Semi-OT: VNC Alternatives.

[Scot L. Harris]

On Thu, 2005-11-03 at 09:16, Gilboa Davara wrote:
> Hello list,
> 
> I need help.
> I'm trying to help my Windows-using-coworkers access my Linux (FC, CENT,
> RHEL) farm from their Windows (yuck!) desktops and I'm a bit stuck.
> 
> My initial thought was VNC. I've created a couple of VNC accounts on
> each server and configured each of accounts to run KDE.
> Amazingly enough, the solution seem to be working just fine (considering
> the number of active KDE sessions) but soon enough, I started getting
> Windows client disconnect errors which do not seem to relate to server
> load and/or network load. I tried alternating the Windows client (from
> RealVNC to UltraVNC) the problem remained. Plus, VNC still has that
> annoying lag, even on switched GbE network.
> I tried cygwin/X based solution. But cygwin/X is getting severe tearing
> and update problems  (both under SSH/tunneling and xdmcp session) which
> renders it too unstable in my eyes.
> Next came X-Deep32 which works ~OK when combined with SSH tunneling but
> I can't seem to get it to create an xdmcp session.
> 
> I can go with the Uber-solution (get Exceed for each workstation) but I
> rather not scare my boss with >500$ per workstation licensing fee. At
> least not now.
> 
> Any ideas?
> Gilboa

Do you need to provide an entire desktop?  Why not use X11 forwarding to
just display the windows of the programs they need to access?  I used to
do this on my laptop before I converted it to 100% linux.  You can use
cygwin/X to do this.

Assuming also that this is over a LAN and that you are not trying to
support this over WAN type links.  I run X11 forwarding over a WAN link
when I travel.  It is a little slower but acceptable for things like
evolution.  You should check the options for using compression, that can
help sometimes with the perceived throughput and response time.