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RDP vs VNC

by Alejandro Liu

Updated: 2024-03-19

in 2023

tagged browser, desktop, linux, remote, scripts

For years I have been using VNC for my remote desktop needs. This works usually well enough. The features that I like are:

  • Basic set-up is easy
  • Desktop sessions are persistent
  • Can be used to view an actual X11.org desktop.
  • Browser based clients via noVNC or Guacamole

On the other hand, a number of features are either not implemented or are not easily implementable.

  • On-demand desktop sessions. Usually you can hack scripts to do this. Or you can use inetd mode to create a session on-demand, however, this loses session persistence.
  • While in theory, because most Desktops use pulseaudio which would let you redirect audio to a remote, this is another protocol so it is not simple to set-up in practice.

So I have now found xrdp which provides:

  • Easy basic set-up
  • On-demand desktop sessions (session management) with persistent session support.
  • Sound redirection (however I have not been able to make this work)
  • Browser based clients via Guacamole

For the client side, you can either use:

Still I have not been able to:

  • Enable sound re-direction
  • Use to view an actuall X11.org desktop. For this I am simply using x11vnc and just using the vncviewer.