maksik, thanks for your comment. I wonder, is what you are suggesting closer to what I originally imagined?

Many years ago, there were teams that I worked with who had X Windows terminals on their desks. They were running 'stuff' on Unix-based DEC machines that sat in rows in the only air-conditioned part of the building, the basement. So now, I thought I could have a file-sharing (gnutella, whatever) Server PC running on a remote (LAN) Linux server with anything like X windows running on PCs to view/admin everything. Why not?

So far, it seems the only solutions involve setting up a full 'file-sharer-in-X-windows-like GUI' on the server, then viewing the results on networked PCs that replicate the view that could have been seen on a monitor attached to the Server.

I trying to understand, does your suggestion remove the need for a GUI running on the server? Is this what I'm looking for?