Not really related to this article, but just wanted to describe the situation. 

Most of the time I am working on Linux or Mac. Not a big deal, but last year we bought my daughter a kind of gaming laptop. I am saying kind of, because IMHO there is no such thing like a gaming laptop. There are laptops that people can play with because of having additional graphic cards (and all cooling system needed, all connected components). But if new laptop can work on battery 1,5h when it is fully loaded, can it still be called laptop? When the laptop gets so hot that it’s difficult to handle, or it’s so loud that you can’t sit comfortably near it, can it still be called a laptop? Without saying too much, I am not a big fan. I was opting for some streaming service subscription like Nvidia GeForce Now, Xbox pass, boosteroid.com etc. Since my daughter literally plays only 2 games on Steam that would perfectly fit. Anyway the family decision was that we need Windows “gaming” laptop (don’t ask). 

After everything was set up it finally run quite nicely. (word after is key here as configuring and troubleshooting (!) new Windows laptop, costs me a lot of time – different story). And now the article could end here, but of course, as it is in life, solving one problem leads to another, more serious one.

The problem with (our) “gaming” laptop is that it is so loud. Extremely hot and loud. This laptop is quite hot even before it is fully booted (after 2-3 mins) but in the gaming mode it gets really hot and the fans speed up to the maximum. The sound type is like in a datacenter, not nice. The only way to play comfortably is to use noise-canceling headphones. It’s okay for me, but for other people in the same room, it is impossible to stay, think, and rest.

“Gaming laptop”, steam link and rustdesk.

Solution: use Steam Link to stream windows screen to some “pleasure” devices like MacBook Air or Chromebook (which can’t make any noise as it is not equipped with any fans). Steam Link I have also tested on ubuntu which worked sweetly as well. 

Stream Link works very well. Especially it works well in the same, stable network (>25Mbps).

This led me to move the Windows laptop to the basement (an empty room). That, of course, required rebuilding my basement network (but this is another story). Steam Link solved my issue almost perfectly. The laptop is in the basement where it can make as much noise as it wants. I can play in another room (I mean my daughter). Performance is great, and quality is great. But, not everything is a bed of roses. Steam Link, when it is working, is all great. But sometimes, when it is outside the game (in the Steam main window), it can show only part of the screen. Sometimes the game does not end properly (working in the background) or needs to update some Windows library. So even though the games themselves are working very well, Windows management requires me to walk to the basement quite frequently. This led me to another solution, rustdesk.

Solution: use rustdesk

rustdesk (https://github.com/rustdesk/rustdesk) is really nice solution. If you have ever used teamviewer, then basically that is the opensource alternative. With rustdesk you can display screen from windows gaming laptop to my laptop without fans (rustdesk can be installed on Linux, Windows, Mac, Android and iOS). 

rustdesk can be configured in a more advanced scenario (check diagram below), where the middle server, that is participating in the connection between source -> destination) can be self-hosted. In such a scenario, the whole traffic is only inside my network – connectivity is not leaving my home network – which is fantastic. 

Process to install rustdesk at my home:

Linux installation (server-side components):

1. on linux server I have installed fresh lxc container with debian12
   

lxc-create -n rustdesk -t debian -- -r bookworm<br>

2. network connectivity (to the internet) and host resolution inside lxc container needs to work properly
3. download and run the following script:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/techahold/rustdeskinstall/master/install.sh
bash ./install.sh

It can take a while to download and install all the software. Please pay attention if two services with hbbs and hbbr are up and running 

/opt/rustdesk/hbbr -k _

/opt/rustdesk/hbbs -k _

Check the http process status, username and password to access the webpage should be visible in the process list:

/opt/gohttp/gohttpserver -r ./public --port 8000 --auth-type http --auth-http USER:PASSWORD

4. rustdesk client on fanless laptop was installed
5. download ps1 script from http server (using the port, username, password mentioned in 3)
6. check the file with the key in /opt/rustdesk (file starting with id_XXXXX.pub)
7. configure rustdesk on windows gaming and fanless laptop with the following parameters
   
   

where ID server will be IP (od DNS name) of your linux server and key, content of the file from point 3

8. set static password in rustdesk client (security -> password)
9. verify the configuration (after windows laptop restart)
10. test rustdesk 

Additional configuration:

1. check if required ports are opened on the firewall (including OS firewall); following one needs to be accessible: TCP (21114, 21115, 21116, 21117, 21118, 21119); UDP (21116)
2. encryption keys are generated during hbbs start, so if you want to regenerate them, remove and restart the service 

General remarks:

• rustdesk is wonderful software, of course more options are available with the paid version, but for home usage free version is good enough. Desktop streaming is very fast, I was trying to stream movie in 2k with great success (but games do not work well)
• Functionality of rustdesk and Steam Link are sort of similar. Both can display screen of the other computer. The difference is in protocol and specific configuration. Stream Link is optimised to stream game and sound. Rustdesk is more for system administration where whole screen is visible.
• Steam Link is very efficient and when it work it is really powerful. I wish Steam Link would be available on xbox one so I would be able to send game in that direction (and not from xbox to laptop – which works well too, but with Microsoft/xbox software)
• if you are planning to buy gaming laptop, think again, if possible test one or two to be sure that gaming laptop is something you are looking for, maybe purchasing “usable” fanless laptop and usage streaming services can be a better option for you 
• I couldn’t use RDP because of the Windows home license