Chromebook for remote work. Configure VPN and RDP

Hello! Remote work can often be described as two technical requirements from the contractor: the first, Internet access, and the second, a laptop. And if you have a remote server on which you work, then all you need is a thin client to access it. In this article, I will tell you how I chose and set up a thin client for remote work, and why Chromebook does an excellent job with this task.

Requirements

So, here are the basic requirements that I set for myself:

• Good screen - we will watch it for hours
• Autonomy - life on batteries for more than 5-6 hours
• Weight - mobility is an important indicator for travel and travel.
• Price - to break or lose a laptop for $ 300 will not be as expensive / offensive as for $ 1500

Device selection

I did not bother with the choice, I opened Amazon and found all the models of chromebooks in the category up to 300 dollars . My choice fell on the model Acer Chromebook 14 (CB3-431). For the test, I chose a refurbished laptop for $ 185. In fairness, it should be noted that the restored chromebook was no different from the new, except for the lack of original packaging and a 3-month warranty.

Configure VPN and RDP in Chrome OS

So, a beautiful and thin laptop in hand, set up VPN and RDP for remote work.
')

VPN problem

We read many articles on configuring VPN and we understand that everything is bad, it is almost impossible to configure the connection via ovpn files. It is necessary to split ovpn files into parts and convert them into a special format, which, as a result, did not work either. My Chromebook supports android applications, but it turned out that they cannot work with the TAP interface described in the ovpn file.

VPN solution

To solve this problem, we need to get root rights and use the already built-in openvpn client. How to get root rights is described here .

Now, to raise our VPN, we need to do the following.
Go to the terminal: Ctrl + Alt + T, enter the shell command. Next we need commands:

openvpn --mktun --dev tap0 openvpn --config /usr/local/vpn/openvpn.ovpn --dev tap0 openvpn --rmtun --dev tap0 

The first line creates a tunnel, the second one starts the connection (here, specify the path to your ovpn file), the third one is needed after the connection is completed.
VPN problem solved.

RDP problem

For remote access, you can use many solutions, such as Google Remote Desktop or TeamViewer. But for me they did not fit, for various reasons, and I decided to focus on configuring RDP.

Chrome OS can run ChromeRDP , it seems to work, but it does not live well on a slow communication channel and settings are not enough.

RDP solution

To solve this problem, we need a good RDP client and Linux. The easiest way to get full Linux chromebook is Crouton . It is installed simply and works in parallel with chrome wasps. Detailed article on setting up Crouton Khabritsya here .

Having access to apt-get in Linux, we can install Remmina . Remmina is a convenient and fast RDP client.

So, the minimum program is completed and we can work.

Results

I managed to work in this mode for more than a month. In general, it is quite convenient to work, although it took some time to get used to the keyboard.

Pros:

• The price of the question, in my case it is ~ $ 200 (including delivery from the USA)
• Good enough characteristics for a target task: 4gb RAM, 32gb SSD, IPS 14 "FULL HD, 1.5kg
• Long battery life, in my case, 9-10 hours of battery life
• Ability to install Android applications + full Linux
• Lack of any brakes in chrome wasps and when using RDP

Minuses:

• You need to invest time in setting up the system
• If you need to connect to a remote server, then without the Internet - the work is worth

In general, the experience of using the Chromebook for work turned out to be interesting, and if you have time and desire, I recommend trying it. I also realized that chrome wasps are ideal for grandparents, for watching YouTube and the weather :)

Hope this article was helpful, good luck!