Headless Operation

Operating a computer without peripherals is no problem as long as you manage it via terminals. But the situation is different if you want to transfer the desktop. In this case, Linux requires a connected monitor – otherwise the transfer either fails completely or the screen remains black. This can be remedied by a dummy configuration of the Xorg Server [4]. However, because many systems now rely on Wayland, the setup can be a pain.

An HDMI dummy plug [5], about $10 for two, can help you here; you just need to plug it into the HDMI socket instead of the monitor. It fools the system into thinking that a monitor is plugged in, which means that the computer's desktop content can be easily transferred using standard remote maintenance tools. You can set the resolution between 720x576 and 4096x2160 pixels (4K), and the refresh rate is 60Hz. You do not have to configure the system for this; the connector works like a monitor via plug and play.

Connecting with an External Computer

To connect with a remote computer, enter the ID of the desired computer in the Control Remote Desktop box. Now choose whether you want to Transfer a file or Connect to the remote desktop. In the first case, after entering the password of the connection partner, a file manager opens, displaying the local files and directories on the left side and those of the remote computer on the right (Figure 3).

Figure 3: The left column shows the local folders and files, the right column the ones on the remote computer. The transfer status is shown on the far right.

To start a transfer from the local computer to the remote system, click on the desired files or directories on the left. For multiple selections, follow the usual steps and press Ctrl at the same time. After that, pressing Send at the top will start the transfer.

Transferring files from the remote computer to your local computer is similar, only here you need select the data in the right column and then press Receive. The transfer rates on the local network were about the same as the bandwidth available between the computers. The connection bandwidth is likely to be the limiting factor for connections via the Internet.

To access the remote desktop, press Connect. After a short wait, a password prompt appears. Now enter the password set by the remote computer. You can optionally save the password to eliminate prompts in the future.

The desktop of the remote computer you are working with now appears in the window as if you were sitting in front of it (Figure 4). RustDesk uses the default screen resolution of the remote computer. Depending on the resolution of the local system, there may be problems with the display if it is too large or too small. If this is the case with your system, click on the screen icon in the top menu of the window. In the menu, you can then choose between Original, Stretch, or Shrink. Enable the top item, Adjust Window, to adjust the desktop size to that of the window, which you can drag to make it larger or smaller as desired.

Figure 4: You can use the screen icon in the menubar to set the quality and size of the transferred image.

The same menu lets you set the balance between the response time and image quality. The Custom option gives you a free hand: You can set the weighting of the bitrate and the quantizer using slide tools.

To display the window contents full screen, click on the small rectangle in the menu at the top. In this mode, RustDesk will then show the menubar again as soon as you touch the top of the screen with the mouse pointer.

Clicking on the speech bubble icon opens a message window that works like a messenger. The other person can read what you type and respond if necessary.

Extended Configuration

You can access the advanced configuration by clicking on the three vertical dots next to ID (Figure 5). This lets you specify, for example, whether the connection partner can use the keyboard, transfer files, or if a shared clipboard is available.

Figure 5: You can access the advanced configuration of the RustDesk client by clicking on the three vertical dots.

On the local network you also have the option of addressing remote computers by IP address instead of by their IDs. To do this, select Enable Direct IP Access. If you click on the pencil next to the dot, then a field appears where you can specify a separate port. By default, RustDesk uses port 21118.