Using Remote Tools

The Remote tab provides the following subtabs from which you can manage the remote control operations for your enterprise.

Video: Remote Control Overview (1:45)

Video: Remote Control Security & Remote Tools (3:48)

Video: Remote Control w/Intel vPro AMT Support (4:16)

Using Interactive Remote Control

The interactive remote control feature allows you to securely control PCs across the Internet without the need for an agent on the machines or for the machines to have a VPN connection to the network. One of the key benefits of this new feature is that you can now fix VPN connection problems for your traveling users.

Within Systems Manager, specialists can manage remote control sessions from one central location. You can download the required VNC viewer installer and create sessions. You can also modify remote control sessions to contain custom text messages or descriptions, you can send an e-mail containing the server installer URL to end users, you can launch the viewer to start sessions, and you can delete sessions.

Within the remote control server download page, end users can read the instructions for downloading and launching the VNC server, read the specialist's text message, and then perform the actions requested by the specialist.

Note: The VNC viewer provides two extra features: file transfer and chat.

Video: Remote Control Without a MicroAgent (1:47)

 

The following list identifies the tasks that you can complete when managing your remote control sessions:

You can also refer to How To: Using Interactive Remote Control for instructions on conducting an interactive remote control session from beginning to end.

Note: You must have administrator privileges to complete these tasks.

Installing the Viewer

Before you can begin a remote control session, you must install the VNC viewer. Follow these steps to install the VNC viewer:

  1. Click the Remote tab.
    The Active Remote Control Sessions page displays by default.
  2. Click the Download Viewer button and follow the steps in the installation wizard.

Creating an Interactive Remote Control Session

You must create a remote control session before you can launch it. Follow these steps to create a remote control session:

  1. Click the Remote tab.
    The Active Remote Control Sessions page displays by default.
  2. Click the Add Session button.

Systems Manager adds a new session with a unique session ID to the Active Remote Control Sessions page.

 

Refer to Editing an Interactive Remote Control Session for details about adding more information to a session.

Editing an Interactive Remote Control Session

You can edit an interactive remote control session after you create it. For example, you can save a session for future use or reuse a session (and edit them to add more details). This option can be useful if you want to spend a Friday afternoon creating a group of sessions to use on Monday morning.

 

Follow these steps to edit an existing interactive remote control session:

  1. Click the Remote tab.
    The Active Remote Control Sessions page displays by default.
  2. Click the session's edit button Edit Button next to the session name to display the Edit Remote Control Session page.
  3. Enter an e-mail address for the end user whose machine you want to remotely control.
  4. Enter a message for the end user.
    For example, you can provide more instructions to the end user.
  5. Enter a description for this remote control session.
    For example: updating printer drivers
    Note: This description is for your use only; it does not display for the end user.
  6. Enter an e-mail address to receive notification that the end user has connected.
    The message Systems Manager sends looks similar to the following example:
    "The end user associated with Remote Control session ID 1005 has downloaded the VNC server, and they are waiting for you to connect and remote control their system."
  7. Select the notification option if you want to be notified when the end user downloads the remote control server.

Launching the Viewer

You can launch the viewer to begin any existing interactive remote control session. Follow these steps to launch the VNC viewer from the Active Remote Control Sessions page:

  1. Identify the remote control session you want to launch.
  2. Click the launch session button to initiate the remote control session.

Note: If you or the end user have waited in the queue longer than 30 minutes, the repeater drops you or the end user. The session ID remains valid; however, you must either restart the viewer using the launch button or the end user must download the server again via the server download page.

Deleting an Interactive Remote Control Session

We recommend that you delete each interactive remote control sessions immediately after you end the session. Follow these steps to delete an interactive remote control session:

  1. Click the Remote tab.
    The Active Remote Control Sessions page displays by default.
  2. Click the delete button Delete Button next to the session you want to delete.

How To: Using Interactive Remote Control

This section provides instructions for using interactive remote control from beginning to end.

Video: Interactive Remote Control (1:48)

 

Follow these steps to remote control an end user's PC over the Web and notify the end user:

  1. Click the Remote tab.
    The Interactive subtab displays by default.
  2. If the VNC viewer is not installed on your machine, click the Download Viewer button and follow the steps in the installation wizard.
  3. Click the Add Session button to add a remote control session.
  4. Provide the end user with login information via e-mail or over the phone.
  5. Click the launch session button to initiate the remote control session.
    Note: If you or the end user have waited in the queue longer than 30 minutes, the repeater drops you and the end user. The session ID remains valid; however, you must either launch the viewer or the end user must download the server again via the server download page.
  6. When you finish with the remote control session, click the delete button Remove Button to delete the session.

 

Notify an End User of an Interactive Remote Control Session

Follow these steps to notify an end user that you want to initiate an interactive remote control session:

  1. Give your company name, the session ID, and the remote control login page URL (https://go.systemsmanagementondemand.com/remoteLogin.do) to the end user over the phone.
    Note: You can also notify an end user via e-mail.
  2. The end user uses the link to access the login page.
  3. The end user enters the company and session ID and follows the instructions to install the viewer application.
  4. The end user notifies you via e-mail or phone that the machine is ready for remote control.

