Question

A.1.

Where does the name "Guacamole" come from?

Answer 1

The name was chosen arbitrarily from a random utterance in a conversation wi th + a member of the project.

When the project reached the point where it was growing out of the + proof-of-concept phase, and needed a real home on the internet, we needed to + think of a name to register the project under.

Several acronyms were toyed with and discarded. We tried anagrams, but all + were too wordy and complex. We considered naming the project after a fish or an + animal, and after suggesting the guanaco, James Muehlner, a developer of the + project, suggested (randomly): "guacamole".

The name had a nice ring, we weren't embarrassed to use it, and it stuck.

Answer 2

The term "clientless" means that no specific client is needed. A Guacamole + user needs only have an HTML5 web browser installed, which is exceedingly + common; virtually all modern computers and mobile devices have such a browser + installed by default.

In this sense, Guacamole is "clientless" in that it does not require any + additional software to be installed beyond what is considered standard for any + computer.

Answer 3

Guacamole uses either WebSocket or plain HTTP, whichever is supported by both + the browser and your servlet container. If WebSocket cannot be used for any + reason, Guacamole will fall back to using HTTP.

Historically, Guacamole had no WebSocket support at all. This was due to a + lack of browser support and lack of a true standard. Overall, it didn't matter + as there really wasn't any need: the tunnel used by Guacamole when WebSocket is + not available is largely equivalent to WebSocket in terms of efficiency and + latency, and is more compatible with proxies and existing browsers.

Answer 4

You need to enable automatic flushing of the proxy's buffer as it receives + packets.

Most proxies, including mod_proxy, buffer data received from the server, and + will not flush this data in real-time. Each proxy has an option to force + flushing of each packet automatically, as this is necessary for streaming + applications like Guacamole, but this is usually not enabled by default.

Because Guacamole depends on streaming to function, a proxy configured to not + automatically flush packets will disrupt the stream to the point that the + connection seems unreasonably slow, or just fails to establish altogether.

In the case of mod_proxy, this option is flushpackets=on.

Answer 5

You need to enable automatic flushing of your proxy's buffer to avoid + disrupting the stream used by Guacamole.

If you cannot change the settings of your proxy, using HTTPS instead of HTTP + should solve the problem. Proxies are required to stream HTTPS because of the + nature of SSL. Using HTTPS will allow Guacamole traffic to stream through + proxies unencumbered, even if you cannot access the proxy settings directly.

Answer 6

Usually, no. Previous requests for such licensing have been very one-sided and + there would be no direct or indirect benefit to the community and the project. + That said, we handle requests for licensing on a case-by-case basis. In general, + any special licensing has to somehow provide for the community and the + open-source project.

Answer 7

Yes. We love to be paid to work on Guacamole, especially if that work remains + open source.

Answer 8

If you are a programmer and want to contribute code, Guacamole is open-source + and you are welcome to do so! Just send us your patches. There is no guarantee + that your patch will be added to the upstream source, and all changes are + carefully reviewed.

If you are not a programmer, but want to help out, feel free to look through + the documentation or try installing Guacamole and test it out. General editing, + documentation contributions, and testing are always helpful.

Answer 9

The short answer is: "by being asked."

People are only added as official members of the Guacamole project after their + work has been proven. This usually means you will have contributed code in the + form of patches before, or we know you from extensive testing work, or you + frequently help with documentation, and we are impressed enough that we want you + as part of the project.

All that said, you do not need to be a member of the project to help out. Feel + free to contribute anything.

Answer 10

The project tracks in-progress tasks and bugs via the JIRA instance hosted by + the Apache Software Foundation:

https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/GUACAMOLE/

All bugs should be reported there as new issues. This is also where you would + request a new feature. If the bug you found is security-related, we would prefer + to be contacted personally via email, such that the bug can be fixed before + becoming dangerously widely known.

Answer 11

If you would like help with Apache Guacamole, or wish to help others, we + highly recommend sending an email to the one of the project’s mailing lists. You will need to subscribe prior to sending + email to any list. All mailing lists are actively filtered for + spam, and any email not originating from a subscriber will bounce.

There are two primary mailing lists:

<user@guacamole.incubator.apache.org>

The user list is intended for general questions and discussions + which do not necessarily pertain to development. This list replaces + the old SourceForge forums used by Guacamole prior to its + acceptance into the Apache Incubator.

If you're not sure which mailing list to use, the user + list is probably the correct choice.

<dev@guacamole.incubator.apache.org>

The development list is for development-related discussion + involving people who are contributors to the Apache Guacamole + project (or who wish to become contributors).

