Using Thinclient with Win SBS 2003

[dbirk007]

I'm from Canada eh.

You are correct, I remove all other shortcuts from my rpitc and have only the rdp-gui and conky details left. Looks very clean in my opinion.

Ok Dennis, let's get you going with installing RDP-Gui in your test lab at home.

From your rpitc terminal update your repos using this instruction:
sudo apt-get update

You can if you like do an upgrade of all code as well using sudo apt-get upgrade but you don't need to at this time. But at some point it's a good idea to update all apps.

Now install python-qt4
sudo apt-get install python-qt4

Now go here and download the zip file for rdp-gui. I did the download and transfer of files from a Windows PC to my Raspberry Pi via winscp.
https://github.com/Gibbio/RDPGUI

Unzip it and transfer all files to your /home/rpitc/ folder. I created a tmp folder and dumped them all there.

Now login to your pi thin client and open the terminal (or if you are still on Windows with the transfer of these files, open putty and do the following) and navigate to where you transferred the files too. Copy all the files to the /usr/bin/ folder:

sudo cp rdp* /usr/bin/
sudo cp *.png /usr/bin/

The above commands will copy all the important bits to the /usr/bin folder.

Still using your terminal change directory go to your /usr/bin/ folder:

cd /usr/bin/

And edit your rdpgui.ini file:

sudo nano rdpgui.ini

Nano will allow you edit the contents of this file (sorry if you already know this, but I just want to be thorough with my instructions in case you don't know...or if anyone else happens by this post and needs assistance).

Adjust the settings in this file to use rdesktop. Mine looks as follows (with some of the important details left out of course):

[DEFAULT]
RDPBinary = rdesktop
RDPDomain = swdomain
RDPServer = Server1 Workstation1 192.168.3.198
RDPDomainFlags = "-d"
RDPServerFlags = ""
RDPUserFlags = "-u"
RDPPasswordFlags = "-p"
RDPDefaulfFlags = "-x l -f"
RDPExtraFlags = "-z"

The details of how to setup the .ini file can be found here:
https://github.com/Gibbio/RDPGUI

In my instructions I'm not passing sound to my windows virtual machine. Make sure you have -z for compression and -f for fullscreen (unless you don't want fullscreen that is). If you don't have a domain then remove the -d option and leave the RDPDOMAIN blank.
You will also notice that the Server field is actually a drop down menu. In my file above I'm using my DNS names in our office to allow the user to connect to either Server1 or Workstation1 or IP 192.168.3.198 (not the real DNS names or IP in my office by the way. ). Anyway, if you want to have people have a choice of which server/workstation to connect to, leave a space between each DNS or IP you input into this field. Or you can put only one server name/ip if you like if you don't want them to have the choice.

Now save your rdpgui.ini file by pressing <ctrl> x and select y to save.

To make sure you don't have problems I Looked at the rdpgui.py code and that issue I mentioned appears to be fixed now with the missing quotes so you should be good to go.

Now from the terminal you can edit your autostart file:
nano /home/rpitc/.config/lxsession/LXDE/autostart

Or you can right click on your rpitc desktop and edit the same autostart file. Add in the call to start the rdp-gui app. I added it just after the other commented out apps. My autostart looks as follows:

#@virt-viewer
#@x2goclient
@python /usr/bin/rdpgui.py
######################################################

Save the file and reboot your rpitc. Now when you login you will see the rdp-gui app on your desktop. You can't move it...it's embedded on the desktop and will stay there.

Login to the Windows machine with your login credentials and clickety-click You're remote connecting to your machine via this amazing rpitc O/S Gibbio has built for us!

I can't wait to get started on this...probably will very late this evening I have to get dinner together for the kids right now...and then bedtimes. Thank you so much for the step by step...Everything is so much clearer now! BTW, I love Canada...that is where I am headed whn our country collapses - lol...to the Boreal forest...live off the grid like stoneage. lol

[greavette]

Well, I'm not quite living off the land up here...but there are places out West where it would be ideal to do that.

I've got to call it a day now as well and enjoy my evening with the family for dinner et all. I'll check back on this thread later and see how you made out with your install. Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns or successes!

Good Luck. Hopefully it'll work for you as it has for me in my office.

[dbirk007]

Well, I'm not quite living off the land up here...but there are places out West where it would be ideal to do that.

I've got to call it a day now as well and enjoy my evening with the family for dinner et all. I'll check back on this thread later and see how you made out with your install. Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns or successes!

