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How do I initiate a remote control session to a client machine?
Initiate remote control simply by clicking the name of the target machine. Only client machines with the "Available to remote" control icon (see icon list below) can be remote controlled and will have live links; all others will be inactive. Icons next to the client machine ID indicate current connection status for that machine.
Available to remote control
Remote control has been disabled by the user
The Agent is currently offline
The Agent has never checked in
Note: Users can disable remote control from the agent menu. You can deny users this ability by removing Disable Remote Control from the Agent menu.
What is the ActiveX control for?
This control automatically configures and runs the remote control viewer package for you. The first time you use any remote control function on a new machine, your browser may ask if it is OK to download and install this ActiveX control. Click yes when asked.
Can I remote control the VSA server itself?
Yes. Clicking the Remote Control VSA Server link starts a remote control session to the VSA server itself. Use this feature to remotely manage your own VSA server.
Only Master Administrators can remotely access the VSA Server.
How do I use WinVNC?
With WinVNC the administrator can specify viewer settings used on the administrator machine.
Full Screen mode - The entire display of the administrator machine is used to display the screen contents of the target machine. Exit full screen mode by typing Ctrl-Esc Esc, then right-click on the vncviewer icon.
View Only Mode - The administrator can view the remote machine. No mouse or keyboard events are sent to the target machine.
Restrict to 8-bit color - The display on the listening machine is set to 8 bits. This is useful for slower connections.
Hide WinVNC system tray icon on the remote machine - Check this box to hide the WinVNC icon on the remote machine.
Click the machine ID of the PC you wish to remote control. The VSA then tasks the agent to start WinVNC on the target machine at the next check-in. If WinVNC is not already running on the target machine, the agent starts it automatically. The displayed countdown tells the administrator the maximum amount of time to wait before remote control starts.
Note: If WinVNC is not already installed on the target machine, the VSA automatically installs it and starts the service (without a reboot!).
How do I use Remote Administrator?
With RAdmin the administrator can initiate any of RAdmin's modes or settings. Specify your selection prior to starting the RAdmin helper application, KaRAdmin.exe.
Full Control Session - The administrator can view and or control the screen keyboard and mouse of the target machine.
View Only Session - The administrator can view the remote machine. No mouse or keyboard events are sent to the target machine.
File Transfer Session - Start a file transfer (FTP) session with the remote machine. This mode presents you with two standard file browsers, one for the target machine and one for the administrator machine. Drag and drop files between the two machines in this mode.
Full Screen View Mode - The entire display of the administrator machine is used to display the screen contents of the target machine. This option is only available in a Full Control or View Only session.
Encrypt Data Stream - Checking these boxes encrypts all traffic between the administrator and target machines.
Update/sec - Sets the maximum number of update per second RAdmin generates. Higher update rates consume more CPU cycles on the remote machine.
Color Format - Specify the color depth to use for remote control. You can select 16, 8, or 4 bit color. More color depth uses more bandwidth.
Click the machine ID of the PC you wish to remote control. If RAdmin is not already running on the target machine, the agent starts it automatically. The displayed countdown tells the administrator the maximum amount of time to wait before remote control starts.
Note: If RAdmin is not already installed on the target machine, the VSA automatically installs it and starts the service (without a reboot!).
How do I use pcAnywhere?
The VSA supports existing installations of pcAnywhere. Now you can use pcAnywhere through firewalls and across gateways without having to modify your network infrastructure.
Click the machine ID of the PC you wish to remote control. If pcAnywhere is not already running on the target machine, the agent starts it automatically. The displayed countdown tells the administrator the maximum amount of time to wait before remote control starts.
pcAnywhere connection problems:
My viewer is connecting to my machine, not the remote machine. The VSA relay is telling the viewer to connect to localhost. If you have a pcAnywhere host running on the machine you are viewing from, then the viewer connects to it and not the VSA relay. Right click the pcAnywhere icon in the system tray and select Cancel Host.
pcAnywhere presents an error dialog saying "Cannot find callhost file: C:\Document and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Symantec\pcAnywhere\Network.CHF". There is not a "Network" remote control item configured in pcAnywhere. Open the pcAnywhere application and click on the Remote Control function.
Click "Add Remote Control Item".
Create an item named Network.
Select TCP/IP as the connection device.
Leave the host name blank.
Close pcAnywhere.
Note: The VSA does not bundle or automatically install pcAnywhere.
How do I use Terminal Server?
The VSA supports existing installations of Terminal Server. Now you can use Terminal Server through firewalls and across gateways without having to modify your network infrastructure.
Note: The VSA does not bundle or automatically install Terminal Server.
With Terminal Server, why can't I logon as a user that is already logged in on a Windows XP machine?
Windows XP prohibits more than one active connection at a time. While multiple users can be logged onto a Windows XP box at the same time, only one user is considered active and allowed to interact with the machine. Initiating a Terminal Server session across the network proceeds as follows:
XP notifies the remote user that another user is active. Proceeding switches out the active user.
Ask the active user if it is OK to allow the remote connection. If the user does not answer, OK is returned after a timeout.
Present remote user with a logon. The logon causes a switch user event and disconnects the active user.
However - The VSA uses the port relay to get through firewalls and gateways. To Windows XP, it appears as if the Terminal Server session is connecting from localhost. Using the credential of a currently logged on user this way confuses XP. It can not determine if the user is reactivating the existing session locally or remotely initiating a new connection. As a result Window XP may hang, requiring a reboot to recover. The VSA can not protect you from this. Do not log on using the user name of an already logged on account.
How do I install a remote control package?
The VSA automatically installs WinVNC or Remote Administrator on first use. You must install pcAnywhere on both the target machine and administrator machine yourself if you select pcAnywhere. You must install Terminal Server on the target machine.
What does the "Enable verbose relay" checkbox do?
Remote control to machines behind firewalls and NAT gateways may be relayed through the VSA server. A helper application relays this traffic. Checking this box displays status information for the normally invisible relay application.
What are some of the causes for remote control malfunction?
Some reasons for remote control failure are:
The administrator machine is blocking outbound traffic on the agent check-in port (default 5721). The firewall may need to be reconfigured.
The target machine is on a slow connection. Let the applications run longer than the timeout period and see if that works.
Wrong primary KServer address - Remote control can only connect through the primary KServer address. The agent can connect through either the primary or secondary address. Verify the remote machine can see the primary KServer address set in Check-in Ctl under the agent tab.