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submitted 6 days ago by countrypunk@slrpnk.net to c/linux@lemmy.ml

I have some desktops (the tower kind) lying around and I'm wondering if there's a way that I can connect them all to one display and combine their computational power or at least make them all accessible in one place. I want to get into server hosting but only have one monitor. They're currently running LMDE.

Any ideas?

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[-] anton@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 6 days ago

I'm wondering if there's a way [to] combine their computational power.

Only if your problem can be be split up reasonably, otherwise you will spend more time waiting for data to move.
Where it can work: video encoding, CI pipelines, data analysis
Where it won't work: interactive stuff, most single file operations

I want to get into server hosting [...]

Then you don't need another reason to do it.

[If] I can connect them all to one display [or] make them all accessible in one place.

You can either get a hardware switch or chose a primary computer and connect to the others. For that you can use remote desktop software or be a try hard and use ssh.

[-] countrypunk@slrpnk.net 1 points 6 days ago

The hardware switch looks promising. Are there any decent ones for under $50 out there or are they usually a big investment?

[-] superkret@feddit.org 1 points 6 days ago

You don't even need hardware for it. Barrier is a software solution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KiOMjqykbU&t=734s

[-] Morphit@feddit.uk 1 points 6 days ago

Barrier is only for inputs IIRC. To get Keyboard Mouse and Video (more usually KVM) you need some kind of remote desktop software. Rustdesk is pretty straightforward. I think Gnome handles RDP access natively now if you're running a Gnome based Linux distro. Otherwise XRDP is a bit of a faff, but solid once it's working.

this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2025
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