Citrix XenApp/MetaFrame Equivalents

Hi,
I'll start with what I want to do: I want to set up a remote access type setup, so I can connect to my network from a remote location. I want to be able to start desktops and single apps, like in MetaFrame. I am running basic services in my internal network ie. AD, DNS, DHCP, ISA, Exchange...

Does anyone know of any equivalent or better software to perform these tasks? I have used MetaFrame for many years, and want to try something new, just as an experiment.

Any help would be appreciated.

Michael

 

Microsoft terminal server does similar things: desktop and application sharing. You can also do a lot with Remote Desktop built into XP and Vista (which is effectively a cut down terminal service for individual PCs and single desktop instances). Also Windows 2003 uses terminal services to provide admin access to the server desktop and this works very well and is free for this use. I believe the same is true for 2008 server.

The are a lot of VNC based tools available (e.g. TightVNC and RealVNC), but my experience is that they don't perform as well as the likes of Citrix and Terminal server. They are often good enough and therefore make an excellent solution in many circumstances - especially when budgets are tight.

 

Thanks Reggie!