Remote Desktop is so awesome...

[Pill]

Originally posted by: MaxDSP
Yes, yes it is.

This first post brought to you by a feeling of agreement.

 

[Syringer]

Whoa I never knew about remote assistance before.

Awesome!

http://www.pikindaguy.com/remass.jpg

 

[Scarpozzi]

IP KVMs are cooler. I can control 90 different servers from one console and it doesn't matter if the system has an OS on it or not.

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
What are the pro's and con's of RD vs VNC?

Here's a recap of my situation:
1 Windows XP Home and 1 Windows XP Pro machine
Want to be able to control the XP Pro machine via WiFi or through the intarweb
Free or cheap

That's about it

I'd go with RD because it's built into XP. no need to install anything on the xp pro machine. As for bandwidth between the two, I think RD uses less.

I'm connecting to my home PC (with only 30kb/s upload speed) with 1280x1024x16 and it's pretty zippy. Even get sound!

Both are Rossman friendly though (ie FREE!)

 

[Pill]

Originally posted by: fs5

Originally posted by: RossMAN
What are the pro's and con's of RD vs VNC?

Here's a recap of my situation:
1 Windows XP Home and 1 Windows XP Pro machine
Want to be able to control the XP Pro machine via WiFi or through the intarweb
Free or cheap

That's about it

I'd go with RD because it's built into XP. no need to install anything on the xp pro machine. As for bandwidth between the two, I think RD uses less.

I'm connecting to my home PC (with only 30kb/s upload speed) with 1280x1024x16 and it's pretty zippy. Even get sound!

Both are Rossman friendly though (ie FREE!)

Yup. Remote Desktop is definitely quicker over almost any network lines. I've used Remote Desktop at home (VPN) and at work, and it's sooo much faster than VNC.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Pill

Originally posted by: fs5

Originally posted by: RossMAN
What are the pro's and con's of RD vs VNC?

Here's a recap of my situation:
1 Windows XP Home and 1 Windows XP Pro machine
Want to be able to control the XP Pro machine via WiFi or through the intarweb
Free or cheap

That's about it

I'd go with RD because it's built into XP. no need to install anything on the xp pro machine. As for bandwidth between the two, I think RD uses less.

I'm connecting to my home PC (with only 30kb/s upload speed) with 1280x1024x16 and it's pretty zippy. Even get sound!

Both are Rossman friendly though (ie FREE!)

Yup. Remote Desktop is definitely quicker over almost any network lines. I've used Remote Desktop at home (VPN) and at work, and it's sooo much faster than VNC.

Thanks for the info

If I want to be able to access RD outside my local network do I need to open any ports on our WAP?

 

[acemcmac]

I use this all the time, sometimes from up to 1000 miles away. great stuff.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Pill

Originally posted by: fs5

Originally posted by: RossMAN
What are the pro's and con's of RD vs VNC?

Here's a recap of my situation:
1 Windows XP Home and 1 Windows XP Pro machine
Want to be able to control the XP Pro machine via WiFi or through the intarweb
Free or cheap

That's about it

I'd go with RD because it's built into XP. no need to install anything on the xp pro machine. As for bandwidth between the two, I think RD uses less.

I'm connecting to my home PC (with only 30kb/s upload speed) with 1280x1024x16 and it's pretty zippy. Even get sound!

Both are Rossman friendly though (ie FREE!)

Yup. Remote Desktop is definitely quicker over almost any network lines. I've used Remote Desktop at home (VPN) and at work, and it's sooo much faster than VNC.

Thanks for the info

If I want to be able to access RD outside my local network do I need to open any ports on our WAP?

forward Port 3389 to the IP address of the machine you want access to.

 

[Syringer]

How do you forward a port?

And after you do that you just type in the comp name and it'll connect?

Say I'm in a computer lab then, would I have to find out the IP of the computer at the lab and then forward it to that IP?

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: Syringer
How do you forward a port?

And after you do that you just type in the comp name and it'll connect?

Say I'm in a computer lab then, would I have to find out the IP of the computer at the lab and then forward it to that IP?

I already explained how to forward a port to you in a post above. Also you only need to forward the HOST computer's port, not the client.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Syringer
How do you forward a port?

And after you do that you just type in the comp name and it'll connect?

Say I'm in a computer lab then, would I have to find out the IP of the computer at the lab and then forward it to that IP?

One, SPIDER.

Two, get the fvck off my avatar.

- M4H

 

[CRXican]

I do whatever I want at work without remote desktop. I shop, pay bills, etc etc.

 

[mpitts]

I love it. It makes my life a lot easier when my clients have problems. I can RDC to the server, then get on any of their workstations remotely.

If you are a Run or command line junkie like me, you can use RDC like this:

mstsc /v:ip.or.server.com

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
What are the pro's and con's of RD vs VNC?

Here's a recap of my situation:
1 Windows XP Home and 1 Windows XP Pro machine
Want to be able to control the XP Pro machine via WiFi or through the intarweb
Free or cheap

That's about it

Remote Desktop is rather user friendly, and nearly IdiotProof?. Have used both, and would say Ultr@ is hands down a better interface to deal with, and is absolutely faster when used in conjunction with the Mirror Driver. Client side, it can be used from any machine that runs Java.

