When it comes to Linux remote desktop solutions, most administrators immediately think of VNC (Virtual Network Computing). However, the ecosystem offers several alternatives that may better suit specific use cases, particularly when performance over internet connections is a priority.

1. X2Go - Uses the NX protocol for compression:

sudo apt-get install x2goserver x2goclient
x2goclient

2. NoMachine (NX Technology) - Commercial solution with free tier:

wget https://download.nomachine.com/download/8.4/Linux/nomachine_8.4.1_1_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i nomachine_*.deb

3. RDP via xrdp - Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol implementation:

sudo apt install xrdp
sudo systemctl enable --now xrdp

For remote development work where latency matters, RDP implementations typically outperform VNC:

# Benchmark command examples:
# VNC latency test
time vncconfig -report

# RDP latency test
xfreerdp /v:yourserver /u:user /p:password /measure-rtt

Tuning xrdp for development environments:

# /etc/xrdp/xrdp.ini optimization:
max_bpp=32
use_compression=yes

For NoMachine performance tuning:

# /usr/NX/etc/server.cfg modifications:
EnableSessionShadowing = 1
EnableSSL = 0  # For LAN connections only

Always combine remote desktop solutions with SSH tunneling:

ssh -L 3389:localhost:3389 user@remote-server

While VNC (Virtual Network Computing) has been a staple for Linux remote access, its RFB protocol has inherent limitations. Modern alternatives offer better compression, lower latency, and hardware acceleration. Here's the technical breakdown of superior options:

// Sample performance comparison metrics (lower is better)
protocols = {
    'VNC': {'latency': 120, 'bandwidth': 85},
    'RDP': {'latency': 25, 'bandwidth': 45},
    'SPICE': {'latency': 18, 'bandwidth': 38},
    'Wayland': {'latency': 15, 'bandwidth': 30}
}

1. RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol)
Microsoft's protocol now has excellent Linux support via xrdp:

sudo apt install xrdp
sudo systemctl enable --now xrdp

2. SPICE Protocol
Originally developed for QEMU/KVM virtualization:

# On host:
sudo apt install spice-vdagent
# Client connection:
remote-viewer spice://192.168.1.100:5900

Wayland PipeWire Streaming
For Wayland compositors using wlroots:

# Capture desktop stream:
wf-recorder -f desktop_stream.mkv -c libx264
# Stream over network:
gst-launch-1.0 filesrc location=desktop_stream.mkv ! matroskademux ! queue ! tcpserversink host=0.0.0.0 port=8080

Apache Guacamole
HTML5 gateway supporting multiple protocols:

<guac-config>
    <connection name="Linux VM">
        <protocol>ssh</protocol>
        <param name="hostname">vm.example.com</param>
    </connection>
</guac-config>

For latency-sensitive applications, consider these kernel tweaks:

# Increase TCP buffers
sysctl -w net.core.rmem_max=4194304
sysctl -w net.core.wmem_max=4194304

# Prioritize remote desktop traffic
tc qdisc add dev eth0 root fq

Each protocol excels in specific scenarios - RDP for Windows integration, SPICE for virtual machines, and Wayland streaming for native Linux environments.