Apache Guacamole Clientless Remote Desktop Gateway

Apache Guacamole is a free and open-source clientless remote desktop gateway that provides access to desktops via a standard web browser, eliminating the need for client software installation. Originally developed by Michael Jumper in 2010 (as a JavaScript VNC client called Guacamole), it was accepted into the Apache Incubator in 2016 and graduated as a top-level Apache project in 2017. Key features: clientless access: users access remote desktops through any modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) using HTML5, WebSocket, and JavaScript, with no plugins or client software required. Protocol support: Guacamole supports multiple remote desktop protocols through its core protocol proxy (guacd): RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol, for Windows), VNC (Virtual Network Computing, for Linux/Unix), SSH (Secure Shell, for terminal access), Telnet (for legacy terminal access), and Kubernetes (for pod console access). Architecture: the system consists of three components: guacd (the native proxy daemon written in C that translates between remote desktop protocols and the Guacamole protocol), the web application (Java servlet running on Tomcat, providing the web UI and authentication), and a database backend (MySQL, PostgreSQL, or LDAP) for storing connection configurations and user accounts. Authentication: extensible authentication via LDAP, OpenID Connect, SAML, TOTP (two-factor), Duo, HTTP header-based, and custom extensions. Session recording: record and replay remote desktop sessions for audit and training. File transfer: upload and download files during RDP, VNC, and SSH sessions. Clipboard sharing between local and remote. Audio support. Load balancing for large deployments. Apache-2.0.