I am using a CentOS 8 Stream desktop at work to run some software that uses GUI. I want to be able to connect to it remotely from a Windows machine to continue working on a project from home or simply from another Windows PC in the office. So far, every remote desktop solution I tried either didn't work at all or it would only be able to open a new blank session in Gnome while all I want is for it to work as the Remote Desktop works in Windows where I can always connect to my Windows work PC from home and I will see the screen exactly the way I left it before leaving for home.

Can this be done? Any help is highly appreciated.

I have done this using VNC. Start a listening session ON the desktop listeining at a local port before leaving the machine, then connect using VNC over SSH to access that port on the host machine using ssh forwarding. (I also used VNC directly a time or two, but only when I had a solid and secure VPN connection as VNC is not very secure without some kind of encryption to protect the traffic.) My experience with it is ancient now, as I have not wanted access to an existing session that was not served by SCREEN for a long, LONG time!

If you set VNC services on the host machine as a service you can connect, but every connection has a unique desktop session and NOT the one already running.

You might look into other options. I once used RDP for that purpose, but it is almost as insecure as VNC and even Microsoft no longer recommends it.

I would consider some of the other options from these pages:
https://www.itproportal.com/guides/b...top-for-linux/
https://www.techradar.com/best/best-...esktop-clients
or
https://www.tecmint.com/best-remote-...ring-software/
and see if any of them had the functionality you are seeking. Keep in mind you may be looking for a combination of applications to accomplish the need. My VNC suggestion above is one for the desktop view/control and a different one to secure that access. It is unclear to me if something like REMMINA or NoMachine performs both functions in a way that would serve you well.

I would also recommend a VNC.

Here's another link you might want to check: https://www.howtogeek.com/devops/how...s-the-network/

Anydesk also works quite well between Linux and windows machines (even Linux to Linux).

1 members found this post helpful.

Does "Anydesk" allow you to connect to and run and existing running session?

My method:

SSH to target (as user with existing graphical session).
Run x11vnc (with appropriate options as desired).
Connect with VNC client (via SSH tunnel).

yes. Think VNC over encrypted channel and a lot less bandwidth usage. It also allows you to redirect/pipe speaker and mic input/output streams between the two machines.