CentOS - Dec 2007 - Please help me rate vnc, rdesktop, and freenx

I have been dragging my feet on remote display, and have just gotten VNC 
going to have SOMETHING to move off the start line.  But I need the 
'best' for different situations, so I want to rate them.

1 to 3 where 1 is the 'best' for the catagory and 3 the loser.

                            VNC      RDESKTOP      FREENX


Server memory
Server cpu
client memory
client cpu
bandwidth

thanks.  I AM search the net for this information.  So far have not 
found the magic query request :)

Robert Moskowitz <rgm at htt-consult.com> wrote:
>>
1 to 3 where 1 is the 'best' for the catagory and 3 the loser.
<<

You fogot the ssh/vi combination, which rates 1 across the board.

Best,

--- Les Bell, RHCE, CISSP
[http://www.lesbell.com.au]
Tel: +61 2 9451 1144
FreeWorldDialup: 800909

On Dec 6, 2007 5:05 PM, Robert Moskowitz <rgm at htt-consult.com>
wrote:
> I have been dragging my feet on remote display, and have just gotten VNC
> going to have SOMETHING to move off the start line.  But I need the
> 'best' for different situations, so I want to rate them.
>
> 1 to 3 where 1 is the 'best' for the catagory and 3 the loser.
>
>                             VNC      RDESKTOP      FREENX
>
>
> Server memory
> Server cpu
> client memory
> client cpu
> bandwidth
>
> thanks.  I AM search the net for this information.  So far have not
> found the magic query request :)
>
There are numerous ways to remotely access a Linux machine, and
honestly the "remote desktop" style that Windows uses is the worst of
them.  VNC, rdesktop, and freenx all replicate that method of access,
where you basically get a picture of what would be on the monitor if
you were sitting at it.

As was already mentioned, ssh is really the main way for remote
access, but for people not familiar with Linux, there's no GUI and no
mouse beyond copy/paste, so you may look for another solution.

The real *NIX way of accessing a graphical application remotely is by
using a remote X desktop.  It sounds strange if you're not familiar
with it, but basically you run the 1 application on the remote server,
and the application window (and only the application window), shows up
on your local workstation.  SSH provides a way to do this securely.
The drawback is you will need an X server running on your local
computer, but that can be had for free in Windows from cygwin.

Having stepped your foot in all of that now, the simplest GUI to get
working is the vnc/freenx style of remote access.  I have only used
VNC, and it works well enough, but I hear good things about freenx.
If you go the VNC route, make sure to set up a firewall to block
direct access to the vnc port, and only access it through ssh
forwarding, as vnc is not secure by itself.

Scott Silva <ssilva at sgvwater.com> wrote:
>>
Yeah... ssh into the server, vi whatever.conf re-[start|load] service, exit
ssh.
"the simple things are sometimes the best!"
<<

Darn straight. And using ssh-agent (or Pageant with PuTTY on Windows) in
conjunction with key forwarding, you can make it easy to script stuff that
runs across multiple machines, thereby automating an entire server farm, if
you want to. Unix admin maxim: if you have to do something more than once,
write a script for it. See
http://www.lesbell.com.au/Home.nsf/web/SSH+for+Server+Administration?OpenDocument

We certainly don't want to revert to the "point-and-grunt" method
of doing
things found in the Windows world. I thought we'd put that behind us when
we stopped living in the trees.

[I considered a "wink" smiley here, but decided against it. ;) ].

Best,

--- Les Bell, RHCE, CISSP
[http://www.lesbell.com.au]
Tel: +61 2 9451 1144
FreeWorldDialup: 800909