Good Luck. Hopefully it'll work for you as it has for me in my office.

Yeah, I figured you were not living off the land, that would be a high-tech cabin with a RPi and servers and all - One last thing before I use this amazing tutorial you wrote for me...can the user minimize the login window if they wanted to...I still think I am going to just make the internet accessible through the RPi. I tested the speed, and it will only really be used for email, so it is not a concern. I will need to have the internet (iceweasel) icon on the desktop behind the login screen. Is there a way to have two icons, one internet, and the other shortcut for the login screen...and then ctl+alt+k or whatever to minimize? No rush, answer at your leisure. I appreciate your help so very much...and I can't thank you enough!!!!

[greavette]

No problem. I received a lot of help from others as well when I first started to investigate using Raspberry Pi Thin Clients...it's nice to give back to the community.

I've locked down all my XP workstations from Internet Access as well (yeah, I still have a few kicking around) behind our Untangle Security Router. Luckily my XP's don't need access to mail so it was easier to lock them down.

Yes the user can minimize the rpi-gui to the taskbar if they need too, but once you install it you will see that it doesn't take up the entire desktop so you can put your browser shortcut to the side so if the rdesktop session is minimized you do not need to minimize the rdp-gui as well.

Like I said, once you get this installed you will get a better sense of how things will look for your users.

[dbirk007]

Hi, Charles!

I finally had the chance to sit down today and get this going. It was a long holiday weekend here, and I had a bunch of catching up to do. I think I installed it right...i see the nice looking log in screen when I rebooted the PI.

However, I think I may have done something wrong...maybe I didn't.

In the part where you said

Now go here and download the zip file for rdp-gui. I did the download and transfer of files from a Windows PC to my Raspberry Pi via winscp.
https://github.com/Gibbio/RDPGUI

Unzip it and transfer all files to your /home/rpitc/ folder. I created a tmp folder and dumped them all there.

Now login to your pi thin client and open the terminal (or if you are still on Windows with the transfer of these files, open putty and do the following) and navigate to where you transferred the files too. Copy all the files to the /usr/bin/ folder:

sudo cp rdp* /usr/bin/
sudo cp *.png /usr/bin/

The above commands will copy all the important bits to the /usr/bin folder.

I downloaded the zip on my windows PC - then I unzipped and put in a folder on a flash drive. Next, I plugged the flash into the pi and copied to a folder in /home/rpitc/ and labeled the folder "tmp".

Next, I just copied the same files and just pasted on my own into /usr/bin/ and it said a lot of the files already existed, so I just replaced with the new ones (was that okay?)

I tried the commands

sudo cp rdp* /usr/bin/
sudo cp *.png /usr/bin/

And it did not work...was I supposed to insert the name of the "tmp" folder there? I know, I am pretty new...to linux...I can follow tutorials and such, but I am really unfamiliar with anything not very detailed...lol.

Also, in the part where you said to edit the rdpgui.ini - I did that, and made changes that reflect using rdesktop. So, mine is as follows... (not real info BTW and I added noted for you)

[DEFAULT]
RDPBinary = rdesktop
RDPDomain = PStevens (name of the domain that the workstations connect to, correct?)
RDPServer = 192.168.3.198 (I only have to put the static IP address of the server here correct?)
RDPDomainFlags = "-d"
RDPServerFlags = ""
RDPUserFlags = "-u"
RDPPasswordFlags = "-p"
RDPDefaulfFlags = "-x l -f"
RDPExtraFlags = "-z"

I guess that is about all. Now, if I didn't mess up the copying of files, I should be ready to test, correct? Thank you again, Charles...so so much! I really do appreciate your assistance. Very awesome!

[greavette]

It would appear you already had rdpgui installed on this image. I'm not using the latest rpitc at the moment so I can't check, but let's try something. On your Desktop right click and go to your Openbox context menu. In the folder RPi-TC Apps do you see RDPGUI? If you do then it was already installed. Simply left click RDPGui and it you should see the GUI start for you.

The .ini file looks good to me. yes, put in the name of the domain the userid needs to connect to the workstation. You can use the IP address or the DNS name, either works. When you fire up the RDPGui you should now see the Domain as PStevens and in the dropdown for Server you should see 192.168.3.198.

