Hi

We have an old system (i3 - 2100, 4GB, 256 GB HD) that we want to continue using.

We want to make this a system that runs on Linux, the system should remain on 24/7, so do not go into sleep mode.

The updates to the system should be done at night, but the system must have a password, so after updating it should be able to log in again automatically.

As soon as the system is logged in, a PowerPoint ppsx should automatically be displayed.

It is also that we should also be able to replace this PowerPoint remotely (from Windows 10) with a new one. I suspect that this should work with TIGHTVNCViewer. We would want to reach the system with the computer name and not with its IP number.

Does anyone have an idea, which version of Linux is best to use for this and how we should set it up?

Thanks in advance.

STYLUS3530

I guess any linux can do that, if you can install it on that host. System can be updated automatically without the need to log in, also you can configure passwordless auto login after boot. Replacing a file should not be an issue at all.

As already mentioned, pretty much any desktop-oriented distro will do the job. Though you might want to use the bare minimum of graphical overhead, maybe just a Window Manager and not a full Desktop Environment.

There are several ways of autostarting software and, yes, LibreOffice can even read legacy file formats like the diverse circus of ppsx versions.

For remote access, I'd recommend SFTP instead of VNC since you'd have to tunnel VNC over SSH anyway in order to harden it enough to expose it to the open Internet. SFTP is much easier to set up and, depending on the client software, easier to use. There are even good SFTP clients for legacy systems, such as for Vista10 which you have there. Those include FileZilla and WinSCP, which despite the names or brief descriptions support SFTP very well.

From there, it is possible to have a tool such as incron watch the upload directory for new files and re-launch the presentation automatically.

Reaching the system by name rather than IP number depends on several factors. If the system itself has its own externally accessible address, there are a lot of easy options. If the system does not have its own externally accessible IP address, then there are still a lot of options, just more setup needed. Either way, it can be done. Can you explain a little more about the network topology and how the target system is connected to the net?

Hello

First of all sorry for the late response, but I was out for a while due to illness.

Indeed, a minimum graphical environment is sufficient. I am most familiar with Ubuntu, but that was some time ago.
I suspect that it might be easier for me to get back into it with a version of Ubuntu, but which one is actually the best for my purposes?

As for SFTP, I'll have to read up a bit, because I haven't used it yet.

As for having the upload folder checked, that isn't really necessary, as as soon as I change the ppsx I would just restart the computer.

We intend to replace the old Windows 8 license of this system with Linux. The computer used to have its own name(Windows 8) and we could always reach it thru VNC.
A fixed IP for this PC is no problem, but it is in another office/network.

Thanks in advance

STYLUS3530

Any of the Ubuntus would be ok, they can all be customized. The lightest out of the gate would be Lubuntu. Though as mentioned you might consider swapping out the Desktop Environment for a plain Window Manager. Openbox and FVWM-crystal are two examples of the latter.

If the remote network has a dynamic public IP address you can use a free dynamic dns service like noip to provide a URL. A small program runs on a computer or the router if capable that updates the ip address when it changes.

Using ssh would be the better method using keys and disabling password authentication. You need to be able to forward the ssh port in the router to the display PC. I agree that sftp would be the simplest. I do something similar with PuTTy command line tools with a batch script to upload a file from Windows and then run a bash script on the server but using incron would be easier.

Running vnc over ssh or even a VPN for better security if you really need to is suggested.

@ Turbocapitalist & michaelk

So I downloaded Lubuntu and put it on a USB stick, which really took quite a while. After the installation on the system, I now run a ppsx file to test that it certainly does not go into sleep mode. I will try not to touch the PC until Thursday.

My next step will be what I need to install to be able to remotely place a ppsx file on the desktop of the PC and possibly take over control of the PC from a WINDOWS10 PC

There are of course solutions such as anydesk, teamviewer, ..., but which solution is actually free and ideal for this? Also the solution that here were show, I must check, but it must be a simple way to use it.

As mentioned, SFTP is one of the best ways to go -- especially if you are connecting from another GNU/Linux machine. It's still at the top of the list when connecting from legacy systems which would use FileZilla or WinSCP.

SSH would be the way to do that, if you want to stick with professional options. Plus it is part of the SFTP setup above. SSH allows you to connect to the remote system and work via the shell there, which means you can do anything you could have done while physically sitting at it. The shell is actually more flexible and more powerful than the graphical interface for the system, plus it can be automated with virtually no additional effort.

Both SFTP and SSH need the package OpenSSH-server installed and running on the remote system. One recommendation is to learn SSH key based authentication and then turn off password authentication. For that you'll probably want to look at PuTTY for the client. SSH keys are a little harder with PuTTY but once you know the trick it's not a problem.

TeamViewer is free for personal use. Technically it will work and does not require port forwarding or a dynamic DNS URL.
You also might want to look at NoMachine and X2Go but as far as I know they use a direct connection and therefore you need to use port forwarding and a dyndns URL (I assume no public static IP address).

I believe that most of the free VNC servers are just remote desktops and no built in file transfer.

The advantage of using remote desktop versus my suggestion would be if something didn't work like a broken ppsx file that you could see in real time. Although once configured it should be simple to use.

I went for the NoMachine option, which actually works well, the only problem I have is that both on the Linux machine and on my own Windows 10 machine the Belgian Azerty Keyboard is set as default. However, when I connect from Windows to Linux, my keyboard changes to Qwerty? There's probably a setting somewhere, but that's not really a big deal.

In the meantime, I have ensured that Linux can log in directly without a password. Now I just have to make sure that the ppsx file starts up with the computer. I have already tried to set this in the settings(Session startup), but without success.

I suspect that this can also be configured in a config file somewhere? Also, for example, every evening the computer downloads and installs the updates and of course then restarts the computer, but I still have to find out where this should happen.

Ubuntu has an unattended-upgrades package that can be installed for automatic updates.

I will have to research a bit for desktop autostart with lubuntu.

I gueess it can be specified: 1. boot into GUI mode, 2. auto login.
If required.

It's the same as with other Desktop Environments, unless you are going raw framebuffer.

Curious about this all in one?

It might be as easy as putting a script to run in the directory

~/.config/autostart