This page describes how to connect to a Windows system at the institute, from your own Linux machine, either on the laptop or wireless network, or from outside the institute. This documentation is for LION based desktops.

First, a secure tunnel has to be set up using ssh. The tunnel connects a local port to a remote port on a specific machine. The port we want here is 3389, which is the port of the remote desktop protocol. This example logs in to ssh.strw.leidenuniv.nl and sets up the tunnel to a remote Windows Desktop:

ssh -L 3389:<your desktop name>:3389 username@ssh3.physics.leidenuniv.nl

Now, you probaly don't want to remember this and type it all the time, so an easy solution is to add an alias in your .profile (which contains the settings that are executed every time you open a new shell in a terminal):

alias <your desktop name>='ssh -L 3389:<your desktop name>:3389 username@ssh3.physics.leidenuniv.nl'

Some additional notes:

• Users should use the appropriate ssh server for their own institute (here LION users ssh3.physics.leidenuniv.nl)
• The Windows machine to log in to can just as well be your own Windows desktop, if you have one
• The username@ part can be omitted if you have the same username locally on your Linux and on the ssh server.

Microsoft has a rdp client for Linux

Give the connection a name that makes sense to you to remember. As pc name, fill in localhost. This will make the app connect to the local rdp port, which is forwarded through the tunnel to the remote machine. You can also fill in the username if you want (or do that on the login screen). Make sure however, to add the domain, so in this case: STERREWACHT\username or PHYSICS\\username. Close this window when done (there is no save button, but all changes are saved automatically. Back in the first screen, it is time to start the connection. Before you get to the windows login screen, a certificate warning is presented to you as in this image: The reason is, that you are connecting to localhost but the certificate is valid for the actual computer name. It is safe to accept this certificate and you can check the box to accept it permanently, so you will not get the same warning the next time.

Now you should see the familiar Windows log in screen and you can go about your business.