How to connect using RDP

RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) allows you to access a remote computer through a graphical desktop environment. This makes it possible to use a SwissGPU workstation as if it were a local Ubuntu desktop directly from your computer.

To connect via RDP you need three parameters: the server hostname, the username, and the RDP port (port 3389 by default).

At SwissGPU we assign a mnemonic domain to each server in the format name.swissgpu.ch, where name identifies the specific machine. This makes it easier to remember and connect to servers without needing to recall IP addresses.

Connect Using a Terminal

Use the following command with a FreeRDP-compatible client:

xfreerdp /v:<pcname>.swissgpu.ch:3389 /u:ubuntu

Connect using a .rdp File

Many remote desktop clients support the .rdp configuration format. You can create a file containing the connection parameters and open it directly with your RDP client.

Create a file called server.rdp with the following content:

full address:s:<pcname>.swissgpu.ch:3389
username:s:ubuntu

Save the file and open it with any RDP client. The client will automatically connect to <pcname>.swissgpu.ch using the specified username.