1. Keeping it simple: WinXP file sharing

By setting up a single office machine as a file server everyone in the Office can share their files. Remote users don't have access.

+ Secure within office
+ Guaranteed file synchronisation
+ Single point backup to mitigate...
- Single point of failure
- Remote users have no access
- One 100W machine must be on all the time...
- Consuming roughly 2 kilowatt-hours (kWh)/day
- If Server machine used also as desktop machine, user will experience slow down (server lag)

1b. Opening ports: RDP on 1 machine

Windows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) opened and exposed to Internet.

+ Remote users have access...
- Unencrypted RDP is a security risk
- but only 1 at a time
- Remote users only see Server desktop, not their own

1c. Opening ports: SSH & RDP on 1 machine

Cygwin OpenSSH server running on Windows XP. Only port 22 (SSH) exposed to the internet through Office firewall. Remote users can connect to Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) via secure SSH tunnel to access view of machine within the Office, but only one at a time.

+ Secure
+ Remote users have access...
- but only 1 at a time

1d. Opening ports: 1 x SSH, many x RDP

Every user in the office leaves their machine on with RDP port (3389) open. 1 Server machine runs SSH with port 22 exposed.

+ Secure
+ Every user gets access to his/her own desktop
- Potentially hundreds of machines consuming 2kWh/day
- Server machine needs to be powerful as has to manage many simultaneous SSH streams (high stream encryption load).

1e. Opening ports: SSH on all machines

SSH servers running on all Office machines. Port range (e.g. 2201-2299) forwarded to port 22 on each of the Office machines.

+ Distributed SSH stream encryption load
- IT infrastructure management/support difficult...
- Firewall configuration complex
- Multiple point of failure catastrophic data loss
- Multiple point backup required
- Still consuming a lot of power