In general, I prefer the VNC alternatives (standard WinVNC, TightVNC, etc) and Radmin as they are more robust, and offered across nearly all platforms (preference toward the VNC derivatives, as they are open-source, available at no cost, and run on nearly all Win/Linux machines).

 

[RossMAN]

They are more robust, how?

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
They are more robust, how?

More connection options (format, encoding, encryption, etc - really allows for a tailored connection, if one's needs are specific), built-in FTP (very nice for machines not in the same workgroup/domain), built-in chat client (I tend not to use it, but certainly it could be useful), optional viewing mode (scaling is nice), certainly more port options (nice for more than one machine in a given network), and a better user interface.

That said, for an Xp to Xp connection, there is certainly nothing wrong with Remote Desktop. Unfortunately, I connect to all sorts of machines from all sorts of clients, and Remote Desktop is at times not an option.

 

[RossMAN]

Thanks for the info Michael

Since RD is "idiot proof" I think I'll start there, also I'm using two XP machines.

How would it work if I wanted to bring my wife's XP Home PC into the mix?

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
How would it work if I wanted to bring my wife's XP Home PC into the mix?

With Remote Desktop, the Xp Home machine could only be used as a client (in other words, can only be used to access Xp Professional machines).

Download the client software here, or install from the Xp CD itself.

That is one of the benefits of a VNC derivative over Remote Desktop - it can be run on nearly anything. And do not let the non-IdiotProof? seal scare you away. You are certainly more than capable of installing and configuring a VNC server/client (in fact, it is scarily easy); and if you were to run into any difficult at all, I could certainly offer any help I could.

 

[JDub02]

Originally posted by: Syringer
How do you forward a port?

And after you do that you just type in the comp name and it'll connect?

Say I'm in a computer lab then, would I have to find out the IP of the computer at the lab and then forward it to that IP?

let the SPIDER! do it

edit: M4H beat me to it.

 

[GeekDrew]

For those of you that may have more than one Remote Desktop Server (any WinXP box you need to remotely connect to) behind a router/firewall/NAT, you'll only be able to define one computer that you want to connect to from outside the network..... (yes, there are exceptions, but get off of my back, I'm talking to the folks that don't already know that )

To overcome that, you can force windows to bind RDP to a specific port number (we'll use 3278, for example, though any would theoretically work).

***** Setting up the Server's PortNumber *****

To do that, launch registry editor, and navigate the tree until you get to the following branch:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\TerminalServer\WinStations\RDP-Tcp

Locate the "PortNumber" DWORD Value
Double click on "PortNumber" to go into the editor
Change the "Base" radio option to "Decimal"
Type "3278" into the "Value data:" field.
Click OK.
You **must** reboot your computer before your changes will take effect.

***** Connecting to the server from the client *****

Before, when you attempted to connect to a computer acting as an RDP server, you would just type in:
<computername>
as the connection string.

Now, you must use the following syntax:
<computername>:<portnumber>
(to tell the machine that the server is not running on the default port).

Yes, this method can also be used to overcome many other circumstances... do with it what you will, but I'm only acknowledging it because some people have the need to connect to multiple computers behind a NAT (what most consumers call a 'router').

 

[Rogue]

One benefit I've seen on VNC over Remote Desktop is dual monitor support. In VNC, my dual monitor setup at home is re-created by a single, double-wide window. Granted, I have to scroll left to right to see both if connecting from a single monitor machine, but Remote Desktop doesn't re-create dual monitors as far as I know. I was tunneling VNC over an OpenSSH connection, but VNC keeps shutting down on me. Think I'll try something else for a while.

 

[archcommus]

Cool stuff, everyone. It's fun to learn about a whole new realm of computer things that you never even explorered or thought about before. I never gave RD a second thought and now I'm seeing all its possibilities!

I really only have two situations to use this: to connect to my computer from my girlfriend's house, and once I'm in school in the fall, to connect to my dad's computer at home from school (because I know he'll be needing help with things). All of these computers will be using XP Pro, so it seems RD is definitely the way to go for me.

So a VPN must be set up first? Is this something that's permanent or done every time prior to creating an RDC? What is the other way to do it besides IE, and is it better or worse?

Sorry for all the Qs.

 

[kermalou]

i use GoToMyPC on my office computer and then use RealVNC to connect to the other computers, it is great and lets me do more work from out of the office.

realvnc is really idiotproof

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Cool stuff, everyone. It's fun to learn about a whole new realm of computer things that you never even explorered or thought about before. I never gave RD a second thought and now I'm seeing all its possibilities!

I really only have two situations to use this: to connect to my computer from my girlfriend's house, and once I'm in school in the fall, to connect to my dad's computer at home from school (because I know he'll be needing help with things). All of these computers will be using XP Pro, so it seems RD is definitely the way to go for me.

So a VPN must be set up first? Is this something that's permanent or done every time prior to creating an RDC? What is the other way to do it besides IE, and is it better or worse?

Sorry for all the Qs.

No, a VPN is not needed... the way that most people connect to RDP is to go to <Start><RUN>mstsc<OK>, and then connecting to the computer they want to connect to (by typing in the appropriate computer name or IP). I personally prefer that way; I've found it works somewhat better / more reliable than IE.

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: archcommus
So a VPN must be set up first? Is this something that's permanent or done every time prior to creating an RDC? What is the other way to do it besides IE, and is it better or worse?

This article should get you started.