Hi guys, I'm finding asking this question a bit embarrassing While reading/working on server/sharepoint access last week, I came across Remote Desktop connection for the 1st time. As the server is upstairs, there have been times when Andrea wanted to go to bed, but refrained as I was busy. Now, I can access any of the rigs through hers downstairs.

While having fun (& annoying Andrea by staying up throughout the night), I stopped & thought about my customers & their problems (normally carry a usb drive & a portable 40gb 2.5 HD). Can anyone recommend a good & secure remote program to access my server from customer's rigs?

You can use RDP as is - just forward port 3389 to the desired computer. You can also have different internal PCs listening on different RDP ports (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306759) so you can connect to whatever PC you want (you can also configure this at your clients end to allow remote access). This also allows you to change the forwarded port so it's not so obvious that it's an RDP port. Since Windows XP and up all include the RDP client it's a fairly simply solution. Just remember to use static IPs internally so port forwarding works correctly.

The other solutions would be VNC based. I would recommend RealVNC - http://www.realvnc.com/products/free/4.1/index.html) , but there are others. These typicall listen on port 5900.

The real question is "do you want to be able to control customer's PCs remotely?". I'm way too lazy to drag my butt across town to fix a minor software configuration issue for my clients (or in my case add a new user, fix a mail problem, etc). It's also faster to do it from home - in most cases I can have the problem resolved in less time than it would take me to put on my shoes and coat and start the car. I use a mixture of RDP and VNC solutions to assist them from home and haven't had any real issues with security. If you want a nifty tool to allow "easy" remote assistance for your customers you can always try one-click VNC (http://www.vncscan.com/vs/oneclickVNC.htm).

Comparing the two technologies is pretty basic - RDP is faster but doesn't allow true desktop console control and only one user can "see" the screen at a time (only single session support). VNC allows direct access to the console session and you can therefore share session control with the customer so they can show you the exact issues they are having and you can walk them through their issue. A lot of times I'll mix and match the technologies I use - ie. have them show me the issue through VNC and then switch to RDP to fix the problem. Switching back to RDP provides 2 main benefits - RDP is faster so the problem is fixed with less annoyance and they can't see what I'm doing so it allows me to test various things without looking like an idiot to the customer!

Good luck! If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask...

Thanks for the links & help, User312. I really do appreciate it & should we ever meet when Andrea & I pop over there for a holiday, the drinks are on us.

As for the remote access for my customers, I don't think that they will allow it. Have already applied your previous tip (static IP's for internal rigs). The main problem with the majority of my customers is that they often mess up their rigs & when I call on them, they cannot find their disks. What I do since this problem 1st cropped is is that with every system I build, I copy all the mobo drivers onto the server, as well as a copy of Belarc Advisor from their rigs (this provides all info including product key), which makes it easier when reinstalling.

Due to the limited account access to Windows Home Server, I intend to use Server 2008 to store complete images of all my customers rigs, to aid in future repairs, & allow them to make regular backups on the server (for a monthly fee of course).

Have downloaded VNC & will try it out.

You should keep a sysprepped image of your basic installation for reinstallation scenarios (ie. dead HDDs, new systems, etc) as it'll save you a lot of time - just search MS for sysprep. The best thing is to use ghost/acronis for imaging the system and simply keep a sysprepped base image for your installs. If you keep this as a separate drive it makes things go pretty quickly as imaging from drive to drive is fairly speedy. The basic setup would be:

1. Make base image on an older drive (install OS (don't activate!), + regular apps - e.g. office, adobe, flash, antivirus, spyware apps, DVD burning software etc, + ALL updates)

2. When you have a new system to set up - Ghost/Acronis/whatever sysprepped image to new HDD, boot, and enter key code (don't activate)

3. Install all new updates (don't install customer specific applications or any drivers yet!)

4. Ghost back to "base image" drive; boot with "base image" drive and run sysprep to create new fully updated base image

5. Boot customers drive and proceed to install/configure as requested

This will speed up your install process drastically when dealing with non-OEM installations/re-installs. I typically order the OEM software (as it's cheaper), but then use my base image for the install as all common apps are pre-installed, updated, and configured the way I like them.



I always like to have images of client PCs as well, although I usually just burn them and give them a copy of the base install to keep. If they want images done later, I do the same - I hate being responsible for maintaining copies of other peoples data. One scratched DVD or dead HDD and you can find yourself in a bit of trouble, especially if you've made service arrangements with the client.



You never know until you try. Check out the one-click VNC for clients - it's a no-brainer as they don't require any configuration on their end and you both need to be coordinated (one listening, one asking) for the connection to occur. Since they have full control, it only connects back to your PC, and you have to be "waiting" for the connection, it's not like it poses a major security risk for them. On your end you'll need a port open to the PC you'll use for assistance and your external IP address configured in the settings.ini file on their PC (you can use DynDNS - http://www.dyndns.com/services/dns/dyndns/ - for domain resolution if you have a dynamic external IP address). It even works in safe-mode with networking enabled so cleaning up boot issues and spy/ad-ware infections is possible. The nice thing is that it's a portable app so no "installation" needed on the clients PC - simply email it or included it in their system builds somewhere.

Again many thanks. Have printed off your post & will use it to practice on my test machine. As for client's remote access, it won't happen I'm afraid. Without any racism, I can tell you that they won't allow it. This area is predominantly Muslim & they distrust non-believers - it's taken me 5 years to gain the trust & respect I have & as they are the mainstay of my business, I really cannot afford to upset them & the largest difficulty is the fact that all of them want the latest & greatest at the least possible cost to themselves.

However, I do have a black/white clientele slowly building up & will test out one-click vnc to aid in solving their problems. Unfortunately, like everything else these days, it all boils down to a matter of trust.

Again, I can't thank you enough for your advice, so I'm serious, when we come over, should we meet, the drinks will definitely be on us.

Regards

PJ