Once you've done a test and started RDPGui, you should be able to load it at startup too. If it's already installed on your image (which I suspect it is) then you should be able to start it on boot. Again right click on your Desktop and this time go the folder called Configuration. Select 'Change Autostart Applications'. Leafpad (text editor) will open showing you things that are done when your computers starts. Tell me if you see a line that says @python /usr/bin/rdpgui.py. It may have a # sign in front of it. If you see that line, remove the # sign. exit the autostart file (saving it). Now reboot your Pi. When it starts you should see the RDPGui on your desktop.

Let me know how it goes.

---

As for your question about copying, here's the scoop...

When copying files you have to either be specific with the location you are copying from (put in the full path):

Code:

sudo cp /home/rpitc/tmp/rdp* /usr/bin/

or change directory into the tmp folder first and give the copy instruction:

Code:

cd /home/rpitc/tmp/
sudo cp rdp* /usr/bin/

It's no different than using DOS or Powershell in windows. You have to be specific on where the files are you are copying from.

I'm not sure what folder your terminal was in when you tried to copy the files but the fact it came up with an error on copying probably means the folder you were in didn't have the rdp files.

As for copying files in Linux...you need to make sure you have the right privileges to copy the file to certain folders. Did you use the file browser to copy and paste the files. That may work, but I prefer to use the terminal. If you don't put sudo in front of the copy (cp) instruction and you need elevated privileges to copy the file(s), the terminal will tell you and you can simply input the instruction again prefaced by sudo. Doing it from the file browser (unless you've started the file browser with root privileges) may not work.

I'm thinking you already had RDPGui installed on this image. If you did then you may want to start over and re-image your card (after confirming RDPGui is working and all) and start with a fresh image and this time don't download and unzip RDPGui and copy to /usr/bin/. Probably nothing is wrong with overwriting the files like you did but you might as well leave what Gibbio has done for you alone if it works. It's up to you (not sure how much modification you've done).

Hope this explanation helps!

[dbirk007]

It would appear you already had rdpgui installed on this image. I'm not using the latest rpitc at the moment so I can't check, but let's try something. On your Desktop right click and go to your Openbox context menu. In the folder RPi-TC Apps do you see RDPGUI? If you do then it was already installed. Simply left click RDPGui and it you should see the GUI start for you.

The .ini file looks good to me. yes, put in the name of the domain the userid needs to connect to the workstation. You can use the IP address or the DNS name, either works. When you fire up the RDPGui you should now see the Domain as PStevens and in the dropdown for Server you should see 192.168.3.198.

Once you've done a test and started RDPGui, you should be able to load it at startup too. If it's already installed on your image (which I suspect it is) then you should be able to start it on boot. Again right click on your Desktop and this time go the folder called Configuration. Select 'Change Autostart Applications'. Leafpad (text editor) will open showing you things that are done when your computers starts. Tell me if you see a line that says @python /usr/bin/rdpgui.py. It may have a # sign in front of it. If you see that line, remove the # sign. exit the autostart file (saving it). Now reboot your Pi. When it starts you should see the RDPGui on your desktop.

Let me know how it goes.

---

As for your question about copying, here's the scoop...

When copying files you have to either be specific with the location you are copying from (put in the full path):

Code:

sudo cp /home/rpitc/tmp/rdp* /usr/bin/

or change directory into the tmp folder first and give the copy instruction:

Code:

cd /home/rpitc/tmp/
sudo cp rdp* /usr/bin/

It's no different than using DOS or Powershell in windows. You have to be specific on where the files are you are copying from.

I'm not sure what folder your terminal was in when you tried to copy the files but the fact it came up with an error on copying probably means the folder you were in didn't have the rdp files.

As for copying files in Linux...you need to make sure you have the right privileges to copy the file to certain folders. Did you use the file browser to copy and paste the files. That may work, but I prefer to use the terminal. If you don't put sudo in front of the copy (cp) instruction and you need elevated privileges to copy the file(s), the terminal will tell you and you can simply input the instruction again prefaced by sudo. Doing it from the file browser (unless you've started the file browser with root privileges) may not work.

I'm thinking you already had RDPGui installed on this image. If you did then you may want to start over and re-image your card (after confirming RDPGui is working and all) and start with a fresh image and this time don't download and unzip RDPGui and copy to /usr/bin/. Probably nothing is wrong with overwriting the files like you did but you might as well leave what Gibbio has done for you alone if it works. It's up to you (not sure how much modification you've done).

Hope this explanation helps!

