Hello team,
I have recently transitioned from Windows to Manjaro (KDE Plasma 6) as my daily driver and primary server OS. While I am thoroughly enjoying the speed and customization, I am running into a severe workflow roadblock regarding remote desktop capabilities under the new Wayland defaults.
In my previous Windows environment, achieving a headless, multi-monitor remote session was a native, one-click process using RDP:
- I connect remotely from my laptop.
- The physical monitors in the server room automatically lock (ensuring privacy).
- A true session is spun up remotely that natively understands I have two separate monitors on my client side, allowing me to drag windows seamlessly between two distinct screens.
Trying to replicate this core workflow on Plasma Wayland currently seems impossible without reverting to X11 and relying on heavy workarounds. Current native solutions seem to fall short in the following ways:
- The new krdp server acts as a PipeWire screen-scraper (“Desktop Sharing”) rather than a true remote session. It does not lock the physical screens, and it squashes multiple monitors into a single ultra-wide video feed rather than supporting native RDP multi-channel display separation.
- VNC Server virtual sessions (vncserver :1) create private headless environments, but they treat each port as a completely isolated computer, meaning I cannot drag windows across my dual-monitor setup.
- VNC Screen Scraping (x0vncserver geometry slicing) allows me to slice the desktop into two ports so I can open two remote-viewer windows on my client, but this requires reverting to X11, and the physical monitors remain active for anyone in the room to see.
My questions for the developers are:
- True RDP Sessions: Is there an active roadmap for krdp (or SDDM/KWin) to support true Wayland virtual RDP sessions (spawning a headless KWin instance attached to the RDP tunnel) rather than just mirroring the physical PipeWire outputs?
- Multi-Monitor RDP: Are there plans to implement proper [MS-RDPEGFX] multi-monitor channel negotiation so RDP clients like Remmina can receive discrete, multiple displays rather than one stitched ultra-wide frame?
- Current Workarounds: While waiting for the Wayland virtual output protocols to mature, is there a recommended path today to achieve a private, spanning multi-monitor remote session on Plasma without resorting to X11 and physical HDMI dummy plugs?
Thank you for your time and for all the hard work that goes into Plasma 6! Any guidance or links to relevant issue-trackers would be greatly appreciated.