The project was created for its own use within the home local network (it is not recommended to use it over the Internet without an encrypted tunnel). I have a server at home with a large number of Linux virtual machines to which I needed remote access. All similar remote control programs I tried lagged in the process (banal scrolling in the browser or dragging windows). For this reason, a project was created that focuses on the fastest possible data transfer over the local network. The project works on all operating systems with X11. Leave your review :)
- Selection of the range of the difference between adjacent pixels to ensure compression (from 0 to 255).
- Multiple Commands: Server Side Shutdown, Remote Control, Take Screenshot.
- Ability to set an authorization password.
- There is a choice of data transfer protocol (TCP or UDP).
- Full screen or windowed mode.
- Two separate streams for transferring screen data and events.
The first step is to generate a hash table of colors that are most often found on the screen (up to 256 colors) on the server side. The color table is sent to the client side. Subsequently, 1 byte of the color identifier can be written to the place of writing 3 bytes of color. The next step is the lossy compression of the frame based on the allowable difference between the color bytes (the range of the difference can be changed by the user, this affects the packet size and picture quality). Also, in the process of sending the next frames, the program detects unchanged areas and makes an indication that nothing needs to be changed in this place on the screen, if it fails, it tries to refer to a similar color vertically or horizontally. Thus, it is possible to significantly reduce the size of the transmitted packet.
Controlling screen resolution and picture sizes is entirely dependent on the server-side resolution settings. To change it, use the standard utility xrandr.
Full screen mode is enabled when your screen resolution matches the server side screen resolution. Press the F7 key to exit full screen mode.
sudo apt install libx11-dev libxtst-dev libssl-dev
git clone https://github.com/DeskX11/DeskX/
cd DeskX
make client # To compile the client side
make server # To compile the server sideAfter these steps 2 files will be compiled: dxc (the client part, which must be launched on the computer from which the control will be carried out) and dxs (server part for a managed computer). To get an example of how exactly you need to start the client and server parts - just run the programs without arguments ./dxc or ./dxs.
Fast data transfer depends on two factors: the size of the transmitted packet and the transfer rate. To reduce the size of the batch, you can try changing the --compression parameter up. To reduce transmission latency, you can try changing the data transfer protocol for both screen and events (according to my observations, the best option is --screen=TCP and --events=UDP). Also, the speed of the transmission channel plays an important role; it is recommended to use a router with a gigabit LAN. As a last resort, you can also try to disable unnecessary effects such as window shadows.
You should take into account that the better the picture quality, the larger the packet size, and this will increase the delay. This moment will always be a compromise between quality and speed. To improve the quality of the picture, you can decrease the value of the parameter --compression. Also, to reduce distortion associated with shadow windows and other visual nuances, run the program with the --disable-vert parameter.
- Fixing a bug with reconnecting to the server (TCP).
- Fix disconnect bug with long palette generation.
- Server side as a daemon.
- Make .deb package creator.
- GUI part of the program.
libx11-dev, libxtst-dev, libssl-dev, os with x11