Remote Desktop

ZeroTier doesn't care whether your connected device is next to you or away at the office - a remote desktop connection has never been easier. Let's get started.

Prerequisites

• A working ZeroTier network with 2 or more devices, per the ZeroTier Quickstart Guide

Enable and Connect to Remote Desktop

Windows

Option 1: RDP

Follow the recommended instructions from Microsoft to enable remote desktop access on connected networks. Don't worry about port forwarding or setting up a VPN - ZeroTier will handle that for you.

Make sure to mark down your account credentials (username/password), or add an additional user as detailed. If you are logged in with your Microsoft account, the credentials for remote access will be identical to your account. Otherwise, it will be identical to your local user account in Windows.

Connect using the Managed IP address of your peers, which can be found via Central or in Administrator Powershell/CLI:

zerotier-cli peers

And enter credentials when prompted.

Option 2: SSH

Windows also has extensive documentation for OpenSSH.

MacOS

There are several options for remote access on Linux, depending on whether you need a terminal or a GUI.

SSH (Terminal/CLI Access)

Install SSH (if not already installed):

sudo apt install openssh-server

Next, start start and enable the SSH Service. This is on the device that will be connected to, called the "server".

sudo systemctl enable --now ssh

Note down your server's credentials (user name/password). Then, connect from either Windows Powershell, MacOS Terminal (SSH installed by default), or another Linux machine with SSH:

ssh <username>@<ZeroTier-IP>

Enter password when prompted. Leave blank if no password.

You should now be securely connected via SSH!

Linux

Option 1: SSH (Terminal/CLI Access)

Go to System Settings -> General -> Sharing and enable the Remote Login setting to start SSH.

note

While MacOS supports connecting to SSH servers as a client out of the box, it requires the above changes to allow it to act as a server itself.

Note down your server's credentials (user name/password). Then, connect from either Windows Powershell, MacOS Terminal (SSH installed by default), or another Linux machine with SSH:

ssh <username>@<ZeroTier-IP>

Enter password when prompted. Leave blank if no password.

You should now be securely connected via SSH!

Option 2: VNC Remote Desktop

MacOS also has native support for VNC (Virtual Network Computing), which works flawlessly over a ZeroTier connection.