rustdesk-server VS Sunshine

Run 2 instances of the Docker container rustdesk/rustdesk-server with hhbr and hhbs and it will work locally. It can also work in a single container with the s6 overlay variant.

https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk-server

WD=/opt/rustdesk #rm $WD/ -R mkdir -p $WD/{setup,data,web} cd $WD/setup cat << 'EOF' >docker-compose.yaml version: '3.7' #Links #https://hub.docker.com/r/rustdesk/rustdesk-server/tags #https://rustdesk.com/docs/en/self-host/rustdesk-server-oss/docker/ #https://github.com/DoTheEvo/selfhosted-apps-docker/tree/master/rustdesk #https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk-server#s6-overlay-based-images #https://rustdesk.com/docs/en/self-host/rustdesk-server-pro/relay/ #https://rustdesk.com/docs/en/dev/build/web/ services: rustdesk_server: container_name: rustdesk_server hostname: rustdesk_server image: ${SERVER_IMAGE} # network_mode: host networks: - rustdesk_net ports: - 21115:21115 - 21116:21116 - 21116:21116/udp - 21117:21117 - 21118:21118 - 21119:21119 volumes: - type: bind source: /opt/rustdesk/data/ target: /data environment: - 'TZ=${TZ}' - 'RELAY=${RELAY}' - 'ENCRYPTED_ONLY=${ENCRYPTED_ONLY}' - 'KEY_PUB=${KEY_PUB}' - 'KEY_PRIV=${KEY_PRIV}' rustdesk_web: container_name: rustdesk_web hostname: rustdesk_web image: pmietlicki/rustdesk-web-client:latest # network_mode: host networks: - rustdesk_net ports: - 5000:5000 volumes: #docker cp rustdesk_web:/app . #sed -i -e 's/supportdesk.itportaal.nl/sub.domain.com/g' ./app/build/web/main.dart.js #sed -i -e 's/OvYPJS8I5xV+d6sx3a7Ce9TVakfKdT3Zy3T7C1jjx+A=/PUBKEY/g' ./app/build/web/main.dart.js - type: bind source: /opt/rustdesk/web/app/ target: /app - type: bind source: /opt/rustdesk/data/ target: /root environment: - 'TZ=${TZ}' networks: rustdesk_net: driver: bridge EOF

git clone https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk-server.git --branch 1.1.7-4

Rustdesk also may or may not require the installation of a relay/rendezvous server, which is where the confusion starts: one may use the free Rustdesk public server, or install one's own, custom-built server, for which Rustdesk provides a "free open source and free server program"; dub this "server2."

Ever wanted to remotely access your desktop from anywhere, then tried software like TeamViewer, but it eventually stopped working? Try open source RustDesk that is simple to set up, and you can even self-host your own rendezvous/relay server (or use the free public server). RustDesk allows you to access your desktop computer from your BOOX device. I often use it to see what is going on when I am running some simulations remotely (below is a screenshot of my Tab Ultra accessing my laptop). Because I use a dark theme on all my LCD/OLED devices, I invert the display colors of my laptop to get a better-looking video feed on my Tab Ultra (I believe light themes look much better on e-ink).

The last I checked the Windows version of the server was a few versions behind. So if you use that version it might not have all the features of the current server version on Linux. You can go here https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk-server/releases and look for release 1.1.6-2 to find the Windows version of the server.

> Would the Swift UI also work on an iPad?

Yes, but probably not for the first version.

> Do you have any comparisons with other tools (eg steam streaming, moonlight)

Steam streaming just doesn't really work on linux. Moonlight is somewhat similar in terms of direction, and has an established client base. I know of at least two projects to build servers for the Moonlight protocol[1][2].

The Moonlight protocol is a bit weird, because it's an open-source reverse engineering of a dead NVIDIA project, GeForce now. There are fundamental limitations to the protocol, for example that the cursor must be rendered in-stream or simulated. Using my tool, the cursor is rendered locally, and custom cursor images can actually be pushed to the client, for a seamless experience. This sounds like a minor detail but it matters a lot for subjective latency. I'm also working on employing tricks like hierarchical coding using FEC in the protocol, because I hate VBR encoding for games (it makes text blurry and breaks immersion). Those tricks aren't really possible in Moonlight.

All of the Linux solutions I know about have significantly higher latency compared to Magic Mirror, although I don't have numbers for exactly how much higher. (I have a benchmark to test the latency of my tool, but the others don't.) I'd encourage you to try them out and get a feel for the difference.

Finally, I think Magic Mirror is the easiest to install and get going on the server. It has almost zero runtime library or service dependencies (there's a pesky dynamic link against libxkbcommon which I haven't managed to remove), so you don't need to mess with pipewire or docker or anything - it's completely self-contained.

All that said, the existing tools have the advantage of a larger user and contributor base, whereas Magic Mirror is just me on a mission so far :) So they're likely to be much more stable and usable.

[1]: https://github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine

RDP as a regular or quick solution is actually really decent in this respect.

(1) https://app.lizardbyte.dev/Sunshine

Moonlight + Sunshine for a self hosted solution, works with every OS

server: https://github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine/

client: https://github.com/moonlight-stream

You could use sunshine (https://github.com/LizardByte/Sunshine) + moonlight (https://github.com/moonlight-stream/moonlight-qt). To be honest, at least for me, it works better than most of the RDP/VNC stuff.

EDIT: Just checked again, original was released early 2020, current maintained project started 2022.

On your pc, install Sunshine. It's an open source moonlight server. There's a good walk through on the sunshine github page. Connect your handheld to the wifi running the server & open moonlight. Should work.

I discovered the moonlight client and sunshine server a few months ago. These are open source solutions to provide remote gaming/desktop capabilities with built in input and audio passthrough. I tried NoMachine, but I wasn't able to get audio to work. This looks like a known issue on arch. On sunshine, I didn't have to do any extra tweaking! This allowed me to game on my desktop pc without having to sit at my desk. This was especially helpful while watching my 2nd son. I was really impressed by the performance, I could stream my host's display at high resolutions and frame rates with low latency despite my desktop being in the basement using WiFi. I was getting some instability with WiFi, so I wanted to try connecting my desktop to the router via Ethernet. I decided to go with a headless solution because that gives me more flexibility on the placement of the desktop; I ended up moving my desktop upstairs closer to my router. I figured out a way to stream my hosts display headless by using Nvidia TwinView to create the virtual display. This means I don't need to buy any HDMI/DP dummy plugs. I wrote a Linux Guide for sunshine on how to set this up. If you have any feedback on this guide, let me know! I haven't tried this, but wolf is an interesting docker alternative to sunshine.