X11 on VMS

Use ssh to log in to the VMS system. Make sure X forwarding is enabled (using the -X flag for Unix ssh, or Connection Properties in SecureCRT).
Now run your VMS applications and open X windows as usual. Don't set the DISPLAY variable at the remote system; ssh will have set it for you.

If you have problems, start by checking the value of DISPLAY on the VMS system, using the command SHOW DISPLAY. It should produce output similar to:

UMPHYS $show display
 
    Device:    WSA124:  [super]
    Node:      umphys.spa.umn.edu
    Transport: TCPIP
    Server:    10
    Screen:    0

The important things to look for when using SSH are that the "node" is set to umphys, and "server" is a number >=10.

If you don't have ssh installed on your system, check out our Secure Shell page for information on where to get it.

We always recommend using ssh if at all possible. However, if you can't do this, then follow these instructions.

Set the X security on your local machine to allow connections from the VMS system - for example, on a unix workstation you might use:
xhost +umphys.spa.umn.edu
After logging in to the VMS system, you need to tell it where to open windows, using the SET DISPLAY command with your local hostname. For example:
$ set display/create/transport=tcpip/node=lemming.tc.umn.edu

And this is what the output of SHOW DISPLAY would then look like:
```
UMPHYS $show display
 
    Device:    WSA129:  [super]
    Node:      LEMMING.TC.UMN.EDU
    Transport: TCPIP
    Server:    0
    Screen:    0
```
Now run your VMS application, and windows should open normally on your local display.

This covers the case where you are logged into the local display of a VMS workstation, and want to display applications from a remote system on it.

As usual, the simplest way is to use SSH, which will set the display for you. Failing that,

First, set the VMS workstation security options so that remote systems can open windows on your display.
- Go to the Options menu in the VMS Session Manager.
- Choose Security
- In the window that appears, fill in "*" for Username and Transport. For Node, you can either enter the name of the remote system, or another "*" (the former is more secure; the latter is very insecure, but foolproof!).
- Click Add, then OK
- If you want to make these settings permanent, for later sessions, go to the Options menu again and choose Save Session Manager.
Set the DISPLAY variable on the remote system to the VAXstation name. For example (on Unix):
setenv DISPLAY umphys.spa.umn.edu:0
Now you can run your X application, with windows displayed on the VMS workstation.

University of Minnesota	This URL: http://www.physics.umn.edu/support/vms/x.html	Updated: 14-January-2002		TOP
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