Virtual Network Computing (VNC) is a platform-independent remote access technology that uses the Remote Framebuffer (RFB) protocol. It is designed to transmit the screen's pixel data from a server to a client and send control inputs (keyboard, mouse) back to the server. This allows a technician to view and interact with the exact graphical desktop session the user is currently using, which directly fulfills the requirements of the scenario. VNC is widely supported on both Linux and Windows, making it the ideal solution for this cross-platform support case.

A. VPN: A Virtual Private Network provides secure, encrypted network access to a remote network but does not offer any native screen sharing or remote control capabilities.

C. SSH: Secure Shell provides secure command-line (text-based) access to a remote system. It does not support graphical desktop sharing, which is a key requirement.

D. RDP: Remote Desktop Protocol is a Microsoft proprietary protocol. While RDP servers exist for Linux, RDP typically creates a new, separate user session rather than sharing the console user's active session.

1. Tristan Richardson

et al. (March 2011). The Remote Framebuffer Protocol. IETF RFC 6143. This document specifies the VNC protocol

stating

"The Remote Framebuffer (RFB) protocol is a simple protocol for remote access to graphical user interfaces... it is 'thin' in the sense that the client is a simple framebuffer display and the server does all the application processing." (Abstract

Page 1). This confirms VNC's role in graphical remote access.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC6143

2. Carnegie Mellon University

School of Computer Science. Remote Access to Linux Systems. This courseware distinguishes between access methods: "SSH is the standard way to get a command-line prompt on a remote machine... VNC is a way to get a graphical 'desktop' on a remote machine." This highlights VNC as the appropriate tool for graphical interaction.

Reference: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~help/systems/remoteaccess.html (Section: "Graphical/Desktop Access")

3. Microsoft Corporation. Remote Desktop Services architecture. Official documentation describes RDP architecture

which typically involves creating sessions via the Session Host. "The RD Session Host server hosts Windows-based programs or the full Windows desktop. Users can connect to an RD Session Host server to run programs

save files

and use network resources on that server." This model contrasts with VNC's direct session sharing.

Reference: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/remote/remote-desktop-services/rds-architecture (Section: "Remote Desktop Session Host")