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A.1.	Where does the name "Guacamole" come from?
	The name was chosen arbitrarily from a random utterance in a conversation wi th + a member of the project. When the project reached the point where it was growing out of the + proof-of-concept phase, and needed a real home on the internet, we needed to + think of a name to register the project under. Several acronyms were toyed with and discarded. We tried anagrams, but all + were too wordy and complex. We considered naming the project after a fish or an + animal, and after suggesting the guanaco, James Muehlner, a developer of the + project, suggested (randomly): "guacamole". The name had a nice ring, we weren't embarrassed to use it, and it stuck.
A.2.	What does "clientless" mean?
	The term "clientless" means that no specific client is needed. A Guacamole + user needs only have an HTML5 web browser installed, which is exceedingly + common; virtually all modern computers and mobile devices have such a browser + installed by default. In this sense, Guacamole is "clientless" in that it does not require any + additional software to be installed beyond what is considered standard for any + computer.
A.3.	Does Guacamole use WebSocket?
	Guacamole uses either WebSocket or plain HTTP, whichever is supported by both + the browser and your servlet container. If WebSocket cannot be used for any + reason, Guacamole will fall back to using HTTP. Historically, Guacamole had no WebSocket support at all. This was due to a + lack of browser support and lack of a true standard. Overall, it didn't matter + as there really wasn't any need: the tunnel used by Guacamole when WebSocket is + not available is largely equivalent to WebSocket in terms of efficiency and + latency, and is more compatible with proxies and existing browsers.
A.4.	I have Tomcat (or some other servlet container) set up behind a proxy (like + mod_proxy) and cannot connect to Guacamole. Why? How do I solve this?
	You need to enable automatic flushing of the proxy's buffer as it receives + packets. Most proxies, including mod_proxy, buffer data received from the server, and + will not flush this data in real-time. Each proxy has an option to force + flushing of each packet automatically, as this is necessary for streaming + applications like Guacamole, but this is usually not enabled by default. Because Guacamole depends on streaming to function, a proxy configured to not + automatically flush packets will disrupt the stream to the point that the + connection seems unreasonably slow, or just fails to establish altogether. In the case of mod_proxy, this option is `flushpackets=on`.
A.5.	I connect to the internet through a web proxy, and cannot connect to + Guacamole. I cannot reconfigure the proxy. How do I solve this?
	You need to enable automatic flushing of your proxy's buffer to avoid + disrupting the stream used by Guacamole. If you cannot change the settings of your proxy, using HTTPS instead of HTTP + should solve the problem. Proxies are required to stream HTTPS because of the + nature of SSL. Using HTTPS will allow Guacamole traffic to stream through + proxies unencumbered, even if you cannot access the proxy settings directly.
A.6.	Can I buy special licensing of the Guacamole code base, such that I can use it + in my own product, without providing the source to my users, without + contributing back, and without acknowledging the project?
	Usually, no. Previous requests for such licensing have been very one-sided and + there would be no direct or indirect benefit to the community and the project. + That said, we handle requests for licensing on a case-by-case basis. In general, + any special licensing has to somehow provide for the community and the + open-source project.
A.7.	Can I pay for custom Guacamole work, or for help integrating Guacamole into my + product, if the open source nature and licenses are preserved?
	Yes. We love to be paid to work on Guacamole, especially if that work remains + open source.
A.8.	How can I contribute to the project?
	If you are a programmer and want to contribute code, Guacamole is open-source + and you are welcome to do so! Just send us your patches. There is no guarantee + that your patch will be added to the upstream source, and all changes are + carefully reviewed. If you are not a programmer, but want to help out, feel free to look through + the documentation or try installing Guacamole and test it out. General editing, + documentation contributions, and testing are always helpful.
A.9.	How can I become an official member of the project?
	The short answer is: "by being asked." People are only added as official members of the Guacamole project after their + work has been proven. This usually means you will have contributed code in the + form of patches before, or we know you from extensive testing work, or you + frequently help with documentation, and we are impressed enough that we want you + as part of the project. All that said, you do not need to be a member of the project to help out. Feel + free to contribute anything.
A.10.	I think I've found a bug. How do I report it?
	The project tracks in-progress tasks and bugs via the JIRA instance hosted by + the Apache Software Foundation: `https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/GUACAMOLE/` All bugs should be reported there as new issues. This is also where you would + request a new feature. If the bug you found is security-related, we would prefer + to be contacted personally via email, such that the bug can be fixed before + becoming dangerously widely known.
A.11.	I need help! Where can I find some?
	If you would like help with Apache Guacamole, or wish to help others, we + highly recommend sending an email to the one of the project’s mailing lists. You will need to subscribe prior to sending + email to any list. All mailing lists are actively filtered for + spam, and any email not originating from a subscriber will bounce. There are two primary mailing lists: `<user@guacamole.incubator.apache.org>` The user list is intended for general questions and discussions + which do not necessarily pertain to development. This list replaces + the old SourceForge forums used by Guacamole prior to its + acceptance into the Apache Incubator. If you're not sure which mailing list to use, the user + list is probably the correct choice. `<dev@guacamole.incubator.apache.org>` The development list is for development-related discussion + involving people who are contributors to the Apache Guacamole + project (or who wish to become contributors).

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Chapter 8. Duo two-factor authentication

Important

How Duo works with Guacamole

Downloading the Duo extension

Installing Duo authentication

Important

Adding Guacamole to Duo

Configuring Guacamole for Duo

Completing the installation

Important

Appendix A. FAQ

Chapter 1. Implementation and architecture

The Guacamole protocol

guacd

The web application

RealMint

VNC Client

Remote Desktop Gateway

Chapter 16. guacamole-common-js

Guacamole client

Important

HTTP tunnel

Input abstraction

Mouse

Touch

Keyboard

On-screen keyboard

Keyboard layouts

Displaying the keyboard

Styling the keyboard

Important

Handling key events

Chapter 15. guacamole-common

HTTP tunnel

Using the Guacamole protocol

`GuacamoleReader`

`GuacamoleWriter`

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