3b) Remote Access Quickstart: Easy remote desktop with RDP

Easy remote desktop with RDP

You can enable Remote Desktop to access virtual machines in VirtualBox
This allows access without having to install RDP or VNC on the guest OS or bridging the virtual network card to gain access.

VirtualBox Extensions

• VirtualBox Extensions must be installed in VirtualBox on the host.
• QuickStart has these extentions installed by default, but the version of the Guest Extensions must match the version of VirtualBox you are using on the host.

See this for information on installing the extensions.

Configure VirtualBox

1. Shut down the Quickstart virtual machine
2. Click on the Quickstart virtual machine on the manager windows
3. Click the Settings icon
4. Click Display in the left menu
5. Click the Remote Display tab
6. Check Enable Server
7. Change the other settings as needed
   • Note the setting for port, the default usually works (3389)

Now you can connect with a RDP client to this virtual machine.

Using RDP to View Quickstart Desktop

General Connection information

To connect, use the IP of the Host computer.
You can use localhost or 127.0.0.1 as the IP address if you are using RDP from the same computer.
VirtualBox handles the remote session, not the OS in the virtual machine. Even if you set the network card to bridge and the guest OS has it's own IP address, you still use the host machine's IP.

Specify the port. Use the port you set in the virtual machine settings.

If you have a firewall, make sure the port you set is open on your Host computer.
you can find details on how to do this on Google.

Windows

On Windows, you can use the Microsoft Terminal Services Connector (mstsc.exe) that ships with Windows. You can start it by bringing up the "Run" dialog (press the Windows key and "R") and typing "mstsc". You can also find it under "Start" -> "All Programs" -> "Accessories" -> "Remote Desktop Connection". If you use the "Run" dialog, you can type in options directly:

mstsc 1.2.3.4[:3389]

Replace "1.2.3.4" with the host IP address, and 3389 with a different port if necessary.

When connecting to localhost in order to test the connection, the addresses localhost and 127.0.0.1 might not work using mstsc.exe. Instead, the address 127.0.0.2[:3389] has to be used.

Linux and other Operating Systems

On other systems, you can use the standard open-source rdesktop program. This ships with most Linux distributions.

With rdesktop, use a command line such as the following:

rdesktop -a 16 -N 1.2.3.4:3389

As said for the Microsoft viewer above, replace "1.2.3.4" with the host IP address, and 3389 with a different port if necessary. The -a 16 option requests a color depth of 16 bits per pixel, which we recommend. (For best performance, after installation of the guest operating system, you should set its display color depth to the same value). The -N option enables use of the NumPad keys.

KDE

If you run the KDE desktop, you might prefer krdc, the KDE RDP viewer. The command line would look like this:

krdc --window --high-quality rdp:/1.2.3.4[:3389]

Again, replace "1.2.3.4" with the host IP address, and 3389 with a different port if necessary. The "rdp:/" bit is required with krdc to switch it into RDP mode.

More Information

Lots more info for Remote Desktop in VirtualBox here
http://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch07.html