Working remotely with linux.

With advent of high speed internet connections, more people now use Remote Desktop and / or Virtual Desktop technologies to do their daily work. Put simply, a "Remote Desktop Session" is where a person uses a computer at their location to access the Desktop on another computer which is physically located somewhere else, via the internet or some other wide area network.



Linux is a multi-user operating system which supports Desktop Sharing for multiple users concurrently. This native support works very well on high speed local area networks, however, on slower connections performance drops off. To overcome these limitations, several add-on products exist, which improve security and accelerate the speed at which these connections work. One such product is the NX (No-Machine) Suite of software available from www.nomachine.com

NX client software for use on your PC, Laptop or Netbook is available for the following operating systems:

• Windows 2000 / Windows XP / Windows Vista / Windows 7.
• Apple Mac OS-X
• Linux
• Solaris

Once installed the NX Client enables you to access remotely located PCs, or Virtual Infrastructure hosted in a secure data centre, from anywhere via a half decent internet connection.



Alternatively you may choose to have your Remote Desktop solution built into your systems by a specialist linux integration provider such as EnterLux™.

Through their partnership with Vmail Internet Services and a network of global partners, EnterLux™ offer "Hosted Server and Desktop Infrastructure Virtualization" - your entire network infrastructure can be hosted in a secure data centre and you pay only for the setup and use of the system. All Backups, System Updates and Disaster Recovery Operations are carried out by highly skilled technicians so you only have to do your job and not fix computers as well. Alternatively they can install these technologies in your own data centre at Head Office etc...

A Desktop Linux for everybody.

Why use Linux?

We have all seen how a poorly implemented product can be marketed aggressively, resulting in large sales volumes, yet it leaves a trail of unsatisfied, unhappy customers. Consider the Microsoft Vista™ fiasco for example: A year after appearing on the market, 90 out of 100 IT professionals recommend that users stay with Windows XP and wait for Windows 7, rather than install Vista in any incarnation on their business PCs.

I am not Microsoft bashing here either, to their credit they have released two service packs which are both substantial upgrades to the original product, however, there are other detractors for poor Vista... The biggest is Vendor Lock-in. Many applications which happily ran on Windows XP, do not work on Vista... So, once again, out comes the corporate wallet, and more money is spent on software which may or not work on Windows 7 when it hits the market. Also hardware had to be upgraded considerably to work at all well with Vista... Yes a vicious financial cycle to keep using Windows indeed...

Most PC Manufacturers selling Vista pre-installed on their new systems, have Windows XP™ Pro downgrade CDs or DVDs available either with the systems or available upon request.

See a related story... French Police dump Microsoft for Linux

Is there an alternative?

Every couple of years, a standout product appears on the scene, its' success depends upon how well it works as much as how it is marketed. Sometimes you'll find a real gem, in this case it is Mepis Linux version 8. IMHO - this is by far the finest Desktop Linux available on the market today. Australian Enterprise Linux Specialists - EnterLux™ now supply Desktop PCs, Laptops, Thin Client Systems and Virtualization Solutions with Mepis Linux version 8 pre-installed.

Mepis Linux is based directly on the industrial grade, Debian GNU-Linux Version 5.0 "Lenny", one of the most stable and exceptionally maintained linux distributions available (More than 18,000 Applications in the library for free).

EnterLux™ offer a customisation service for Mepis Linux where additional software and configuration work is performed for specific industry, functional or customer requirements. EnterLux™ - Mepis Linux pricing is based on a fee for service model, comprising - $15.00 which is donated to Mepis to assist them financially in their development efforts for their excellent linux product, an affordable hourly rate, plus the costs of supplying any non-free software packages you may wish to have installed...

Common customisations start at $25.00 per PC to install a comprehensive software development environment through to several thousands of dollars to Install and Integrate all of the services required by large enterprise clients onto their systems.

For clients who need to run Windows XP Applications, EnterLux™ Install and configure VirtualBox from Sun Microsystems using the client's existing or pre-supplied Microsoft Windows XP Professional licenses.