remote access question

by **Bossman** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 8:09 am

OK here's the situation. I have a PC that that I need to access remotely. Currently, the PC shares a phone line with the fax machine. I have MSN running on it to get to the internet (DSL/Cable not an option right now) and there is PC Anywhere running on it. I will be accessing it to get to a financial program so I need to be able to work on the remote system vs just downloading info to my PC to work on it.

2 questions.....

1) since this machine shares a fax line, if I am going to dial into it, what options do I have to manage the lines. I thought I had read about a switch that could differentiate a fax signal from a modem signal and route it accordingly. Do these really work. Also I will be using my home PC on a cable modem to dial out. I haven't connected cable modem to dial up modem before, is this even possible? Worst case I could have an employee load up whatever software I need before I dial in if that would help.

2) Is PC anywhere the best way to go? This machine is about an hour from my house so I need to trust someone physically there to trouble shoot/load whatever program I will use, so it needs to be simple. Are there programs that work through the internet, so if someone just connects the PC to the net using MSN I can then tunnel into it and get to the programs I need to access?

This is probably clear as mud, but I appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks!!!

by **MajorFatty** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 11:01 am

You can use a ComSwitch. I've used one about 6 years ago to remotely administer computers with pcAnywhere. They shared voice, fax, and modem, so the device somehow could determine the different tones. I can't remember the exact details on how the thing worked, sorry.

Check out VNC http://www.realvnc.com, it's free and very simple. Only needs one tcp port (5900). There's a server piece and a client viewer. This one works pretty good w/dial up. Remotely Anywhere has a bunch of nice features, but costs money.

by **RCinator** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 11:09 am

PC Anywhere is probably your best bet unless you're a big fan of fooling around in the guts of windows RAS. The new one is passable over a dialup too.

If you're comfortable getting dirty, then you might want to play around with the advanced network connections wizards in the network control panel. If you can get it set up right, then you can use windows' built-in remote desktop client, which is a lot faster than PC Anywhere and its ilk.

by **Evan** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 2:40 pm

If you have XP on both computers, you can use Remote Desktop.

by **RCinator** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 2:46 pm

Originally posted by Evan
If you have XP on both computers, you can use Remote Desktop.

There is an RDS client for 98 and 2K as well, but he'll need to set up the PC to accept incoming modem connections before any of it will work.

by **Bossman** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 9:03 am

I haven't used remote desktop before, is it easier/better than PC Anywhere? What does it allow you to do?

by **RCinator** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 9:17 am

Originally posted by Bossman
I haven't used remote desktop before, is it easier/better than PC Anywhere? What does it allow you to do?

Pretty much what PCAnywhere does, only it's a _much_ faster, native windows cleint. Before you can use it though, you have to configure your computer to accept incoming calls. You can do it by setting up an "Advanced Connection" in the XP network connection wizard. Then, you'll have to go to the System Control panel and set your computer to allow remote access. Once those two things are done, fire up the RD client and connect!

by **Bossman** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 9:57 am

The fact that the home machine is on a cable modem and the remote is dial up, doesn't matter right? I would just have someone connect the remote PC to the internet using MSN and then I can access it via RD?

by **Camel toe joe** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:30 am

Originally posted by Bossman
The fact that the home machine is on a cable modem and the remote is dial up, doesn't matter right? I would just have someone connect the remote PC to the internet using MSN and then I can access it via RD?

well you will need the ip address, and being that you use dial up it would change each time you dialed up so, as longf as someone can give you that info you should be ok. or you could sign up for free here http://www.no-ip.com you might not need this but basicly what it does is run in the back ground and update your ip to the no-ip account you setup, I hope that doesn't confuse you more.

by **Chacal** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:50 am

Although VNC works well and is easy to use, it is slower than all the other options. There is no built-in security.

by **Bossman** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 12:50 pm

Anyone ever try this program?

http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-7240-10198526.html

by **RCinator** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 1:08 pm

Originally posted by Bossman
Anyone ever try this program?

http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-7240-10198526.html

I _only_ use Remote Desktop these days . . .

by **MMmmGood** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 1:12 pm

We use PCA for all of our game servers because RDP isnt built for running applications under due to the decreased priority to the CPU.

by **RCinator** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 1:24 pm

Originally posted by MMmmGood
We use PCA for all of our game servers because RDP isnt built for running applications under due to the decreased priority to the CPU.

You mean because of the _extra_ hit RDP incurs on the performance of your game servers, right?

RDP was specifically built to allow you to run applications over a remote connection while minimizing the ill effects caused by the fact that you're not logged in locally . . . it's the child of Terminal Services and Terminal Server from NT4.

by **Camel toe joe** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 2:26 pm

we use this at the office http://www.dameware.com/

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