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How to access windows programs on Ubuntu Server

Asked by Kristopher Brown

I have a Ubuntu 11.04 server in a completely Windows network (all but the server of cource) everything seems to work fine, samba (file/print server) web server, DNS... I have windows programs i.e. Adobe Photoshop. I would like to be able to centralize the program and run it from the server itself... none of the other computers on the network are capable to run the program but for the machine the server is now installed on. So my question is, How can i have a windows program installed on Ubuntu server 11.04 and run it from the server from my windows machines? Something like an application server or terminal server or something. The server is running Ubuntu server11.04 with 4Gb of DDR2 RAM 1-80Gb HDD (OS installiation) 1-640Gb HDD (has a bunch of WINDOWS programs and media), Intel P4 CPU. Any Help would be welcome. Thank you.

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

You will need to instal a GUI on the server then use Wine. It may run weirdly and you can consult the wine app for how to set it up. I don't recommend a GUI on a server as it will take longer to boot, use more resources and be less secure

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Kristopher Brown (kbrown90) said : 		#2

Would i be able to install WINE without the GUI? And set it up all through command line? i.e. sudo apt-get install wine.....????

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#3

Not really, no. You will need a gui

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Michael Flaig (mflaig) said : 		#4

You want to run those programs on the ubuntu server but the display should be on your machine. That is basically possible with X11, however I have not tried the suggested way of using wine.

Honestly if you want to try getting the software to work with wine please to so but it may be a bumpy road you take.

You probably would have a smother ride by installing windows in a virtual machine on the server.
- Virtualbox for example could set up a container you can install windows inside. You would need to tell virtualbox to push the screen output to a rdp server that comes with virtualbox so you can connect to your server on some port you would configure with an rdp client like remmina (linux) or the all known mstsc (remote desktop client - windows) and install windows inside the virtual machine.
- Alternative would be using Xen or VMWare Server of course

If you go with virtualization it might also be interesting to move all your already installed services into a now virtual linux machine. Usually the Host for Virtualization does not run any services besides the virtualization for security reasons. That might not be relevant if it is your own private network anyway.

If you wanna run Photoshop consider buying more ram and assign the full 4gig a 32bit windows can handle to the virtual machine. 64bit is also possible if you host can do it.

Hope I could help a bit ...

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