Moving over
What it takes
Keep RustDesk for the machines that need an agent; move the servers into Vandle, where the shell and the files matter more than the screen.
You already run your own relay
RustDesk answers a question Vandle deliberately leaves alone: getting onto a machine that has no listening service. They fit together, because Vandle owns the protocols you can reach directly.
Credit where it is due
RustDesk is open source, self-hostable, and genuinely good at the hard case: an unattended machine behind a network you do not control, with a relay you own.
What changes
Four things you get that you did not have.
- No agent to install on the far side for the protocols a server already speaks.
- A shell, a file surface and a desktop on one record, instead of a screen-share session for everything.
- A route per connection, including a tunnelled path that needs no open inbound port.
- A visible inventory of machines with one row per protocol.
Side by side
RustDesk and Vandle
| Aspect | RustDesk | Vandle |
|---|---|---|
| Access model | An agent on the target plus a relay | Direct protocol connections, optionally routed |
| Coverage | Screen, input, file transfer | SSH, SFTP, WebDAV, RDP, the web and local shells |
| Best at | Unattended machines you cannot reach | Machines you can reach and administer |
| Inventory | Device list by ID | Connection records grouped in folders |
And the rest of it
Four more protocols came along
Replacing one tool gets you five. Whatever else that machine speaks is already a row on the same record - and every one of them takes the route you assigned.
Web
Real browsing, properly routed
SSH
A terminal that keeps up
SFTP
Two remote panes, no detour
WebDAV
The other half of file transfer
RDP
Desktops on a native surface
Local
Your own machine, in the same list
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