Installing MIRC on a Non-GUI Platform

The MIRC site installer is a GUI-based application. Some sites run MIRC on platforms that do not have GUI capability. The following notes were provided by an IT expert at the National Cancer Institute, where all of their servers are headless and everything is done via the command line. Such a configuration does not exclude graphical applications from being installed, but it takes a few more steps. The general model is to use a GUI platform to connect to the non-GUI platform and run the MIRC installer.

1 Linux/Solaris Desktop

This is assuming that a GUI is running on a Linux/Solaris desktop. Using a terminal program, ssh into the MIRC server with X forwarding enabled:

ssh –x username@server

Once logged in, start the MIRC installer:

java –jar /path/to/MIRCInstaller.jar

From this point, the installer appears the same as it does on Windows.

2 Windows Desktop

There are three options:

• Cygwin (http://cygwin.com) - an open source application which is free but difficult to setup
• XMIng (http://www.straightrunning.com/XmingNotes) - an open source application which is somewhat easier to use
• ReflectionX (http://www.attachmate.com/en-US/Products/Host+Connectivity/PC+X+Server/)

Whichever product you choose, follow the setup instructions to get the product installed and configured.

Once setup, ssh into the MIRC server using PuTTY (or something similar). When logged into the MIRC server, redirect the X session to the windows server:

export DISPLAY=IP_ADDRESS_OF_YOUR_WINDOWS_MACHINE:0.0

Now start the MIRC installer:

java –jar /path/to/MIRCInstaller.jar

Assuming everything is setup correctly, the MIRC graphical installer will appear on the Windows machine – but running from the Linux server.

3 VMWare Appliance

VMWare has a product called VMWare Player which allows you to download a pre-made virtual machine and run it VM on a Windows desktop. If you download and install VMWare Player and download a pre-made Linux desktop, you can have a Linux desktop machine in about 15 minutes without having to install any operating system, application, etc. You can then use the much simpler Linux instructions above.

To download VMWare Player, visit: http://www.vmware.com/products/player/

To download a Linux VM visit: http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/693