[ale] [ON-T] Truly remote desktop aka terminal services client/server in Linux, Does it exist ?

[Pat Regan]

On Wed, 1 Sep 2010 20:47:53 -0400
dude-aaron-omy <aaron at pd.org> wrote:

> And the "Roundup" feature in the current issue of Linux Format
> (LXF 135 // Oct. 2010) was a comparison of 7 such remote desktop
> options for Linux from several angles, including ease of use, speed
> and protocol support.  Their top pick was a FLOSS GPL offering that
> didn't show up in the other on topic portions of this thread, a
> package called REMMINA that's available at
> <http://remmina.sourceforge.net>.

Unfortunately, Remmina is just a remote desktop client.  Looks like a
handy one, though, since it connects to pretty much everything.

It won't help you share your desktop, though.

> "The winner, by some distance, was  Remmina. Performance was
> exemplary, but that’s not the full story. It had the best feedback and
> responsiveness of  any client, and if you didn’t know better, the
> remote desktop might have been a  normal-speed local machine.
> More than the performance though, this client had the best mix of
> features, and a sensible and well thought-out interface. Although
> it did split into multiple windows, the  controls are always
> accessible. As well  as discovering clients on the network, it  has a
> good way of storing connections,  which would still work well if you
> had to deal with lots of desktops. Support for NX [protocol] makes
> this an all-round winner."
> 
> NoMachineNX (proprietary) came in behind Remmina with 8/10.
> The other 5 offerings were all rated with sub-par numbers in the
> comparison.

I think I'm going to avoid reading your magazine :).  I don't know how
anyone can directly compare NX, which is both a client and a server
component, directly to something that is just a client.

That said, here's my two cents!  :)

VNC is terribly handy and easy to use.  Ubuntu has a simple menu option
somewhere to turn on the sharing of the local desktop over VNC.  That's
easy.

VNC may beat straight X11 over the wire, but it is a major bandwidth
hog compared to RDP and NX.

I like `xrdp`.  It sits between an RDP client and a VNC server.  IIRC,
the default install of xrdp on Ubuntu will present you with a menu of
choices when you connect to it with an RDP client.  I think one of them
will let you connect to the local desktop's VNC listener (if you have
it turned on).

Pat