Using E-mail to Notify an End User of an Interactive Remote Control Session

Follow these steps to send remote control session information to an end user via e-mail:

  1. Click the e-mail button to display the E-mail Remote Control Session page.
  2. Enter the end user's e-mail address.
    Note: Systems Manager provides a default subject and message. If you enter a subject, it replaces the default; if you enter a description, Systems Manager prepends it to the default.
  3. Select the notify option if you want to receive a message when the end user launches the server.
  4. Click Send E-mail.
  5. The end user receives the e-mail and clicks the download link, such as the URL https://go.systemsmanagementondemand.com/download.do?company=companyname&sessionId=100c, and follows the instructions to install the viewer application.
    Note: Notifying an end user via the e-mail option allows the end user to bypass the login page.
  6. The end user notifies you via e-mail or phone that the machine is ready for remote control.

Using Unattended Remote Control

The Unattended subtab allows you to remote control any PC on your LAN. The Unattended subtab displays the Available Remote Systems report, which includes a list systems available for remote management.

 

Follow these steps to display the Available Remote Systems report:

  1. Click the Remote tab.
  2. Click the Unattended subtab.
    The Available Remote Systems report displays by default.

If impersonation is enabled, you must first gain access to the desired system before you use any of the unattended features. Accessing an unattended system means authenticating the system's NT domain and entering your user name and password.

You can also notify the system's end user that you are about to perform activities on that system by enabling prompting for that system.

Note: Unattended remote control manages only systems running Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003; however, because remote management can use a Java-based client, you can use UNIX, PC, and Macintosh systems to perform the remote management tasks.

Accessing a System for Unattended Remote Control

After you obtain access to a machine, you can complete the following tasks with remote control:

Accessing a System for Unattended Remote Control via Systems Manager

Before you can access an unattended system, you must first remotely login to that system. For Windows 95 and Windows 98 systems, you only need to click the Login button. After you complete these steps, you can connect to remote systems using the LAN-based Java and LAN-based Windows remote control methods.

 

For other systems, follow these steps to gain remote access:

  1. Click the Remote tab.
  2. Click the Unattended subtab.
    The Available Remote Systems report displays by default.
  3. Click the system's remote button and choose a remote control method from the popup menu to launch a new browser window and display the Authentication section of the Remotely Accessing SystemName page.
    Note: If the grey remote button displays, you cannot access the machine via remote control.
  4. In the User Name field, enter your domain login name.
  5. In the Password field, enter the password for your logon name.
  6. In the NT Domain field, use the down arrow to select the name of the NT domain for the network server you want to access.
  7. If you have not logged out of one or more recently used accounts, you can select the name of the account in the Recent Accounts field.
  8. If end-user prompting is enabled the Message field will appear. In the Message field, enter a brief message that you want to send to the end-user notifying that you will be performing remote activities on the system.

    9. Note: The message string cannot exceed 255 characters in length.

    Note: If you enable prompting, you must log out of Systems Manager and log back in for the changes to take affect.

  9. Click the Login button to send the account information to Systems Manager. Systems Manager will use this information for all unattended remote control operations on the machine.

Systems Manager displays the system and user summary information for the selected system.

 

Note: If impersonation is enabled and you have not logged out of the last used remote account, Systems Manager automatically saves and reuses that account. To change the account, click Change Account on the left menu; you can reuse the account until the end of your Systems Manager session. To log out of the account, click Log Out on the left menu; logging out of an NT account removes it from the Recent Accounts list.

Viewing Summary Information

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

To view summary information about a remote system from the Remotely Accessing SystemName page, click the Summary link on the left menu to display the following information about the remote system:

Finding Files

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

Follow these steps to find files on the selected remote system:

  1. Click the Find link in the left menu to display the Find Files and Folders page.
  2. In the File Name field, enter the name of the file for which to search.
  3. In the Path field, enter the file path in which to search for the files, if you know it.
  4. In the File System(s) section, select the names of the file systems on which to search.
  5. Select the Search subfolders check box to search in sub-folders on the remote system. The default setting is to search sub-folders.
  6. Click the Find button to begin the file search.

Logging Out of Remote Tools

To log out of Remote Tools, click the Log Out link on the left menu.

Remotely Controlling Desktops

Systems Manager employs Virtual Network Computing (VNC) software from AT&T to perform remote control operations on PC desktops. Using the remote control features, you can display the desktop environment of any remote system under management by Systems Manager. With this remote display, you can control the operations of the remote PC desktop from a system running on almost any architecture. For more information about using VNC from within Systems Manager and for information about the VNC source code, see Virtual Network Computing from AT&T Laboratories Cambridge.

