Hosting Area Servers on low end linux servers via XVFB and XPRA
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2017 12:14 pm
This is more or less a straight copy and paste from my old post at coldbird.net, but it should still be applicable here. This was written with my old ubuntu machine in mind, so you may have to change a few things if you are using a different distro or version.
With this setup I was able to run the Area Server 24/7 on an Ubuntu VPS with 128mb of RAM (that's below the minimum requirements!).
Setup:
Back on your server you need to set up wine,
Back on your server machine you need to type
Once you have your Area Server running the tray icon of Xpra on your home computer and disconnect.
In the server terminal press ctrl +a and then ctrl + d.
That's all folks.
With this setup I was able to run the Area Server 24/7 on an Ubuntu VPS with 128mb of RAM (that's below the minimum requirements!).
Setup:
Next up we have to start XVFB, for my toaster of a server I ran at 800x600x16, but if you are rich and have cpu cycles to burn go for whatever it is you want.On your host machine, you will need Screen, Xvfb, Xpra Wine and the X fonts, install them:
sudo apt-get install screen
sudo apt-get install Xvfb
sudo apt-get install xpra
sudo apt-get install wine
sudo apt-get install xfonts-100dpi xfonts-75dpi xfonts-scalable xfonts-cyrillic
Before transferring your Area Server over to your host you should make sure it is set to run fullscreen mode at your desired resolution via the television shaped button in the Area Server menu.
Now is the time to install Xpra (http://xpra.org/) on your home computer. You should open it and enter your servers information to connect.Open up a new screen by typing "screen"
Xvfb -screen 10 800x600x16
If all has gone well, detach from that screen by pressing ctrl +a and then ctrl + d
Open up another new screen by typing "screen"
xpra start :10
Back on your server you need to set up wine,
You should see the winecfg window open on your home computer thanks to xpra. Set it to Windows 2000 compatibility and press Apply then Ok. It should close.
Back on your server machine you need to type
On your home computer should see a pop up containing the area server, connect as you normally would. Be patient, the window will be slow to react.DISPLAY=:10 wine "AREA SERVER.exe
Once you have your Area Server running the tray icon of Xpra on your home computer and disconnect.
In the server terminal press ctrl +a and then ctrl + d.
That's all folks.