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How difficult/feasible to do a desktop virtualization of my home PC?

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superboyac:
I've done my best to be able to deal with my on-the-run computing needs by setting up portable applications on my USB and stuff.  But how difficult would it be to make my home PC accessible virtually?  A full desktop virtualization, that is.  I want to use the programs there in case I need something during an emergency situation.

I know this can be setup using various virtual software, but is it even worth it?  I have a time warner cable connection, which is decent, but can it handle this sort of thing effectively?  Would the lag be too unbearable?  because it's not just about setting it up, I know I can do that.  Is the experience going to be productive, though?  I know, I can't expect the speed of a local PC, but I also can't have a situation where I move the mouse to the side, and it takes 10 seconds to see that on the screen.

My company uses Citrix, which does this, but in a way that I can't explain.  It's not just a window into another desktop, it actually brings the programs to the local pc, so it's all rendered locally.  Other programs just give you a window basically that shows the remote desktop.  I've used remote desktop (basic windows XP accessories) within my building to connect from a laptop to my workstation, and that works really well.  but I've heard it's unbearably slow when people try doing the same from home.

So i want to explore this idea.  I'd like to hear about your experiences with this, or if there are experts, any advice.  Thanks.

Stoic Joker:
I spend most of my day working via Remote Desktop to the various internal and external servers I manage. I seldom ever have any issues. The occasional lag is hardly noticeable, and basic printing to local devices (I've never tried large graphics) works fine.

Only real lag prone area is when you try to browse local drives (deep into large file systems) using the connect to local drives feature. But as long as you stay close to drive root and leave the window open it's not hard to deal with.

Well over half of Page Countster was written and tested at night while I was connected to my office comp via RDP.

superboyac:
Stoic, what software do you use to setup the remote connections?  Do you just use the Remote Desktop Connection that comes with Windows?  What do you use for a client?  What if I'm on a mac, is there a way to connect to my XP PC at home?  Is there some portable client app I can have on my USB drive and connect from a Mac to my pc?

And I can't tell from your explanation:  are you just connecting to files and folders, or are you actually running a virtual desktop and using programs installed on the other pc?

Stoic Joker:
Stoic, what software do you use to setup the remote connections?  Do you just use the Remote Desktop Connection that comes with Windows?-superboyac (August 19, 2010, 02:34 PM)
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Yes. But, Home PC will need to be a Professional/business edition - Home editions do not have Terminal Services bits necessary to connect to them (from is fine)


What do you use for a client?
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Same, you can either memorize the connection info or save a .rdp file on your ThumbDrive. There is a downloadable install copy of the client software, but it's only needed for the rare NT4/Win2k case.

What if I'm on a mac, is there a way to connect to my XP PC at home?
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Then you have my sympathy... :) ...As I understand there is a Mac version of the MS RDP client available. As long as Home PC is a Business or Professional Edition yes.

And I can't tell from your explanation:  are you just connecting to files and folders, or are you actually running a virtual desktop and using programs installed on the other pc?
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Yes it's a direct connection to the remote machines desktop, so whatever project you were working on can be accessed directly - Just like you were there. The MS RDP is much like Symantec's PC Anywhere or a VNC connection except it's smooth, fast, and doesn't waste a ton of bandwidth.

If you choose to connect the local drives using the RDP config option, then any drives available to the machine you are connecting from will be made available to the machine you are connecting to. I usually just connect the clipboard so I can cut and past text between local and remote machines (even if you're connected to 4 or 5 at a time - as I frequently am).

wraith808:
You can also use VNC... there's a client for mac from what I understand, though I haven't used VNC since MSRDP started being a viable product.

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