Most user-facing Linux systems managed by the CAT run the Xrdp service. The Xrdp service enables programs (clients) that support Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to establish a graphical session with these Linux systems.

If you need bring up a graphical session on a Linux system, connecting to the Xrdp service is often a lot simpler than other alternatives, such as VNC or X forwarding. All you need to use is an existing RDP client to make the connection.

As RDP is a popular method for remotely connecting to Windows computers for a graphical session, those same clients can be used to connect to the Xrdp service on Linux as well. You can use the basic concepts found in the following Windows-centric RDP connection procedures to connect to Linux Xrdp services from various platforms:

• From Windows
  • https://cat.pdx.edu/platforms/windows/remote-access/using-rdp-to-connect-to-a-windows-computer-from-windows/
• From Mac
  • https://cat.pdx.edu/platforms/mac/remote-access/using-rdp-to-connect-to-a-windows-computer-from-macos/
• From Linux
  • https://cat.pdx.edu/platforms/linux/remote-access/using-rdp-to-connect-to-a-windows-computer-from-linux/