We have started experimenting with integrating ThinLinc into Open OnDemand.
noVNC, an open source project maintained by us, has become a key part of the OOD experience by enabling applications to be streamed directly in the browser. We are looking into complementing noVNC with a proper ThinLinc integration and later developing an integration for organizations that are running ThinLinc and OOD.
The first step in this work is a simple OOD app that launches a desktop on a compute node via Slurm, with users able to connect either through the ThinLinc web client or the native client. Later on, we would also like to support the “HPC Desktop” approach, where users can access a persistent Linux desktop outside the batch system.
The idea is to provide another option alongside the existing noVNC integration - initially driven by a request from one of our customers. We believe it could be helpful for other sites as well, especially for those that would prefer not to set up and maintain the noVNC setup in OOD.
We are in active discussions with the core developers at OSC about this integration to ensure it aligns well with OOD’s roadmap and community needs.
It would be great to hear from the community what the thoughts are about persistent desktop usage and potential pains of maintaining the noVNC setup in OOD.