Xfce desktop error

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1

Hi,

Apologies if this has been answered already, ive had a look and cant find anything with the answer im looking for :slight_smile:

Im trying to set up Open On Demand for my institution although im coming across some errors when opening the desktop app using xfce :

Setting VNC passwordā€¦
Starting VNC serverā€¦

Desktop ā€˜TurboVNC: node175.pri.kelvin2.alces.network:1 (3052732)ā€™ started on display node175.pri.kelvin2.alces.network:1

Log file is vnc.log
Successfully started VNC server on node175.pri.kelvin2.alces.network:5901ā€¦
Script startingā€¦
Starting websocket serverā€¦
cmdTrace.c(713):ERROR:104: ā€˜restoreā€™ is an unrecognized subcommand
cmdModule.c(411):ERROR:104: ā€˜restoreā€™ is an unrecognized subcommand
[websockify]: pid: 1167339 (proxying 37116 ==> localhost:5901)
[websockify]: log file: ./websockify.log
[websockify]: waiting ā€¦
Launching desktop ā€˜xfceā€™ā€¦
[websockify]: started successfully (proxying 37116 ==> localhost:5901)
Scanning VNC log file for user authenticationsā€¦
Generating connection YAML fileā€¦
_IceTransmkdir: ERROR: euid != 0,directory /tmp/.ICE-unix will not be created.
gpg-agent[1167443]: directory ā€˜/users/3052732/.gnupgā€™ created
gpg-agent[1167443]: directory ā€˜/users/3052732/.gnupg/private-keys-v1.dā€™ created
gpg-agent[1167444]: gpg-agent (GnuPG) 2.2.20 started

(xfwm4:1167445): GLib-CRITICAL **: 16:22:28.197: g_str_has_prefix: assertion ā€˜prefix != NULLā€™ failed

(xfwm4:1167445): xfwm4-WARNING **: 16:22:28.585: Another compositing manager is running on screen 0

(xfsettingsd:1167448): GLib-CRITICAL **: 16:22:28.721: g_str_has_prefix: assertion ā€˜prefix != NULLā€™ failed

(xfsettingsd:1167448): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 16:22:28.726: g_value_get_string: assertion ā€˜G_VALUE_HOLDS_STRING (value)ā€™ failed

(xfsettingsd:1167448): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 16:22:28.727: g_value_get_string: assertion ā€˜G_VALUE_HOLDS_STRING (value)ā€™ failed

(xfsettingsd:1167448): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 16:22:28.731: g_value_get_string: assertion ā€˜G_VALUE_HOLDS_STRING (value)ā€™ failed
xfce4-panel-Message: 16:22:29.262: Plugin ā€œ(null)-7ā€ was not found and has been removed from the configuration
xfce4-panel-Message: 16:22:29.312: Plugin ā€œnotification-plugin-10ā€ was not found and has been removed from the configuration
vmware-user: could not open /proc/fs/vmblock/dev

** (xfce4-screensaver:1167482): WARNING **: 16:22:29.726: screensaver already running in this session
(uint32 1,)

** (wrapper-2.0:1167465): WARNING **: 16:22:30.217: No outputs have backlight property

(wrapper-2.0:1167465): xfce4-power-manager-plugin-WARNING **: 16:22:30.377: Xfce4-power-manager: The panel plugin is present, so the tray icon gets disabled.

(wrapper-2.0:1167465): Gtk-WARNING **: 16:22:30.457: Negative content width -3 (allocation 1, extents 2x2) while allocating gadget (node button, owner PowerManagerButton)

(wrapper-2.0:1167480): Gtk-WARNING **: 16:22:30.681: Negative content width -1 (allocation 1, extents 1x1) while allocating gadget (node button, owner XfceArrowButton)

(wrapper-2.0:1167464): Gtk-WARNING **: 16:22:30.689: Negative content width -3 (allocation 1, extents 2x2) while allocating gadget (node button, owner PulseaudioButton)

** (xfdesktop:1167460): WARNING **: 16:22:31.026: Failed to set the background ā€˜/usr/share/backgrounds/images/default.pngā€™: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.InvalidArgs: No such interface ā€˜org.freedesktop.DisplayManager.AccountsServiceā€™

(tracker-miner-fs:1167489): GLib-GObject-WARNING **: 16:22:32.035: invalid (NULL) pointer instance

(tracker-miner-fs:1167489): GLib-GObject-CRITICAL **: 16:22:32.035: g_signal_handlers_disconnect_matched: assertion ā€˜G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE (instance)ā€™ failed

Has anyone came across the solution for this ?

James

2

Hello and welcome!

Most those log entries are just cosmetic and not really anything to worry about.

The one error I do note is around a restore which looks like an issue with your modules as you start the desktop, but it does look like the desktop is running ultimately.

Are you seeing a launch button in the card still? If so, what do you see when you click it? If the launch button is not there, what do you see?

1 Like
3

Hi Travert!

Thanks for the quick response !

So yeah, im getting the launch button :

image
image2072Ɨ1502 248 KB

but when i click on the launched session i receive the following :

image
image2072Ɨ1594 129 KB

James

4

Awesome! Ok, could you click the session link and share the vnc.log along with the script.sh.erb you are using? Make sure to remove any data you donā€™t want to share.

