A NoMachine multi-node environment is made of a central server that is able to dispatch connections to other node machines.

The appropriate NoMachine Product for evaluation must be installed on the server host as well as on each of the other node machines. On the end-user's device, install the NoMachine client software.

For sake of simplicity this article assumes the most common scenario, i.e. one Linux host for the server (machine A) and one Linux node (machine B).

Repeat steps 3) in case of multiple nodes.

1) Install NoMachine Enterprise Server v. 5 for evaluation on machine A.

   This server acts as a gateway to reach the remote node, machine B.

2) Install NoMachine Terminal Server Node v. 5 for evaluation on machine B.

3) Add the node (machine B) to the server on machine A.

   On machine A run from a terminal the following command as root or sudo user:

   /usr/NX/bin/nxserver --nodeadd   IP-of-machine-B

The server has the automatic load-balancing of virtual desktops enabled by default: in this example the first virtual desktop will be started on  machine A and the second virtual desktop on machine B.

It's however possible to:

- Exclude a node from the load-balancing mechanism.
  
- Activate the manual selection, use it in conjunction with the automatic load-balancing or disabling the load-balancing. 

For more detailed instructions, please refer to the NoMachine Enterprise Server Guide at: https://www.nomachine.com/all-documents

4) Be sure to have the same system account on machine A and machine B. Username must be the same, password can be different.

   Let's call this account user1.

5) On the user's computer install the NoMachine client.

6) On the user's computer runs the NoMachine User Interface and click on the 'New' button.

A setup wizard will guide the user through all steps necessary to create the first session. User may accept default settings, unless there are specific needs, for example using the SSH protocol for connections instead than the NX protocol.

7) In the 'Host' field of the wizard specify the IP of machine A.

If the connection is over the Internet, IP is the public IP of the server host.

Be sure that port 4000 is open, if you are using the NX protocol, or port 22 for the SSH protocol.

8) Complete the wizard and click on the connection icon to run it.

9) In the login form insert username and password of user1 (see  point 4) to log-in to machine A.

Once logged-in to the server, you will be able to choose if connecting to the physical desktop of the remote machine or create a new virtual desktop.
 

Some examples are available in our getting started guides:

- Connecting to the physical desktop
https://www.nomachine.com/getting-started-with-nomachine

- Creating new virtual desktops
https://www.nomachine.com/creating-new-virtual-desktop-sessions

NOTES:

a) To upgrade from an installation for evaluation to an installation for production, read here: https://www.nomachine.com/AR02M00837

b) A server with a multinode environment can be associated to a second server in an active/passive cluster to maintain high availability of sessions and applications: https://www.nomachine.com/DT07M00095

c) For configuring a cluster, refer to NoMachine Enterprise Server Guide here: https://www.nomachine.com/DT07M00091