Good day everyone,
In my home network, I have a laptop running Ubuntu and a desktop running Ubuntu as well. To avoid having my files mixed up, I want to use the laptop to connect to the desktop remotely for working on and transferring files. Plus, the desktop is located in another building on the premise and I do not want to physically go there everytime I need something done on it. (I am not lazy, it is just not practical :)). So, I want to be able to power up the desktop remotely, log in remotely using VNC/Remmina and shut it down remotely without having to leave my seat.
Powering up and shutting down works. I have set up Wake-on-LAN so that I can power up the desktop from my laptop. I have also tested remote desktop sessions with a VNC protocol (Remmina) which worked as well.
However, in order to use Remmina, I need to be logged in on the desktop because the VNC server starts after a succesful login. Which requires me to be present at the desktop. I have not found a way to login remotely - so from the laptop. Research about this shows several directions I can explore: use SSH to login and forward the display or use other remote desktop services such as X11VNC. But details are missing, so I dare not mess with scripts and such. Bear in mind, I am no Linux guru, so I like to keep it simple.
So, my main question is this: How can I start a remote desktop session without logging in on the desktop?
The laptop is running Ubuntu 14.04, the desktop Ubuntu 16.04.
