I have multiple independent networks deployed primarily at MDUs. To monitor all of them, will I have to place a Windows machine inside of each network running the Dude server? Or is there another option to monitor the networks all of the time without having to install Windows machines?

Thanks

well, if your networks are not reachable from one place, then yes. Also you can run dude server with wine under linux.
There are plans to make dude server run on routeros at some point in future

pure linux or routeros will be the best as a server

If you have not done so already, I would suggest linking from one central mangement PC to each network via VPNs, then run dude server and client on just that one PC. There is no need to have multiple dude servers for multiple locations. Even if you did, you would still need to connect to the servers from a dude client.

If I used one remote Windows machine and connected to all of the individual networks via VPN (could be 5-10 VPN sessions or more), could I run the Dude client on another machine and connect to that server?

I can set the VPN client to auto-reconnect, but I am concerned that when the VPN client is lost, then I would receive notifications that all of the local network devices are down. Any thoughts??

One last question... Do we have any idea how long it will be before the Dude will run on RouterOS? 3 months, 6 months, a year??

Thanks

Yes, you can run the dude server on one remote machine and then connect to that from any other machine running a dude client, or from any other machine using a web browser. The dude server has a built-in web server to access basic infomation though I'm not sure if it is fully functional yet.

Yes, when the VPN connection is lost you would get notifications from every client on that network. However, the "parent" function is coming soon. This will enable you to specify a device that connectivity is dependant on. So, you will just set the VPN server as the parent and then if that goes down it will be the only notification you will get.