I have a small office that runs software that is built to run in windows but is not windows specific. We currently have the 'dumb terminals' remote in to run the program off of the server. I would like to build a linux server that 1. will run programs built to run in windows (window overlay?) 2. will allow others to remote in and run those programs on the server. Where would I find the step by step information on how to do that?

You don't. Windows programs run in Windows, just like Mac programs run on Macs. Unless your software specifically has a Linux version, your out of luck, and better off staying with Windows. While you COULD run Windows in a virtual system on Linux...why bother? It'll run slower than it would natively, and you'll get no benefits of Linux doing that.

You also need to read the "Question Guidelines" link in my posting signature. Details such as what hardware, what you mean by 'dumb terminals' in this context (hardware/OS), what software you're talking about, etc. Also, the "does Windows software work on Linux" question has been asked many, MANY times here...please do a search.

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What does that mean? If it's built for Windows, then it is Windows specific, by definition. It won't run in Linux, Mac, or anywhere else unless it's a cross-platform language (eg: Java) or it's a compiled language that's written to be OS-agnostic, in which case you would want to recompile it for the OS of your choice.

Hello and welcome to LQ by the way.

Might look at the products that 2X.com offer. Last I looked they have the best linux solution for integration with windows. It is not fully a windows server clone however.

Actually, there is an amazing piece of software called Wine which implements a good portion of the Windows API, so that many Windows programs can, in fact, run.

Linux also offers, through its XWindows/XOrg subsystems (no relation to "Microsoft Windows"), the ability to efficiently run remote sessions without resorting to crap like "Remote Desktop." (It is actually a client/server graphic model, where the two computers exchange drawing commands, not bitmaps.)

However – I suggest that you should very soberly assess exactly what use-case you are dealing with and what is the best-all-around way to meet these business objectives. It may well be that Microsoft Windows is the best platform for your purposes, and "Redmond came by their immense fortunes quite honestly."

most of the windows software will run ( mostly well) in wine but NOT ALL WINDOWS SOFTWARE

the Microsoft dot net C# can be a pain in the rear end