I published this post on the geekgather.org blog on 2/3/2009 regarding alternative RDP connection methods from Mac. At the time I was working with a Remote Desktop Services hosting provider that offered fully hosted Server 2003 terminal server desktops. Since then, much has changed in regards to software and especially to virtualization.
Below is the original post and the update follows.
Original Post
We’re looking for a replacement for the Mac RDP client. We have one client whose clock is off no matter what in Outlook. Using a Windows PC is not an option for various reasons. Using parallels isn’t really an option. This was tried and it created more calls for us than using something more native to OS X. This user is on an x86 Macbook Pro laptop. She has limited technical skills. We are trying to make her life easier and simplify the process for her to connect to the terminal server farm where all of their data lives. RDP6 for Mac (Remote Desktop Connection 2) is the best solution we have so far, but it still sometimes has issues with the timezone for her. Lastly, using Entourage 2004/2008 or Mail is also not an option – the business owner does not want any local data to reside on any PC due to security concerns.
What we want to do is run the Windows binary of RDP5 or RDP6 on a Mac or more easily run the Linux rdesktop command with a GUI wraper. I run this tool frequently from the command line or the GUI wrapper in Ubuntu or other distros and it works great.
Can someone with an Intel Mac try this: http://desktopecho.com/iMKS/and let me know how easy it is to setup and use? It replaces TSClientX, an opensource GUI wrapper of the opensource RDP client. TSClientX was awesome – a GUI wrapper to rdesktop. Unfortunately it isn’t supported in 10.5 and the 10.5.5 or 10.5.4 update broke it (changes to the x11 environment I believe). We want to see how easy it is to setup and use RDP, either the Linux tool or the Windows binary for RDP5 or RDP6.
The other thing we’d like to try is WINE: http://wiki.winehq.org/MacOSXwith a walkthrough here: http://davidbaumgold.com/tutorials/wine-mac/.
The last time I looked, the Windows RDP5 binary worked. RDP6 was not. This may have changed as that was six months ago.
We have tried CoRD – http://cord.sourceforge.net/ – but it feels slower than Microsoft’s RDP method or rdesktop.
Updated Information on Alternative RDP Clients – 2012
Fast forward to 2012. I now use a Mac for most of my work. Windows 7 has high use rates. Server 2008R2 is widely deployed.
CoRD has gotten A LOT better – http://cord.sourceforge.net/. I use it for most of my RDP needs. I haven’t had feelings of slowness on it. I do notice that drive mappings still is hit or miss with a lot of miss. This may matter to some, but it will save usernames/passwords for you. This project is still under development and is a good third-party alternative to Microsoft Remote Desktop Client.
Microsoft RDP for OS X – http://www.microsoft.com/mac/remote-desktop-client – This product has also seen some improvement. This is the official supported tool for connecting to a Windows server via RDP from a Mac OS X client. One advantage of this, like the Windows client, is you can save the rdp files and double-click on them in the future. Further, you can save passwords in the RDP files.
iMKS – http://desktopecho.com/iMKS/ – This was the replacement for TSClientX which was amazing before it was broken by an OS X patch and development was stopped in August 2008. I was using it right up until it was broken by an OS X patch for a client. They said it felt faster than CoRD and the latest Microsoft RDP client for OS X. Now that I am on an x86 Mac, I took a peak at iMKS. I was hoping for something as awesome at TSClientX. Unfortunately, this product hasn’t been updated since February 2009. It looked so promising with the integration with VMware. Alas, it has not been updated. If you are ready to try anything, maybe give it a shot, but you may want to look elsewhere.
rdesktop – yes, you can still use this. But most Mac users like GUIs. There is a Google project – http://code.google.com/p/macosx-rdc/ – for a front-end to it, but it looks like development dried up on this like it did with TSClientX.
Microsoft RDP Client via Wine or CodeWeavers – You could try to use either package and run the Microsoft RDP Client for Windows via Wine or CodeWeavers, but from what I can tell, you won’t be able to connect to a 2008 or 2008R2 server – http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=22656
Virtualization
This market space has grown very fast since this original post. My primary work focus is around the hypervisor and things that touch it in the infrastructure layer – storage & networking. Further, the products for virtualizing operating systems on OS X are all affordable. The best products are Parallels 7 or VMware Fusion 4. Depending on who you talk to, each is better than the other. I tend to prefer VMware’s Fusion product because I sometimes spin up Operating Systems/Virtual Appliances that may not have support or work well under Parallels, for example, the NetApp Data On Tap 8.1 simulator. From what I’ve read, if all you will ever use is Windows 7 as a virtual OS, you may want to stick with Parallels. I also am a VMware Certified Professional so I may have a little bit of bias towards products from the leader in virtualization software and technology. If money is tight, you can check out VirtualBox for OS X. It won’t be as feature rich, but if you don’t need to use Windows for a lot of things, it may be a good fit for you. These products will let you run the Microsoft RDP client natively. Further, both Parallels and Fusion have features that will allow you to make Windows applications appear that they are part of OS X.
Please keep in mind that with virtualization solutions, even the free ones, you still need a licensed copy of the Windows OS you are running. If you want to try something out or build a quick lab, Microsoft does provide evaluation software of their server products. There is also a consumer preview version of Windows 8 that you can download also.
The Verdict
I would stick with the Microsoft RDP Client for OS X or CoRD if you want to avoid virtualization and the added resource overhead and licensing costs of a hypervisor and Windows 7. Both tools are great. I like to use CoRD over the Microsoft RDP client because I can create tabs which I find useful to keep all my RDP windows in one place. If you need software that only runs under Microsoft Windows, e.g., the vSphere Client (if the web client doesn’t do what you need to do administratively), virtualization is the path to go.
