Possibility of RDP server for Linux?

["Sean McKeon" <ahmebah@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Howdy, I'm in my senior year of my CompSci BS, and my school, as a 
graduation requirement, expects us to go through a 2 semester "senior design 
project".  It's pretty much what it sounds like, pick a useful, real-world 
type project and implement it, with formal design reviews and presentation 
along the way.

I got to thinking the other day (honestly, it was a Slashdot article that 
got me thinking) "How hard would it be to implement an RDP-capable remote 
access server under Linux?  The rdesktop boys have the protocol mostly 
figured out, the VNC guys have a multi-user server wired up, and if need be, 
I can always hack up the frame-buffer/virtualFB Xserver to use the network 
as its IO.

I understand that this might not be the most efficient system, but 
considering the growing prevalance of windows-only terminals, and the high 
cost of a Unix server with citrix licenses, it's a fair trade.  Simply 
picking up another/beefier Linux server with some load-balancing would, at 
worst, be in the same price-range.

I have a bit of a personal interest in this, actually.  The comp lab manager 
at school wants to go from the (virtually obsolete) workstations we have to 
a Citrix/2K system with Wyse Winterm clients, which only talk ICA and RDP.  
Doing this would create a situation where Linux, if it existed at all in the 
lab, would always rely on the windows systems, be limited to telnet access, 
or restricted to a handful of underpowered, left-over machines.

I've got two questions for you guys :
1) I understand that this would be sub-optimal from a performance 
standpoint, but is there any reason this wouldn't work at all?
2) Is anyone currently working on a project like this?

I'm not currently asking for help with the project, since (at least until 
the final presentation September, when the "major functionalities" need to 
be working by) I'll have to do work on it myself.  I'm just asking if there 
are reasons NOT to start on it.

Since I can't really subscribe to mailing lists until I get myself a decent 
POPable email addy, I'll be monitoring the archives, but could you please 
forward responses to me at  ahmebah@hotmail.com

<br><br><br>
                 -ameoba
-----------------------/
\Master liberation broken mythical dandilion


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