What software do you use to link computers?

[gregbradley]

I want to link my indoor office computer with my observatory computer which is about 50 metres away.

What software works best for that? I remember being told before teamview is good.

What would you recommend?

I have a long Cat 5 cable I am trying to put plugs on at each end and use. I got the plugs on but not sure if they have been wired up properly.

Is there a simple test? I guess connecting it to the observatory computer in the same room would be one once I know the best software to use to link them.

Greg.

[trent_julie]

Hi Greg,
I use team viewer, I think it is excellent. I also allows seamless connections whilst I am away from the house.

Trent

[gregbradley]

Do you install it on both computers or just one? I went to their website and they don't say much about how it works really. Open up the software on both computers and then I can gain control of the observatory computer?

Greg.

[trent_julie]

You will need to install on both machines and setup an account with them. It is free for non-commercial use.

Additionally they offer an app for mobile devices.

[gregbradley]

OK thanks for that.

Greg.

[gregbradley]

Teamviewer seems to need to have both computers connected to the net.
My observatory computer is not connected to the internet.

Basically I want to control the observatory computer from the office computer indoors using an Ethernet cable and not via the internet.

This must be some other software unless I am not understanding teamviewer properly.


Windows has remote desktop I think.

Greg.

[gary]

Hi Greg,

Most modem routers have multiple Ethernet ports on the back so you
can create your own intranet.

If the cable won't reach your modem and if you are using a wired
network already, then consider purchasing a small network switch
and locate it next to your office computer.

The topology would then be that the network switch would have three
cables going into it. One from your modem, a short one to your office
PC and the third to the observatory.

If the observatory PC has a version of Windows that supports it,
consider using Microsoft Remote Desktop. A Remote Desktop server
is generally not supplied with the Home versions of operating
systems such as Windows 7 but is standard in the Professional editions.

Alternatively, consider using a free version of VNC, such as TightVNC.

If your office computer links to the modem via WiFi rather than by a Ethernet cable,
you might have to consider setting up the wired Ethernet port on the office
PC as a subnet. In other words, your PC might have multiple network adapters,
namely a WiFi port and a wired Ethernet port. You then need to configure
your PC so that traffic is routed over the correct port.
See http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windows/configuring-multiple-network-gateways#1TC=windows-7

[BeanerSA]

Just bear in mind that TeamViewer had a bit of a security breach.

http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/06/teamviewer-users-are-being-hacked-in-bulk-and-we-still-dont-know-how/

On the same network TightVNC is a fine choice. (Or on the wide network, just harder to setup)

[gregbradley]

Thanks Gary.

I repaired my long cable (it must be 75 metres long!) and I got remote desktop working. I just had to enable the observatory computer (Wins 7 ultimate) to accept being run in remote desktop.

It all seems to run now. So now I have to run the cable under the house and into the observatory and do a test run and make sure everything still runs and the data is saved.

Then next step will be to install and run SGPro and get it to do meridian flips so I don't have to stay up to do that or do some compromise and lose the full valuable imaging time of clear nights.

Then get an Lodestar X2 and install an Optec Lacerta continuous autofocus on my MMOAG guider using Focuslock. Maybe even an AO on the Honders later on - even more adapters!

Greg.

[ZeroID]

Team Viewer works for me over about 40 meters and two switches. Really handy when it's cold.

[gregbradley]

Yes it would be handy then. But Teamviewer seems to require an internet connection to work?

Greg.

[mountainjoo]

I've had success using TeamViewer with a connection over LAN as per these (https://www.teamviewer.com/en/help/40-can-teamviewer-be-used-within-a-local-network-lan-only) instructions.

[gregbradley]

Thanks Jerome. If I have troubles with Remote Desktop I'll try that out.

Greg.

[marc4darkskies]

Radmin. Always works, no internet connection required. Costs $US49. Been using it for years without any issues.

https://www.radmin.com/download/


----------------------------------------------------------------------
About Radmin
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Radmin is fast and secure remote control and remote access software that enables you to work on a remote computer as if you were sitting in front of it and access it from multiple places.