Charles,

Thank you so much again! Sory I am late to respond. I had a complete HDD crash on my primary PC. I am on an old laptop right now...feel like a caveman - lol. Luckily I was able to clone the drive before complete failure and I should have the new drive to reimage today in the mail. Anyway, I think you are right...since it asked me if I wanted to copy/replace all files in that folder, it looks like RDPgui was already installed. However, on the latest release (the one I installed) it is not on the notes. Now, I think I should just reformat and reimage and start all over.

Everything "looks" okay, and the login screen is there when I boot into the RPI-tc, but I am worried something may have went wrong. Maybe I should just re-do it after all. I don't want to get to the office I am setting this up in and look inept, you know?

I did use the very latest release though...so maybe you are right. I will do it again, now that I (hopefully) have a better understanding on copying and moving files in command line in Linux. I am learning...and I love to learn!

Thank you so much! I think i will give it another shot today and see what happens.

Dennis

[dbirk007]

It would appear you already had rdpgui installed on this image. I'm not using the latest rpitc at the moment so I can't check, but let's try something. On your Desktop right click and go to your Openbox context menu. In the folder RPi-TC Apps do you see RDPGUI? If you do then it was already installed. Simply left click RDPGui and it you should see the GUI start for you.

The .ini file looks good to me. yes, put in the name of the domain the userid needs to connect to the workstation. You can use the IP address or the DNS name, either works. When you fire up the RDPGui you should now see the Domain as PStevens and in the dropdown for Server you should see 192.168.3.198.

Once you've done a test and started RDPGui, you should be able to load it at startup too. If it's already installed on your image (which I suspect it is) then you should be able to start it on boot. Again right click on your Desktop and this time go the folder called Configuration. Select 'Change Autostart Applications'. Leafpad (text editor) will open showing you things that are done when your computers starts. Tell me if you see a line that says @python /usr/bin/rdpgui.py. It may have a # sign in front of it. If you see that line, remove the # sign. exit the autostart file (saving it). Now reboot your Pi. When it starts you should see the RDPGui on your desktop.

Let me know how it goes.

---

As for your question about copying, here's the scoop...

When copying files you have to either be specific with the location you are copying from (put in the full path):

Code:

sudo cp /home/rpitc/tmp/rdp* /usr/bin/

or change directory into the tmp folder first and give the copy instruction:

Code:

cd /home/rpitc/tmp/
sudo cp rdp* /usr/bin/

It's no different than using DOS or Powershell in windows. You have to be specific on where the files are you are copying from.

I'm not sure what folder your terminal was in when you tried to copy the files but the fact it came up with an error on copying probably means the folder you were in didn't have the rdp files.

As for copying files in Linux...you need to make sure you have the right privileges to copy the file to certain folders. Did you use the file browser to copy and paste the files. That may work, but I prefer to use the terminal. If you don't put sudo in front of the copy (cp) instruction and you need elevated privileges to copy the file(s), the terminal will tell you and you can simply input the instruction again prefaced by sudo. Doing it from the file browser (unless you've started the file browser with root privileges) may not work.

I'm thinking you already had RDPGui installed on this image. If you did then you may want to start over and re-image your card (after confirming RDPGui is working and all) and start with a fresh image and this time don't download and unzip RDPGui and copy to /usr/bin/. Probably nothing is wrong with overwriting the files like you did but you might as well leave what Gibbio has done for you alone if it works. It's up to you (not sure how much modification you've done).

Hope this explanation helps!

Charles,

Thank you so much again! Sory I am late to respond. I had a complete HDD crash on my primary PC. I am on an old laptop right now...feel like a caveman - lol. Luckily I was able to clone the drive before complete failure and I should have the new drive to reimage today in the mail. Anyway, I think you are right...since it asked me if I wanted to copy/replace all files in that folder, it looks like RDPgui was already installed. However, on the latest release (the one I installed) it is not on the notes. Now, I think I should just reformat and reimage and start all over.

Everything "looks" okay, and the login screen is there when I boot into the RPI-tc, but I am worried something may have went wrong. Maybe I should just re-do it after all. I don't want to get to the office I am setting this up in and look inept, you know?

I did use the very latest release though...so maybe you are right. I will do it again, now that I (hopefully) have a better understanding on copying and moving files in command line in Linux. I am learning...and I love to learn!

Thank you so much! I think i will give it another shot today and see what happens.

Dennis

Craig,

You were correct, I reformatted and reimaged the SD and RDPGui is already included. That is all I need I guess to get this going! Awesome! I'll just remove the hash in the startup applications and add my data again to the config file! BTW, do I add the domain PStevens and the server IP - both? Also, once I open the RDPgui...how do I close that window...just in case I wanted to. Thanks a MILLION my friend!

