Remote admin of Win2K workstation

[Mark Adams]

This question has probably been dealt with a number of times. I'll
apologize with the excuse that I've perused Google and MSKB and am more
confused than ever.

What do you folks believe is the best solution to administer Win2K
workstations remotely over VNC? I've got a LAN served by SBS2000 that I
need to be able to access from home. I can administer the server just
fine via Remote Desktop or Terminal services, but I need to be able to
work on the workstations as well.

The XP machines look pretty easy -- they have a remote desktop of some
sort built in. The Win2K machines seem to be a different story. I've
seen information about using netmeeting, PCAnywhere (which is
available), and Systems Management Server which I know nothing about. I
would like to do it as unobtrusively as possible since there will be
virtually no one on site with any clue about these machines (hence the
need for me).

How do you folks go about this?

Thanks.

Mark

 

[Simon]

This question has probably been dealt with a number of times. I'll
apologize with the excuse that I've perused Google and MSKB and am more
confused than ever.

What do you folks believe is the best solution to administer Win2K
workstations remotely over VNC? I've got a LAN served by SBS2000 that I
need to be able to access from home. I can administer the server just
fine via Remote Desktop or Terminal services, but I need to be able to
work on the workstations as well.

The XP machines look pretty easy -- they have a remote desktop of some
sort built in. The Win2K machines seem to be a different story. I've
seen information about using netmeeting, PCAnywhere (which is
available), and Systems Management Server which I know nothing about. I
would like to do it as unobtrusively as possible since there will be
virtually no one on site with any clue about these machines (hence the
need for me).

How do you folks go about this?

Thanks.

Mark

Try Radmin from www.radmin.com
I use it on all our workstations and servers.
I setup an old pc as a radmin gateway from which i can access all our
workstations via our adsl connection (single ip)

 

[JohnJ]

I second that. I use Remote Administrator ver 2.1 on my SBS 2000 servers.
That way I can see the actual server and not a terminal session. One thing
of note, that I cannot get RADMIN to work if the SBS2000 workstation is
locked by anyone. So I leave the server unlocked and logged in. A terminal
session works if the workstaion is locked or loggedout, I believe.
-John

 

[Andrew Stevens]

I use remote administrator for workstation admin and terminal services to
administer the server. Remote administrator does not have a problem if the
workstations are locked - you can send CTRL-ALT-DEL from the software and
can unlock the workstation using an account that is a member of the
adminstrators group.

Regards,
Andrew Stevens.

 

[Mark Adams]

Thanks for the tip Simon, John and Andrew. Now, this is a small LAN
(server and 10 workstations) at a non-profit. Is there a satisfactory
way to do it for free?

Mark

 

[Andrew Stevens]

Mark

Unfortunately I don't know of a way of doing it for free However, I do
think the software is very reasonably priced. The standard price is $35 for
a licence to install the software on two PCs. As you would need 6 licences
this would only work out at $210 in total. This option provides the client
and server software for each PC (e.g. you could connect from any computer to
any other computer).

There is also a helpdesk licencing option, which I think entitles you to
install only the client on the PCs you will be managing at $15 each. You
will still need a full copy of the software, so the price for your 11 client
PCs using the helpdesk licencing, plus your full copy, would be $200. Not a
lot less, but it gives you the advantage in future of getting just the
helpdesk licences for any other clients you want to manage using remote
administrator.

This is just my understanding of the licencing options for the software, if
you go to
http://www.famatech.com/purchase/license.html#SINGLE you can get more
information.

Regards,
Andrew.

 

[JohnJ]

Hi Andrew,
I'll try this. The last time the server was locked, the server's Remote
Admin would not accept my session. On the other hand, the workstations
accept remote admin ok if the workstations are locked. It was just the
server that was not allowing me in. Once someone at the office unlocked
the server, I was able to get in . I did not delve into it much after
that but I'll try it again. I've even used Remote Admin to admin the
server from a laptop running wirelessly on a 802.11g network and it is
very stable, Remote Admin that is.
Thanks
-JohnJ

 

[Simon]

Thanks for the tip Simon, John and Andrew. Now, this is a small LAN
(server and 10 workstations) at a non-profit. Is there a satisfactory
way to do it for free?

Mark

For the very small fee they ask its worth every penny...I've tried the
freebies and cost me more in the long run.

 

[Chad A Gross]

Hi Mark -

Have a look at TightVNC . . .

--
Chad A Gross - SBS Rocks!

Lerman's Law of Technology: Any technical problem can be overcome
given enough time and money. Corollary: You are never given enough
time or money.

 

[Kevin Weilbacher]

I second that ... Tight VNC works really well, and has never stepped on or
over any other apps running on a workstation ... I've used it for over 2
years!
-kw