[CentOS] Failed to start new browser session: Error while launching browser on session null

Mon Mar 28 19:57:40 UTC 2011
Les Mikesell <lesmikesell at gmail.com>

On 3/28/2011 2:31 PM, ken wrote:
>
>> I need your advice with something if you can help out.
>>
>> I have an RC serer (selenium rc) which is running on a centos 5.2 and
>> another on a 5.4 machine.
>> if i run it through X server, in other words if i run the server while
>> connected to VNC.
>> it works fine.
>> but if i run it through ssh, it will start normally though upon test
>> execution it will fail with the following error:
>>
>>
>> 11:05:01.571 INFO - Preparing Firefox profile...
>> Error: no display specified
>> 11:05:21.818 ERROR - Failed to start new browser session, shutdown
>> browser and clear all session data
>> java.lang.RuntimeException: Timed out waiting for profile to be created!
>>
>> 11:05:21.833 INFO - Got result: Failed to start new browser session:
>> Error while launching browser on session null
>>
>>
>> any idea how i can solve this?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> --Roland
>
> Like the error says, you need to specify the display.  I.e., on the
> remote machine you must set the environmental variable "DISPLAY"...
> something like
>
> (export DISPLAY=192.168.1.42:0.0&  firefox)
>
> Though this may work, this may well reveal another, different error, one
> having to do generally with permissions.  But we'll take them one at a time.

Ssh should take care of exporting the correct tunneled DISPLAY if you 
specified the -Y option when connecting.  However, with firefox you have 
to be careful that the same user does not already have a copy displaying 
elsewhere.  If so, it will try to open a new window in that session 
instead of starting a new one.  I don't think that's the problem in this 
case or you wouldn't get the 'no display' error, but when it does happen 
it can be confusing.

-- 
   Les Mikesell
    lesmikesell at gmail.com