNC Connect Enterprise subscription. A license key for VNC 5.x is made available from the Deployment page of your RealVNC account.

Patching HP-UX 11.00

You must apply the PHSS_39077 patch to computers running HP-UX 11.00.

This patch is currently only available if you have a support agreement with HP; contact HP Support for more information.

Upgrading to VNC 5.x

If you are upgrading from an earlier version of VNC 5.x, installation should be seamless. You do not need to stop VNC Server, and any configuration changes you have made will be preserved. You are informed if you are required to apply a new license key.

You cannot upgrade from VNC Enterprise Edition 4.x. You must first remove it. To do this:

  1. If you have a valid support and upgrades contract, preserve your license key by copying /etc/vnc/licensekey to a safe location. If you do not have a valid support and upgrades contract, you need take no action; you will need to obtain a new license key anyway.

    To find out whether you have a valid support and upgrades contract, run the command vnclicense -list. A contract is typically valid for one year from the date of issue of the license key, so in the following example until 18th November 2016:

    1   10 desktops   2016/11/18   [full]

  2. Uninstall VNC Enterprise Edition by running the following command as a user with administrative privileges:

    swremove vnc-E

Downloading VNC 5.x

Download the VNC depot installer. VNC Server and VNC Viewer are included as separate installable packages.

If you do not have administrative privileges, or want to specify non-default installation locations, download the generic installer instead, and run the script provided.

Installing VNC 5.x

To install VNC Server, run the following command as a user with administrative privileges, and perform the standard installation procedure:

swinstall -s <absolute-path-to-VNC-Server>.depot

This command fails with a relative path.

To install VNC Viewer, repeat this operation for <absolute-path-to-VNC-Viewer>.depot.

Licensing VNC Server

VNC Server must be licensed or remote access will not be available. If you own an historic VNC 5.x license key but do not know what it is, contact Support.

VNC Viewer does not require a license key.

Reinstating a valid VNC Enterprise Edition license key

To do this, copy a preserved license key file back to /etc/vnc.

At the command line

Run the following command as a user with administrative privileges:

/usr/local/bin/vnclicense -add KEY

Setting up the environment for VNC Server

Paths

Programs are installed in /usr/local/bin. To configure paths for all users, and to provide access to the reference documentation, add the following to /etc/profile:

PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin:/usr/openwin/bin
MANPATH=$MANPATH:/usr/local/man

VNC Server in Service Mode

If you are using dtlogin (other display managers may be affected), VNC Viewer users cannot connect when the computer is at the login screen. Uncomment (or add) the following command to /usr/dt/config/Xconfig:

Dtlogin*grabServer: False

If you are using CDE (other desktop environments may be affected), the VNC Server user interface (a status dialog and icon) may not be shown. Run the following command as the desktop owner (not as root), or add it to a user’s .xstartup or equivalent file:

vncserver-x11 -serviceui

Starting VNC Server

To see how to start VNC Server in your choice of mode, consult the appropriate man page.

Removing VNC 5.x

Run the following command as a user with administrative privileges:

swremove realvnc-vnc-server realvnc-vnc-viewer

To completely remove (benign) configuration and other files or settings that may remain, follow these instructions.

AIX

These instructions explain how to install VNC 5.x on legacy AIX computers.

VNC Connect (version 6+) is not available for AIX.

You will need a valid license key. You may have an historic VNC 5.x Personal or Enterprise key, but if not then you will need to purchase a new VNC Connect Enterprise subscription. A license key for VNC 5.x is made available from the Deployment page of your RealVNC account.

Upgrading to VNC 5.x

If you are upgrading from an earlier version of VNC 5.x, installation should be seamless. You do not need to stop VNC Server, and any configuration changes you have made will be preserved. You are informed if you are required to apply a new license key.

You cannot upgrade from VNC Enterprise Edition 4.x. You must first remove it. To do this:

  1. If you have a valid support and upgrades contract, preserve your license key by copying /etc/vnc/licensekey to a safe location. If you do not have a valid support and upgrades contract, you need take no action; you will need to obtain a new license key anyway.

    To find out whether you have a valid support and upgrades contract, run the command vnclicense -list. A contract is typically valid for one year from the date of issue of the license key, so in the following example until 18th November 2016:

    1   10 desktops   2016/11/18   [full]

  2. Uninstall VNC Enterprise Edition by deleting programs from the directory in which they are installed (by default, /usr/local/bin). For a full list of programs, examine the original installation script.

Downloading VNC 5.x

Contact support for the VNC generic installer for AIX.

Installing VNC 5.x

Follow these instructions to install VNC Server and VNC Viewer using a configurable script.

Licensing VNC Server

VNC Server must be licensed or remote access will not be available. If you own an historic VNC 5.x license key but do not know it, contact Support.

VNC Viewer does not require a license key.

Reinstating a valid VNC Enterprise Edition license key

To do this, copy a preserved license key file back to /etc/vnc.

At the command line

Run the following command as a user with administrative privileges:

/usr/local/bin/vnclicense -add KEY

Setting up the environment for VNC Server

Paths

By default, programs are installed in /usr/local/bin. To configure paths for all users, and to provide access to the reference documentation, add the following to /etc/profile:

PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin:/usr/openwin/bin
MANPATH=$MANPATH:/usr/local/man

VNC Server in Service Mode

If you are using dtlogin (other display managers may be affected), VNC Viewer users cannot connect when the computer is at the login screen. Uncomment (or add) the following command to /usr/dt/config/Xconfig:

Dtlogin*grabServer: False

If you are using CDE (other desktop environments may be affected), the VNC Server user interface (a status dialog and icon) may not be shown. Run the following command as the desktop owner (not as root), or add it to a user’s .xstartup or equivalent file:

vncserver-x11 -serviceui

Starting VNC Server

To see how to start VNC Server in your choice of mode, consult the appropriate man page.

Removing VNC 5.x

Delete programs from the directory in which they are installed (by default, /usr/local/bin). For a full list of programs, examine the installation script (or alternatively the contents of the download tarball).

To completely remove (benign) configuration and other files or settings that may remain, follow these instructions.

Was this article helpful?
1 out of 16 found this helpful

Comments

0 comments

Please sign in to leave a comment.