 

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

Within the Remote Control service, you can perform the following operations:

Connecting to a Remote Desktop

You can launch a session to a remote desktop using one of the following methods:

Launching a Remote Control Session via Java

The Java-based remote control utilizes the Sun Microsystems plug-in technology; therefore, you must download and install the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) software (version 1.4 or higher). In addition, you must enable popup windows for your browser.

 

Follow these steps to remotely control another computer:

  1. From the left menu, click the LAN-based w/Java UI link to display a new browser window and begin the remote control session.
    Note: If the remote control software fails to activate on the remote system, see your Systems Manager administrator for help.
  2. When you finish the remote control session, disconnect and close the browser window.

Launching a Remote Control Session: External or Web-based

Performing a remote control session for external and Web-based is the same; however, the network location of the end system to control determines which type to use. If you want to control a machine on your domain, perform an external session. If you want to control a machine in your domain using a controller machine outside of the domain, initiate a Web-based session.

Note: You can use a Web-based session to remote control any system on any domain, but you can expect decreased speed as compared to an external session.

Before performing an external or Web-based remote control session, you must install the required viewer software.

 

Follow these steps to remotely control another computer on your domain:

  1. Click the LAN-based w/Windows UI link or the Web-based w/Windows UI link on the left menu to initiate a remote control session.
    Systems Manager instructs the end system to start its server. Soon after you that action, a file download prompt displays in your browser. This file is a remote control viewer configuration file (rc.vnc), and it starts the remote control session.
  2. When you finish the remote control session, disconnect and close the browser window.

Controlling a Remote Desktop

From the VNC Desktop page, you can perform any Windows desktop activity. In addition, you can access the following VNC command buttons:

Note: For Microsoft Vista systems, you must use the on-screen keyboard to send Ctrl-Alt-Delete:

  1. Click the Ease of Access Center icon and select the On-Screen Keyboard option.
  2. Click OK to display the On-Screen Keyboard.
  3. Select ctrl, alt, and del on the On-Screen Keyboard to gain access to the login fields.

 

Disconnecting From a Remote Desktop

Follow these steps to disconnect from a remote desktop on the VNC Desktop page:

  1. Click the Disconnect button.
  2. Click the x in the upper right corner of the VNC Desktop window.

Downloading the Viewer

Click the Download Viewer link on the left menu to download the installation wizard.

Managing File Systems

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

To manage file systems, click the File Systems link on the left menu to display the File Systems page. On the File Systems page, click the drive icon or the drive letter to access a drive.

 

After you access a drive, you can complete the following systems management tasks:

Scanning System Components

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

Follow these steps to scan system components on a remote system:

  1. Click the Components link in the left menu to display the System Components window.
  2. In the System Components window, click any of the components to display a confirmation dialog box notifying you that scanning *.dll files can be time consuming.
  3. To continue the scanning process, click OK.

Systems Manager scans the remote system for the components you selected.

Viewing Hardware Lists

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

To view hardware lists, click the Hardware link on the left menu to display the Device Information page. The Device Information page allows you to view settings for the following types of hardware on the system:

Managing Processes

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

To manage processes, click the Process link on the left menu to display the Processes Running page. The Processes Running page allows you to view details of each of the processes that are running. Click the Kill link to end a process.

Editing the Registry

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

To edit the registry, click the Registry link on the left menu to display the System Registry Information page. Click a folder icon to edit any of the registry components.

 

After you enter the registry, you can complete the following tasks:

Listing an Overview of Installed Software

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

To list an overview of installed software, click the Software link on the left menu to display the Software Installed page. The Software Installed page allows you to view a list of the programs found in the Add/Remove section of the Control Panel.

Note: Systems Manager lists software shown in the remote system's registry here. You can view additional software titles for the remote system on the Assets  tab.

Shutting Down & Rebooting the Operating System

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

To shut down or reboot the operating system, click the Shut Down/Reboot link on the left menu to display the System Shutdown page. From the System Shutdown page, you can reboot or shutdown the operating system.

Optional: You can also force running processes to terminate before shutting down.

Changing the Date and Time

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

To change the date and time, click the Date/Times link on the left menu to display the Change the Date and Time page. From the Change the Date and Time page, you can reset the time and date on the system.

Managing Event Logs

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

To manage event logs on a remote system, click the Event Log link on the left menu to display the Event Log page. The Event Log page allows you to view event logs on the remote system for information about the system, security, and applications.

You can also clear any of the above-mentioned logs.

Managing NT Services

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

Follow these steps to manage NT services on a remote system:

  1. Click the Services link on the left menu to display the Services page.
  2. Click the name of a service associated with the remote system to display the page for that service.
  3. From this page, you can start or stop the service, read details about the service, and set the startup configuration for the service.

Managing Software Devices

Note: Before you can use this feature, you must first authenticate your user information.

 

Follow these steps to manage software devices on a remote system:

  1. Click the Devices link on the left menu to display the Devices page.
  2. Click the name of a device associated with the remote system to display the page for that device.
  3. From this page, you can start or stop the device, read details about the service, learn the services, and set the startup configuration for the device.