Can you show me how to configure Remote Desktop in CentOS 5.3 that allow desktop remote from Windows XP?

This is what I had to do in Red Hat. Perhaps it will help in CentOS also:

1. edit /etc/gdm/custom.conf, in the xdmcp section add: Enable=True
2. As root: "init 3" and then "init 5" (gdm restart did not seem to work)
3. As root run: system-config-securitylevel, add port 177 for tcp and udp
4. This will restart the firewall

And if you're looking for a client for Windows, go to http://x.cygwin.com/ and install it and during the install be sure to Click on View to get Alphabetical listing and make sure the following are installing:

1. openssh
2. from X11 package, xinit

Then you can run a command from the cygwin bash prompt like the following:

XWin.exe -query <server name>

Or you can run it from a DOS prompt or create a windows shortcut to it.

I haven't used XDMCP in years, but do recall some of the caveats associated with it. One big one was its security, so I did a quick search on it and found this:

http://projects.gnome.org/gdm/docs/2...#xdmcpsecurity

Personally, I would take that advice. XDMCP really isn't a good solution to suggest for a remote desktop via anything but a *very* isolated network.

I've been using VNC for several years, but even then only through VPN tunnels unless it has been a local protected network.

One option is to use X11Forwarding in ssh, discussed here:

http://tldp.org/HOWTO/XDMCP-HOWTO/ssh.html

Some versions of VNC offer encryption, but I am not sure which ones do.

I've been testing various compression settings with VNC lately, and have found by increasing the compression setting, the its performance is considerably better than what it was with the standard configuration. I imagine it would work well enough through a ssh connection.

You can make XDMCP as secure as VNC if you work at it through ssh, but your point is well made: this can open a security hole. I have always used XDMCP in local environments behind firewalls. And I never really cared much for VNC. X seemed much more natural and easier to get going.

Any Win XP user is likely to have used RDP which from Linux to Windows is a snap. That's what I use more than anything ("rdp") at home on the LAN behind all sorts of firewalls.

I also use SUSE which has other security systems built in, but security can never be too tight if you're going to sit outside of any firewall.

I thought that XDMCP worked pretty well when I used it. There was a period of which I didn't really need it, then when the need arose a few years ago, I started using VNC at that point. VNC can have some quirks, I suppose. The graphics can be slow and choppy, but for most of the stuff I do on the servers I maintain, that's not much of a big deal for the most part.

I just removed TightVNC from my Ubuntu system and replaced it with the RealVNC client. That one seems to perform better for me. As I mentioned, increasing the compression improved performance considerably, too. Using '-Zliblevel -7' seems to work the best thus far for me. I can leave sessions running for long periods of time without any problems.

I used RDP for Windows when I worked on those systems, and that's probably the easiest route to go there, I agree.

I've found if you have a fairly stable internet connection, VPN tunnels, both IPSEC and OpenVPN can make life much better. I'll do basic things on ssh, but like to set up VPN if I'm going to be doing a considerable amount of work. If IPSEC/OpenVPN isn't an option, ssh is great to have available.