Hello selfhosters, I’ve been using different remote desktop apps to support few friends and family members with their Windows or Linux desktop machines. Sometimes I also use phone (Android) when I’m away from home.

I tried 3 services so far:

  1. TeamViewer - its amazing, but it recognized me as non-private user and asking for money…
  2. AnyDesk - even better experience than TeamViewer. It also started with non-private use and messages to buy a license (after creating account it stopped doing that). It works perfectly fine, but sometimes it gets super slow and it tends to reduce stream quality by too much
  3. RustDesk - finally found open source solution and it has the same features like others I tried. The problem with RustDesk is simmilar to AnyDesk, sometimes its super slow, laggy and with reduced stream quality and sometimes connection breaks. It has permanent message on the bottom:

Ready, For faster connection, please set up your own server.

Sounds like a perfect task for my server on fiber network.

I checked self hosted RustDesk service, but it requires opening ports. I have open wireguard port to my home server to connect to home network when needed. I don’t like idea of opening more ports just because it doesn’t feel safe in my hands, but maybe I’m wrong. Am I missing something? What do you use for remote desktop? Do you have the same experience with any service I mentioned here? Is anyone selfhosting RustDesk server? Are there better (free or affordable) alternatives available? I prefer selfhosted if possible. 10$ a month is kinda steep for me and my needs. I don’t need super high quality stream, but would be nice to have simple solution that just works

All tips are welcome

  • ThorrJo@lemmy.sdf.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    1 year ago

    I use NoMachine, but that’s in a Linux-to-Linux environment.

    Did a test last weekend sitting in a department store parking lot on the store’s public wifi, wifi bitrate about 50Mbps both ways, 50ms between me and my homelab … very very usable experience with quality set at 6/10.

    • Nails@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      This. Everything else my partner and I tried with our home server was some kind of BS (except SSH obviously) except for NoMachine. Bulletproof.

    • rambos@lemm.eeOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Thank you. Sounds good, but linux to linux is not enough for me unfortunately. I need something that works on android and windows as well