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I am looking for some tools which can give remote control of a Linux machine over Internet. As of now I know of TeamViewer, but it looks like too expensive when used commercially. I being part of a small organisation with needs of supporting my customer remotely looking for better solutions with minimal user configuration at the client end.

HopelessN00b
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Jamess
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3 Answers3

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If you do not need screen sharing, why not just ssh to the machine to do whatever it is you need to .

If you do need screen sharing (why) you could just use vnc.

AD7six
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  • You can screen share with ssh, just start up gnu screen. – Zoredache Jan 29 '12 at 20:57
  • Zoredache screen and TeamViewer are not functionally equivalent; I used the term screen sharing to mean sharing your desktop/some graphical application. But the key point is surely what do you need to do that you _cannot_ simply do with ssh access to the remote machine. – AD7six Jan 29 '12 at 21:07
  • Fine, but gnu screen suggestion was based on the idea, that you didn't need to view the same thing, but you did want your customer to see what you are doing for those situations where you want to 'teach them to fish' instead of just doing the work for them. – Zoredache Jan 29 '12 at 21:10
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  • Use ssh for cli control, administration, filetransfer, vpn, etc, etc (a kind of swiss army knife for linux and other unix)

  • Use jitsi for chat, file transfer and remote control with the user on the other end.

  • Use X2Go for GUI remote control (uses ssh)

each one can replace teamviewer, with more features. ssh is the main tool, it enables you to do anything, including remote install of the other apps. Jitsi is great to support users, just configure it and tell the users to run it. For users too dumb, or a GUI is really needed, use X2Go... remote connect and see the current session (or if you want, a new session).

One size does not fits all. :)

Edit: if connection to the remote network is a problem (ie: unable to setup the ssh port forward on the router), setup a openvpn with certificates and auto establish a vpn from the clients to the server to build a bigger "network" to ease the support.

higuita
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Look into a reverse SSH connection in conjunction with VNC or x forwarding. Properly configures it would provide an experience much like teamviewer, your client caan click an icon provide an I'd and password and have remote acesss granted automatically.

A lot of organizations don't want to set up inbound firewall rules just to allow occasional remote assistance.

Tim Brigham
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