Has anyone been successful in running an Linux Ubuntu remote desktop client controlling a remote winXP desktop host?

I think all of the parts are here, but I have not been successful yet.

I guess alot of us have.
What problem are you facing?

Thanks, that helped already. ...

I run a 'desktop configuration file' named 'Remote Desktop'.
This launches Vinagre:

Run 'Remote Desktop' then go to Machine, Connect.
The "Which machine do you want to connect to?" dialog box asks for "Host:".

I need to enter something here to address either of 3 winXP computers
on the local network. Each of those machines has been setup and tested to run
remote desktop from another winXP machine.

I just don't know what to put in the Host: dialog box,
and maybe some additional preparation on the remote host side.

I'm studying this hard. It looks very complex, maybe.

I am trying to run a remote desktop application on Linux Ubuntu v9.04 and connect to a Windows XP machine that already connects on a local network using "Windows Remote Desktop" to other XP machines. The XP machine here is the remote server and Linux is the Remote client (sometimes called 'remote viewer').

On top of everything else, our usual server/client roles are a little ambiguous here.

"Windows Remote Desktop Connection" uses Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and used to be called Terminal Services. It uses TCP port 3389 by default. see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_Desktop_Services


Ubuntu 9.04 has a link at Applications> Internet> Remote Desktop Viewer. This launches Vinagre v2.26.1. It uses Virtual Network Computing (VNC) protocol. It also has a link for 'Terminal Services Client'.
For VNC reference
see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Network_Computing

I can't find that VNC and RDP are related at all (but they might be). Then there is rdesktop-1.6.0.tar.gz which (I think) is an RDP client/viewer. It seems poised to connect to the Windows desktop.

Why is this so very important to justify the effort to get it working?

This question may seem odd to Linux users. But, to well-established Windows users, who want to pick-up or convert to Linux, having a remote desktop connection back to the existing Windows machine(s), could make transition much faster and smoother.

It looks like Vinagre (VNC) is an alternate method of connecting desktops (this is different from what Windows uses naturally). It looks like rdestop-1.6.0.tar.gz is maybe emulating the client part of RDP. If both of these are true, then VNC might be great for connecting two (or more) Linux machines together, but not so good when controlling a Windows machine from Linux. Partly because we don't want to work on the Windows side just now (we're trying to learn Linux).

thanks ...Jim

Why not just run VNC (host) on your Windows XP machine? Or is that a dumb question?

Very good question. Of course.

Is anyone doing that?