Control linux console session keyboard over ssh

Question

I have a logitech wireless keyboard/mouse, but just lost the tiny usb wireless receiver.

I want to use my laptop as the keyboard for the other machine (Ubuntu 10.10) until I replace the keyboard and mouse.

Is it possible to control the console session's keyboard over ssh? I only want keyboard control, I don't want to use something like VNC because the video is too slow.

EDIT: I'd like to be clear that I want to be able to control gui applications running on the console session, so something like gnu screen won't (as far as I know) help with that.

Answer 1

x2x does exactly what you want:

$ ssh -X othermachine x2x -west -to :0

Now you can move your mouse to the left of your laptop and it wii appear in that other machine. Keyboard 'goes' there too.

You'll need to enable X forwarding in that other machine's sshd.

Answer 2

Use something like tmux or screen. These programs will start a console session that can be attached to from any ssh connection or local terminal. Additionally, they let you open multiple console sessions inside the same parent screen/tmux session, allowing you to interact with multiple shells and console programs over a single connection.

Answer 3

Synergy is a client/server application so you can share the keyboard+mouse on one (the server) with multiple other desktops (clients). I've used it for years and it's fairly easy to configure.