Full-Time Remote Desktop

[NaterTater]

How practical would it be to leave a tower running at home and remote connect to it whenever I need a computer on the go (ideally with an iPad Pro)?

This seems like the ideal setup to me for both power and portability, but I have no idea whether it is possible or what tools are available to accommodate such an idea.

The other huge benefit is not having to sync files back and forth. All my files would be stored in one central location.

Is this possible now? Will it be in five years?

 

Right now, I use a Macbook with Screens 4 VNC client to access my Linux work computer part time, but the experience is not one I would want to rely on all the time.

One issue is that the work tower treats its own display as native and then my Macbook scales that image to fit my remote display. In this way it must be rendered and processed twice, causing extra lag and distortion. Are there any methods for the tower graphics card to talk directly to the remote display and treat it as native?

The other issues with my current setup are latency and framerate. They are both just slow enough to be annoying. I'd like to see maybe 30ms and 30fps. Is this just an internet connection speed issue or are there other problems with using a tower remotely?

 

Any insight is appreciated. 

[Founders]

You could just use the free version of Team Viewer if you're just looking for something easy to give you unattended access over the internet. 

[Geoff35674567]

all virtual desktop/remote desktop/thin client systems I have seen suck.

[Founders]

8 minutes ago, Geoff35674567 said:

all virtual desktop/remote desktop/thin client systems I have seen suck.

Blanketed statements with absolutely no facts or at least personal feedback are completely worthless. If you have something to add then by all means, otherwise don't bother.   

[WkdPaul]

36 minutes ago, NaterTater said:

Right now, I use a Macbook with Screens 4 VNC client to access my Linux work computer part time, but the experience is not one I would want to rely on all the time.

One issue is that the work tower treats its own display as native and then my Macbook scales that image to fit my remote display. In this way it must be rendered and processed twice, causing extra lag and distortion. Are there any methods for the tower graphics card to talk directly to the remote display and treat it as native?

The other issues with my current setup are latency and framerate. They are both just slow enough to be annoying. I'd like to see maybe 30ms and 30fps. Is this just an internet connection speed issue or are there other problems with using a tower remotely?

You have pretty much described the core issue with any remote desktop solution.

 

Though, Windows remote desktop services will present you the desktop at the resolution you're viewing the RDP from, so if your Mac has a 1080p resolution, it will present the desktop at that resolution. If you open the RDP session on a 900p screen, it'll present the desktop at that resolution (when the full screen option is selected), you can also change the resolution to something smaller when starting the RDP session.

 

But the you still run in the rest of the issues : network latency and framerate.

[NaterTater]

Linus's most recent video (THIS Replaced Every PC in my House!) shows him connecting keyboards and monitors all over his house to a single pc. What technical limitations prevent the Displayport and USB signals from being sent over the internet instead? What kind of network speeds would you need to run smoothly this way?

[WkdPaul]

17 minutes ago, NaterTater said:

Linus's most recent video (THIS Replaced Every PC in my House!) shows him connecting keyboards and monitors all over his house to a single pc. What technical limitations prevent the Displayport and USB signals from being sent over the internet instead? What kind of network speeds would you need to run smoothly this way?

This was all done locally using special equipment running dual fiber optic cables for the USB 3 and straight HDMI cables for the video.

 

If you want to know how much uncompressed bandwith you need for a specific resolution, you can look at @Glenwing thread, here I entered the specs for a 1080p screen @60Hz ... spoiler : it's around 10Gbps, last I checked there are nothing available at that speed for the moment (and even if there was, it would be VERY expensive).

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/729232-guide-to-display-cables-adapters-v2/?section=calc&H=1920&V=1080&F=60&calculations=show&formulas=show

 

[NaterTater]

39 minutes ago, wkdpaul said:

This was all done locally using special equipment running dual fiber optic cables for the USB 3 and straight HDMI cables for the video.

 

If you want to know how much uncompressed bandwith you need for a specific resolution, you can look at @Glenwing thread, here I entered the specs for a 1080p screen @60Hz ... spoiler : it's around 10Gbps, last I checked there are nothing available at that speed for the moment (and even if there was, it would be VERY expensive).

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/729232-guide-to-display-cables-adapters-v2/?section=calc&H=1920&V=1080&F=60&calculations=show&formulas=show

 

I see, so the issue is really just bandwidth.

 

I thought with Google Stadia pulling off a similar concept, a consumer version might be almost ready. However, the Bandwidth calculator linked above indicates the necessary speeds are still pretty far off.

[WkdPaul]

6 minutes ago, NaterTater said:

I see, so the issue is really just bandwidth.

 

I thought with Google Stadia pulling off a similar concept, a consumer version might be almost ready. However, the Bandwidth calculator linked above indicates the necessary speeds are still pretty far off.

With appropriate compression, the data can be sent through much slower connexions, but then the issue is about artifacts and color depth rather than latency.

 

Also, keep in mind that USB data is a completely different beast, and even Stadia has latency issues when it comes to controller input and sending back rendered frames.

[steelo]

Team Viewer isn't at all bad as long as you are able to maintain a good connection. I use Team Viewer through a VPN to work from home and I've never had any issues. In my experience, any remote desktop solution is going to have some degree of lag.

 

 

[Bramimond]

It could work, if you're running something like Linux and don't use a desktop environment, put purely CLI for everything. But if you swing that way, the entire endeavor is already somewhat pointless, since there wouldn't be any need for a really powerful computer to remote into in the first place. Even 16 years old computers will be as snappy as can be with such a setup. I used such a setup for a while. Pretty good for productivity, since there are basically no distractions.

[NaterTater]

15 minutes ago, Bramimond said:

It could work, if you're running something like Linux and don't use a desktop environment, put purely CLI for everything. But if you swing that way, the entire endeavor is already somewhat pointless, since there wouldn't be any need for a really powerful computer to remote into in the first place. Even 16 years old computers will be as snappy as can be with such a setup. I used such a setup for a while. Pretty good for productivity, since there are basically no distractions.

I do use the command line quite a bit over ssh now, which works well. But of course this dream set up would need to be able to do everything. 

[LWM723]

I use a program called Remote Utilities for Windows, works great. It's a portable program so no installation needed. It works over LAN or Internet. It can wake a computer from sleep or hibernation. Just Google for the link.

[harryk]

I use Chrome Remote Desktop with all my computers, personal and work. Like the others have said performance really comes down to the network bandwidth and latency. Chrome has been the most reliable and robust of the ones I've used and it only requires logging into a web app for the remote client so you can easily log in from any computer. Only downside is its a pita to get working on Linux.