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FastX
FastX lets you reach the ECE-LRC Linux servers from any modern web browser — no client install required. A desktop client is available, but optional. This page walks through connecting to a ECE-LRC server, choosing a desktop environment, and starting an interactive session via the FastX web portal.
Prerequisites
• A valid ECE-LRC Linux account: Create or Manage Account
• A modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, or Brave)
• Network access to the target server on port 3300 (on-campus, UT VPN)
Step 1 — Open the FastX web portal
In your browser, navigate to the FastX portal on the server you want to use. The URL pattern is https://<hostname>.ece.utexas.edu:3300. For this example we use https://yoshi.ece.utexas.edu:3300.
Enter your ECE-LRC username and password, then click SSH Login.
Step 2 — Choose a desktop environment
After login you land on the My Sessions page. The Applications panel on the left lists the desktop environments and terminal options available on this server. The right pane shows any running or disconnected sessions you own.
On the ECE-LRC servers, the typical options are:
Application | What it does | When to pick it |
|---|---|---|
Default Desktop | The site-default desktop environment (currently GNOME on RHEL 8). | When you don't need a specific environment and want what most users see. |
Gnome | Full GNOME desktop session. | When you want the full GNOME experience (Activities overview, system menu, etc.). |
XFCE | Lightweight XFCE desktop session. | Lower-bandwidth connections or when you prefer a simpler desktop. |
Double-click the icon for the desktop environment you want. FastX will start a new session.
Step 3 — Connect with the Browser Client or Desktop Client
FastX will ask how you want to connect. Choose Browser Client — this is what runs the remote desktop directly inside the browser tab, with no client install required. The Desktop Client option is for the StarNet FastX desktop application, which is a separate install that can be obtained from: https://www.starnet.com/download-fastx-client/
When the FastX desktop client is installed and selected, it will automatically open and configure itself for the current server.
Select Remember my selection if you want to skip this prompt next time.
Step 4 — Use your remote desktop
The remote desktop appears in a new browser tab. The session runs on the server (in this example yoshi.ece.utexas.edu, a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 host) and streams to your browser. You can launch terminals, edit files, run X11 applications, and use the desktop normally.
GNOME
GNOME presents the standard Activities menu in the top-left and the system menu in the top-right.
Open a terminal from Activities → Terminal, or right-click the desktop and choose Open Terminal.
Default Desktop
The Default Desktop currently resolves to GNOME on the ECE-LRC RHEL 8 servers, so the experience is the same as picking Gnome directly.
XFCE
XFCE shows the Applications menu in the top-left and a launcher dock at the bottom of the screen. It is noticeably lighter than GNOME and is a good choice over slow links.
Step 5 — Disconnect, suspend, or end the session
FastX distinguishes between disconnecting from a session (leaves it running on the server, ready to reconnect) and ending a session (logs out and terminates running processes).
What you do | What happens |
|---|---|
Close the browser tab | Disconnects only. Your session keeps running on the server, and you can reconnect to it later from the My Sessions page. |
Log out from inside the desktop | Ends the session. Running processes are terminated. You'll see a Client Disconnected message in the browser. |
Step 6 — Reconnect to a running session
If you closed the tab without logging out, your session shows up on the dashboard under Disconnected Sessions. Click it to resume right where you left off — open windows, terminals, and running jobs are still there.
Suspended sessions consume system resources and licenses on the server. If you no longer need a session, end it explicitly rather than leaving it disconnected indefinitely.