6

Hi Travert,

Sure thing :slight_smile:

vnc.log :

TurboVNC Server (Xvnc) 64-bit v3.2.1 (build 20251007)
Copyright (C) 1999-2025 The VirtualGL Project and many others (see README.md)
Visit http://www.TurboVNC.org for more information on TurboVNC

19/02/2026 19:40:28 Using security configuration file /etc/turbovncserver-security.conf
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Enabled security type ā€˜tlsvncā€™
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Enabled security type ā€˜tlsotpā€™
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Enabled security type ā€˜tlsplainā€™
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Enabled security type ā€˜x509vncā€™
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Enabled security type ā€˜x509otpā€™
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Enabled security type ā€˜x509plainā€™
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Enabled security type ā€˜vncā€™
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Enabled security type ā€˜otpā€™
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Enabled security type ā€˜unixloginā€™
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Enabled security type ā€˜plainā€™
_XSERVTransmkdir: Owner of /tmp/.X11-unix should be set to root
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Desktop name ā€˜TurboVNC: node161:2 ($USER)ā€™ (node161:2)
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Protocol versions supported: 3.3, 3.7, 3.8, 3.7t, 3.8t
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Listening for VNC connections on TCP port 5902
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Interface 0.0.0.0
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Framebuffer: BGRX 8/8/8/8
19/02/2026 19:40:28 New desktop size: 800 x 600
19/02/2026 19:40:28 New screen layout:
19/02/2026 19:40:28 0x00000040 (output 0x00000040): 800x600+0+0
19/02/2026 19:40:28 Maximum clipboard transfer size: 1048576 bytes
19/02/2026 19:40:28 VNC extension running!

script.sh :

#!/usr/bin/env bash

#Change working directory to userā€™s home directory

cd ā€œ${HOME}ā€

#Reset module environment (may require login shell for some HPC clusters)

module purge && module restore

#Ensure that the userā€™s configured login shell is used

export SHELL=ā€œ$(getent passwd $USER | cut -d: -f7)ā€

#use a safe PATH to boot the desktop because dbus-launch can be

#in another location from a python/conda installation and that will

#conflict and cause issues. See conda installed dbus-launch causes XFCE to fail to start Ā· Issue #700 Ā· OSC/ondemand Ā· GitHub for more.

SAFE_PATH=ā€œ/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/sbin:/binā€

#Start up desktop

echo ā€œLaunching desktop ā€˜xfceā€™ā€¦ā€
PATH=ā€œ$SAFE_PATHā€ source ā€œ/users/3052732/ondemand/data/sys/dashboard/batch_connect/sys/bc_desktop/kelvin2/output/b21d009e-ef8d-479c-b08e-f8cd00af9c11/desktops/xfce.shā€
echo ā€œDesktop ā€˜xfceā€™ ended with $? statusā€¦ā€

James

7

If you ssh to the compute node, are you able to actually launch that desktop manually? The log has an entry saying xfce is launching, but itā€™s only an echo command from the script. Have you verified you in fact can launch the desktop from the compute node itself though?

In the top left corner of the card thereā€™s a blue button with the compute nodeā€™s name, if you click that it should ssh you to that node. Then from there, what do you see when you issue:

which startxfce4
# OR
which xfce4-session

Really what matters is that xfce4-session is verified to be there.

8

Hi Travert,

So this was my next ticket after i got this fixed.

It seems ssh connection via OOD app doesnt open :

image
image2078Ɨ948 31.2 KB

Would this be causing an issue with the vnc window too ?

If so any tips on how to solve this ?

James

9

Well if you canā€™t ssh Iā€™m not sure the proxy is going to work right so this is likely connected to the problem.

What happens if you try to directly ssh to that compute node and issue the commands?

This could be an issue with the ssh keys themselves, but I also would check anything with firewall rules blocking the traffic, and also youā€™ll need to make sure those compute nodes are in the allowlist for ssh as well I think.

You might find some clues in the system logs that would help as you set this all up:

11

Hi Travert,

Im able to ssh into any compute node but still unable to open the vnc server when selecting launch desktop.

Is there a way to set up a call to quickly take a look at this, this is a bit of a road block for us at the moment.

James

12

James:

We only offer 1:1 synchronous support via our paid support program: Subscribe | Open OnDemand

Iā€™ll note the costs of a support plan are very reasonable compared to what you likely pay for other software that you are dependent upon, and they help with the long-term sustainability of this completely open source project.

13

So, iā€™m confused looking back at all this now. Did you get the desktop working and this is a separate issue? I see that you wrote:

But iā€™m confused what you mean here. Was xfce not there and now it is and then you had this happen?

Honestly, desktops are a nightmare because of all the moving pieces of ssh, websockify, turboVNC and apache TCP connections, itā€™s very hard to debug and a call might be best to get this situated.

If you post the output.log you are seeing now that might have some data i can key off of and try to figure out whatā€™s going on.

14

@J.McGroarty Happy to do a call to try and clear this up. Iā€™m a bit unsure what the state is for you at this point, but Iā€™m unsure about whether the host is reachable looking through these logs. Could you verify that the hostname set in the connection.yml when you launch this app is giving you something that the OOD web-node can actually resolve to? Once OOD launches the job ssh is out of the equation and itā€™s a matter of ensuring we are getting a useable hostname back in that file which will let us make the TCP connection when you click ā€œConnectā€.