ICE RemoteWare Prerequisites#

Learn more about the server and client requirements for using the ICE RemoteWare™ product.

About the ICE RemoteWare Software#

ICE RemoteWare 15.0.0, commit 7ecaab77d7d81e9a40e4516e6bef1668d7e1de1f.

Introduction#

The ICE RemoteWare product is a web server that provides secure, easy remote access to teams working on Linux, Windows, and MacOS workstations through standard web browsers, eliminating the need for client-side installations and changes to firewall policies.

Server Requirements#

This section describes the hardware and software requirements for the workstation hosting the ICE RemoteWare server.

Server OS#

The ICE RemoteWare software is supported and tested on the following 64-bit operating systems:

  • Rocky Linux 8 and 9

  • Windows 10, 11, and Windows Server 2019

  • Windows Server 2022 (server-side only)

  • MacOS Big Sur 11 to MacOS Sonoma 14

  • Ubuntu 20, 22 and 24

Important

Rocky Linux users: XWayland is not currently supported. Please see Installing the Server on Rocky Linux for instructions on enabling Xorg as the default X server.

Attention

There is a known graphics issue with older GNOME 3 Shell based systems (GNOME 3 and GDM) on machines that don’t have an attached monitor. We recommend upgrading to GNOME 3.28+ or using the MATE desktop environment and LightDM as a workaround.

If you require other versions of Windows, RedHat, and Debian based flavors of Linux, please contact Penguin Solutions for additional support.

Server Hardware#

We recommend the following CPU, Memory, and GPU:

Server-Side

Recommended

CPU

Intel Core i5, one core per monitor + 1

Memory

2 GB

GPU

Any

Server Network#

The server’s bandwidth (BW) requirements are the sum of the bandwidth required by all connected clients.

A client’s bandwidth requirements are the sum of the video bandwidth and the audio bandwidth. Video bandwidth depends on the display resolutions, the selected video encoding, and the number of displays. These bandwidth values can be found in Client Requirements. Note that even though multiple clients may be sharing the same desktop, each client needs its own connection to that screen with its own bandwidth usage.

By default, audio bandwidth is 1.411 Mbps when it is enabled by the end-user. When audio is disabled by the end-user, it consumes no bandwidth.

To calculate the maximum server bandwidth (BW) requirements, use the following equations:

Video BW Per User = Displays per User * BW per Display

Audio BW Per User = 1.411 Mbps

Max Server BW = Users * (Video BW per User + Audio BW per User)

For example, if we want to plan for a single user to have video and audio access to a server that has a single display showing at 1080p with our normal (lossy) encoding:

Video BW Per User = 1 display * 6 Mbps = 6 Mbps

Audio BW Per User = 1.411 Mbps

Max Server BW = 1 user * (6 Mbps + 1.411 Mbps) = 7.411 Mbps

As a second example, if we want to plan for three users to have video and audio access to a server that has dual displays showing at 2K with our normal (lossy) encoding:

Video BW Per User = 2 displays * 12 Mbps = 24 Mbps

Audio BW Per User = 1.411 Mbps

Max Server BW = 3 users * (24 Mbps + 1.411 Mbps) = 76.233 Mbps

Server Screen Resolutions#

The performance of the remote access is partly dependent on the server’s screen resolution and the client’s ability to process that resolution quickly.

The ICE RemoteWare software allows system administrators to pick a maximum screen resolution width and height in the config file (by default 2560x1440). If the user attempts to change the screen resolution above this setting, then the video scales down automatically. This can alleviate situations where users set the screen resolution so high that their client machine becomes unusable.

For most users, we recommend our default values. If you’d like to test higher screen resolutions, we recommend doing so with gradual increases.

Warning

Changing screen resolutions has two known issues:

  1. Multiple rapid resolution changes may lead to service instability. Changing the screen resolution more than 5 times over a few seconds may cause the service to restart or quit.

For more information about changing screen resolutions, see Change Screen Resolution.

Server Audio#

The ICE RemoteWare product will stream audio from a remote server if it has a functional audio device and proper drivers. In Linux, pulseaudio is required and is already installed by default on many linux systems.

MacOS users must follow the instructions in Install BlackHole for MacOS Audio to add MacOS Audio Support.

OpenSSL#

OpenSSL is an open source implementation of the SSL and TLS protocols and must be installed on the server host. Most Linux distributions have this installed by default, but in Windows this is installed by the ICE RemoteWare server-side installer.

SSL Certificate#

An SSL certificate signed by a trusted certificate authority is used to provide encryption and authentication for a client’s HTTPS connection to the ICE RemoteWare web server. By default, the ICE RemoteWare product comes with a self-signed SSL certificate and private key that should not be used in secure production environments.

For more information on generating SSL certificates, see Setup.

Client Requirements#

You can connect to the server using either an HTML5 browser or our native client (ICE RemoteWare Client).

Client Hardware and Network#

Client-side hardware and network requirements are largely based on the server’s screen resolution and the number of pixels changing on the screen at a given time.

The table below shows CPU and Network requirements when remoting a single full screen movie using our normal video encoder at 24-30 frames per second. Turning on audio streaming will consume an additional 1.411 Mbps of bandwidth.

Normal Video Recommendations#

Server Resolution

Network (Mbps)

CPU, Native Client

CPU, Chrome

1280 x 720

3

Intel Core i5

Intel Core i5

1920 x 1080

6

Intel Core i5

Intel Core i7-3520M

2560 x 1440

12

Intel Core i7-3520M

Intel Core i7-2600K

3840 x 2160

25

Intel Core i7-2600K

Intel Core i7-5775C

The tables below show recommendations for visually lossless and lossless video encodings, respectively. These options are only accessible with the native client.

