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VNC for Mac - Really Slow Compared to RDC for Windows

geerlingguy

geerlingguy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 11, 2003
562
6
St. Louis, USA
Is there any reason that VNC is very slow on my network (using Tight compression, 256 colors, high JPEG compression, etc. - basically all the fast settings) compared to Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection?

I have my MacBook Pro 2.4 GHz running Vine Server (used to be osXvnc), and I access it on the network using a windows laptop running Tight VNC. The laptop is connected to my MacBook Pro on a 100 mbps network, and it runs pretty slow (every time a window draws, it slowly draws in, and is very blocky).

I have a Dell desktop (an older one, to boot!) running Windows XP and set up to allow Remote Desktop Connections, and I open up Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection on my MacBook Pro, log in, and feel like I'm actually in front of the Dell desktop because of how fast and snappy everything is!

Is there any way to remote control my MacBook Pro near as fast as I can remote control any old Windows machine?
 
Not really. One of the main reasons that RDP is so fast is that has calls directly into the kernel. RDP also has access to ring 0, which while nice and speedy, is a big big no no.
 
geerlingguy said:
Is there any reason that VNC is very slow on my network (using Tight compression, 256 colors, high JPEG compression, etc. - basically all the fast settings) compared to Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection?

I have my MacBook Pro 2.4 GHz running Vine Server (used to be osXvnc), and I access it on the network using a windows laptop running Tight VNC. The laptop is connected to my MacBook Pro on a 100 mbps network, and it runs pretty slow (every time a window draws, it slowly draws in, and is very blocky).

I have a Dell desktop (an older one, to boot!) running Windows XP and set up to allow Remote Desktop Connections, and I open up Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection on my MacBook Pro, log in, and feel like I'm actually in front of the Dell desktop because of how fast and snappy everything is!

Is there any way to remote control my MacBook Pro near as fast as I can remote control any old Windows machine?
Click to expand...

I've found that Apple's Remote Desktop, is comparable to RDC.. shame Apple doesn't do an Apple Remote Desktop 'lite' for free!
 
Danksi said:
I've found that Apple's Remote Desktop, is comparable to RDC.. shame Apple doesn't do an Apple Remote Desktop 'lite' for free!
Click to expand...

Is there any way to use Apple Remote Desktop with a PC for viewing it?

I tried using System Preferences "Apple Remote Desktop" sharing, but it was really slow with Tight VNC.

Hopefully Leopard's 'screen sharing' will be better...
 
geerlingguy said:
Is there any way to use Apple Remote Desktop with a PC for viewing it?

I tried using System Preferences "Apple Remote Desktop" sharing, but it was really slow with Tight VNC.

Hopefully Leopard's 'screen sharing' will be better...
Click to expand...

A lot will have to do with the compression algorithms matching and the ones being used, encrytion, etc. Its worth playing with to get better speeds and you can use Apple Remote Desktop to control a Windows box with VNC. Try Googling around for what compression etc is used on ARD and match it on the Windows machine setup of VNC.
 
Hmmm, I'm using JollysFastVNC on my MacBook Pro up to my Mac mini and with either the built in VNC server or Vine Server it is surprisingly snappy even at 32 bits and over a rather weak wireless network connection. Sounds like something isn't right with your setup although I admit it wouldn't be as quick as RDC because it has the advantage of more direct access to the drawing process.
 
GreatDrok said:
Hmmm, I'm using JollysFastVNC on my MacBook Pro up to my Mac mini and with either the built in VNC server or Vine Server it is surprisingly snappy even at 32 bits and over a rather weak wireless network connection. Sounds like something isn't right with your setup although I admit it wouldn't be as quick as RDC because it has the advantage of more direct access to the drawing process.
Click to expand...

JollyFastVNC gets my vote. It is the fastest in my experience on the Mac.

VNC isn't ideal though, you're right. I VNC computers on a gigabit switch and get lag.
 
display 0

When using VNC on Linux, you create a virtual desktop. The main desktop is display 0, so at the command prompt, you launch VNC to display 1.

>vncserver 1 -geometry 1400x900 -depth 256


The main reason is that display 0 goes though your video card and is limited by the frame rate of the card. By using the virtual desktop, it bypasses the video card.

Also, if on a local network, you should keep the compression rate low. Higher compression requires more processing and may cause lag. local networks should have more than enough bandwidth to handle a VNC even in RAW compression.

So, is there a way to launch a virtual desktop on OSX ?
 
Microsoft makes a version of RDC for OSX I use it over my houses network with little to no trouble at all because I installed XP pro on my fiances dell and I have a passworded user account on her box.
 
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