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A Network Attached Windows Box?

Posted by Cliff on from the this-shouldn't-be-too-hard dept.

Richard Weidmann asks: "Can a Windows box be attached to a local network as freely available resource? I use Mac OS X and Linux but sometimes it is simply convenient to have a Windows computer to do some specific task or run some specific program. I would like to run my Windows computer headless in the network in such a fashion that I can access it easily from the other computers such that: VLC is started, so I see the Windows desktop; the home directory of my current machine is mounted on the Windows box; and my local optical drive can be read from the Windows machine. Has anybody seen such a setup or project?"

3 of 114 comments (clear)

  1. An Alternative to Windows services by Jorkapp · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Plenty of people do this over Local and Wide area networks. A webserver.

    Install a piece of windows compatible webserver software (IIS - Recommended, Apache, or whatever else floats your boat). Create a page or two of ASP/PHP scripts which are designed to run the applications. Whenever you need to execute the apps, point a web browser over the network to the pages. ...Just make sure that your windows box is either disconnected from the 'net or disallowed to access the 'net, elsewise you'll have people from Khazakstan executing those apps instead of you.

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    Frink: Nice try floyd, but you were designed for scrubbing, and scrubbing is what you shall do.
  2. Re:Terminal Services by DA-MAN · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Or you can get a Windows XP machine, and buy WinConnect Server XP. It allows you to have up to 21 Terminal Server connections on Windows XP.

    It works really well. I'd also suggest using rdesktop on Linux and the Windows Remote Desktop Client on the Mac.

    Remote Desktop is much better than VNC, especially when used over the internet because VNC is not encrypted at all. Remote Desktop includes built in 128 bit encryption.

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  3. Use rdesktop by gonza · · Score: 3, Interesting

    WinXP Pro has "Remote Desktop Sharing", so enable that and simply use rdesktop from your *nix box. It's that easy. If you want your home directory mounted on your Windoze box, then use SAMBA on your *nix box as a PDC (Primary Domain Controller) and have your Windoze box log in to this domain (You can then setup SAMBA to automatically mount the home directory on the Windoze box as Z: or whatever). That should do it.