Visually Lossless Video Recommendations#

Server Resolution

Network (Mbps)

CPU, Native Client

1280 x 720

11

Intel Core i7-3520M

1920 x 1080

22

Intel Core i7-3520M

2560 x 1440

32

Intel Core i7-3520M

3840 x 2160

64

Intel Core i7-2600K
Lossless Video Recommendations#

Server Resolution

Network (Mbps)

CPU, Native Client

1280 x 720

65

Intel Core i7-2600K

1920 x 1080

125

Intel Core i7-2600K

2560 x 1440

200

Intel Core i7-5775C

3840 x 2160

400

Intel Core i7-5775C

Note

The ICE RemoteWare Client is more optimized than the Chrome Browser so it requires lower CPU resources to achieve the same frame rate.

Note

Acceptable network latency is application and workflow dependent. In some cases, 150ms may be acceptable. Performance may degrade if the client is running background applications that consume significant amounts of CPU time, memory, or network bandwidth.

Web Browser Support#

The following web browsers are supported and listed in order of performance:

  • Chrome 59+

  • FireFox 56+

  • Microsoft Edge Legacy 44.17763.1.0+

  • Microsoft Edge 79+

  • Safari 7+

Note

Chrome provides the best performance and is recommended.

These browsers by default enable TLS 1.2, WebGL and WebSocket features that are necessary for security and optimal ICE RemoteWare performance. While WebSocket support is a hard requirement, the ICE RemoteWare software is capable of running without WebGL support at reduced performance levels.

The following links can be used to determine if your browser supports necessary features for an optimal ICE RemoteWare experience:

Browser Feature

Test for Browser Support

Security Protocol TLS 1.2

https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/viewMyClient.html

WebGL

https://get.webgl.org/

WebSockets

http://websocketstest.com/

Note

TLS 1.2 is the current standard used to secure HTTPS connections as of the writing of this document.

ICE RemoteWare Client#

ICE RemoteWare Client is a native client that requires a separate application installation on the client side. It is similar to the web browser, but it includes some additional benefits:

  • faster frame rates at higher screen resolutions

  • lossless and visually lossless video support

  • support for keyboard shortcuts reserved by web browsers (for example: Ctrl + T, Ctrl + N, Ctrl + W)

ICE RemoteWare Client is supported and tested on the following 64-bit operating systems:

  • Rocky Linux 8 and 9

  • Windows 10, 11, and Windows Server 2019

  • MacOS Big Sur 11 to MacOS Sonoma 14

  • Ubuntu 20, 22 and 24

Note

OpenGL 2.1 support is required.

Note

New in v11.2: ICE RemoteWare Client can also be launched from URI links such as: irw://<server>

Feature Requirements and Setup#

ICE RemoteWare features are designed to be ready to use across all platforms that meet the recommended hardware and operating systems listed above. Some of these features include:

  • Authentication over Active Directory, LDAP, PAM, SCAuth, RHV OAuth2, and more

  • Secure HTTPS communication

  • Video playback up to 1440p

  • Audio

  • Multi-display support

  • Text paste

  • Quality of Service adaptation

  • US keyboard and mouse support

  • Collaboration

Some features have additional requirements. These are organized by server-side operating system below:

All Operating Systems#

Enabling 4K Video on all OSes#

  1. Set Server.Video.MaxWidth and Server.Video.MaxHeight to -1 in the XML config file.

  2. Connect with the native client instead of a browser for best performance.

Enabling Lossless and Visually Lossless Video on all OSes#

  1. Connect with the native client instead of a browser.

Rocky Linux#

Enabling USB Forwarding on Rocky Linux#

USB devices can be forwarded between native clients and remote servers that meet the following requirements:

  1. The server’s license file must have a valid ‘irw-usb’ entitlement. If you do not see this entitlement in your license file, please contact Penguin Solutions sales for more information.

  2. The Server-USB module must be installed on the remote server. See Installing Server-USB Module on Rocky Linux for more information on this step.

  3. The Client-USB module must be installed on the client side. See Installing Client-USB Module on the Client for more information on this step.

Enabling Xorg X server as the default on Rocky Linux#

XWayland is not currently supported. Please see Installing the Server on Rocky Linux for instructions on enabling Xorg as the default X server.

Windows#

Enabling Audio on Windows VMs#

Only if you are running the server on a Windows Virtual Machine: Download and install Screen Capture Recorder 0.12.10.

MacOS#

Enabling Audio on MacOS#

  1. Download and install BlackHole 0.2.9. See Install BlackHole for MacOS Audio for more information.

  2. Note: Audio is not supported on MacOS Virtual Machines.

Enabling USB Forwarding on MacOS Big Sur#

USB Forwarding to Big Sur servers is no longer supported due to a change in Big Sur. Please update to MacOS Monterey or later for USB Forwarding support. NOTE: Big Sur clients can still forward USB devices to other servers.

Re-Enabling USB Forwarding after Updating to MacOS Monterey#

If you have an existing ICE RemoteWare installation and you’ve updated from Big Sur (or earlier) to Monterey (or later), follow these steps to install ‘VirtualHereUniversal’ and re-enable USB Forwarding:

  1. Use a Finder window to open the Applications folder

  2. Right-click on ‘ICE RemoteWare’ and select ‘Show Package Contents’

  3. Open ‘Contents’ and then ‘Resources’

  4. Open the VirtualHereUniversal dmg by double-clicking on ‘VirtualHereUniversal.dmg’

  5. Drag the ‘VirtualHereUniversal’ application into the Applications folder

  6. Move the deprecated ‘VirtualHere’ application to the Trash