[greavette]

Hello Dennis,

Glad to see you are on your way! I'm using RDPGui on 4 of my workstations in our office and it's working well for us.

The domain and server IP are different things. The domain is how you authenticate your login id. The Server IP is the IP address of the server you are going to use as your desktop. If you are on a domain then yes you would need to enter both of these items into the RDPGui.ini file.

I believe the new version RDPGui has an exit button on it now that lets you close it if you like. To open it once it's been closed you would need to right click on your thin client desktop and start it from there...or restart your thin client (assuming you've uncommented RDPGui from the autostart file). For our office I have cron jobs that check to ensure required apps are always running but if you don't need it you can alway start it manually again from the desktop menu.

Now it's time to test the hell out of this Thin Client to ensure it does what you expect with the performance you need before you drop it into the office. I find using the Raspberry Pi as a thin client does have it's ups an downs. Sometimes I get sticky keyboard keys and once or twice in the past 9 months we've had serious lag with one of the workstations where it was unusable. A restart of the Thin Client fixed these issues. I'm not convinced that the Raspberry Pi can completely replace the performance of a commercial thin client product but it is a very cheap alternative that seems to work well for us in our office as long as no one expects to watch video from their remote desktop.

But then again I'm only using the Pi with rdesktop...I have no experience with the performance when using it with spice or citrix.

Good luck with your project!

[dbirk007]

Hello Dennis,

Glad to see you are on your way! I'm using RDPGui on 4 of my workstations in our office and it's working well for us.

The domain and server IP are different things. The domain is how you authenticate your login id. The Server IP is the IP address of the server you are going to use as your desktop. If you are on a domain then yes you would need to enter both of these items into the RDPGui.ini file.

I believe the new version RDPGui has an exit button on it now that lets you close it if you like. To open it once it's been closed you would need to right click on your thin client desktop and start it from there...or restart your thin client (assuming you've uncommented RDPGui from the autostart file). For our office I have cron jobs that check to ensure required apps are always running but if you don't need it you can alway start it manually again from the desktop menu.

Now it's time to test the hell out of this Thin Client to ensure it does what you expect with the performance you need before you drop it into the office. I find using the Raspberry Pi as a thin client does have it's ups an downs. Sometimes I get sticky keyboard keys and once or twice in the past 9 months we've had serious lag with one of the workstations where it was unusable. A restart of the Thin Client fixed these issues. I'm not convinced that the Raspberry Pi can completely replace the performance of a commercial thin client product but it is a very cheap alternative that seems to work well for us in our office as long as no one expects to watch video from their remote desktop.

But then again I'm only using the Pi with rdesktop...I have no experience with the performance when using it with spice or citrix.

Good luck with your project!

HELP! LOL, I think I missed something. I have been trying to get this working and I have no hair left to pull out. I tried connecting to the server through RDP-GUI. It says could not connect. Was I also supposed to set up the rdesktop and just use the RDP GUI to allow for an easier interface? I only set up the RDP GUI. Anyway, I may be doing other things wrong as well. Everyone in the office (all workstations) connect to the domain on the server. Let's call it lpain. Normally, when they sit down in front of their Windows PC attached to the server, they have a login screen that already has the lpain on it. They enter a username (already defined on the server) and their password and their desktop is loaded.

When I tried to set up the Rpi TC, I went to the server and googled what's my ip to find the IP address. So, i have the domain, lpain and the server ip address. I thought that was all I needed, so I set it up in RDP GUI only with those values.

my rdpgui.ini file looks like this:

[DEFAULT]
RDPBinary = rdesktop
RDPDomain = lpain (name of the domain that the workstations connect to, correct?)
RDPServer = 192.168.3.198 (I only have to put the static IP address of the server here correct?)
RDPDomainFlags = "-d"
RDPServerFlags = ""
RDPUserFlags = "-u"
RDPPasswordFlags = "-p"
RDPDefaulfFlags = "-x | -f"
RDPExtraFlags = "-z"

When I try a user name and password on the GUI screen, it says "Server error, call your sysadmin

Also, when I first tried it, it did nothing. I then remembered you saying there was an issue in the code and you had to add quotes somewhere, I did that and then at least the GUI did something when I clicked the arrow.

I am down to a week before this has to be up and running. My job depends on it...and I am scared! I know you are very busy, and I appreciate everything you have helped me with so far. I am indebted to you!

Thank you so much!!!

Dennis