Radmin consists of two modules:

* Radmin Viewer needs to be installed on the local computer (for example your home PC or notebook) which you want to use to access your remote computer.

* Radmin Server needs to be installed on the remote computer (for example your office PC) that you want to access from your own one (for example your home PC or notebook).

To get started make sure Radmin Server is running on the remote computer. Then run Radmin Viewer on the local computer and connect to the remote computer.

[Camelopardalis]

RDP is built into all Windows. Enabled by a checkbox in Pro, but it still exists in Home - search for RDPwrap. RDP is pretty efficient, and is commonly used in data centre environments.

I'm probably the farthest from being a Windows fanboy, but it works well and is built-in.

[Paul Haese]

I am with Marcus, I use Radmin mostly with team viewer for mobile devices. Be very careful with Team Viewer at present. There are some hacks going on, so you need to operate at the highest security.

[niko]

a related question...

I'd like to monitor (not necessarily control) the laptop running in the observatory from a mobile device inside the house. For me it's just about being able to check it's all still ticking away.

I don't have internet up there and would prefer not to have to roll out an ethernet cable each time.

Is there something that might achieve that?

many thanks

niko

[Camelopardalis]

Traffic lights on the roof of the obsy?

[gary]

There are free RDP clients on the Google Play store that run on Android.
If there is WiFi range put a WiFi card in the PC.
Run MS Remote Desktop on the PC and connect via yor intranet.

[gregbradley]

[QUOTE=marc4darkskies;1254708]Radmin. Always works, no internet connection required. Costs $US49. Been using it for years without any issues.

Thanks Marcus. I remember now you telling me that before. Good to know there is a good alternative to Team Viewer. Team Viewer did not make a good first impression. The website does not really even tell you what the product is.




Thanks. That is what I got up and running yesterday and it seems to do what Marcus mentions about Radmin. The proof will be in its use which will be in a day or two.



Thanks Paul. Yes I found having to basically hand over control of your computer to a site on the net a bit disconcerting. Hacks was the immediate thought I had.


I'll see how Remote Desktop works out and post the results here. The price is good - free.

Greg.

[w0mbat]

Teamviewer does not need any internet connection to work at all. There is a setting to "permit LAN connections only". Therefore there can be no security problem if used this way. I use it to control my observatory around 60 metres from the house. With a fast Ethernet (or wireless) connection you will not even notice you are not using the remote computer directly. Many remote observatories are controlled using Teamviewer.
Ian

[luka]

Can't believe nobody mentioned VNC. I have been using it for about 15 years so far. It is direct PC-to-PC connection and does not require Internet. Free and open source. Several compatible variants exist, see UltraVNC (http://www.uvnc.com/) or TightVNC (http://tightvnc.com/) for example.

If I am not mistaken remote desktop will not allow you to use the local screen in the observatory until you close your remote session which will shut down all the running software (I am not sure if you need to use the screen in the observatory but my guess would be yes).
VNC simply exports the running screen so in your office you would have exactly the same screen as in the observatory.

[gary]

Suggested in posts 7 and 8. :thumbsup:



When a Remote Desktop client takes hold of the session, it does not
shut down all the running software.

On the server machine the login screen appears but on the remote client
you see the desktop as it was with all applications running. If you
then login to the desktop of the target machine, it terminates the client's
connection but again all applications continue to run.

Microsoft also provide a free Remote Desktop client for Mac OS X which
is updated regularly.

Remote Desktop tends to be faster than VNC because of the difference
in how they communicate changes to the screen. However, since VNC
uses a low-level bitmap approach, it is more readily ported and
will run across a range of different platforms such as Linux. Windows,
Android and Mac OS X and Apple iOS.

Teamviewer also supports Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android, and Apple iOS.

[luka]

Oops, I should have read the posts properly. Thanks for correcting me and thanks for explaining how remote desktop works. I have not used it for long, long time :thumbsup:

[dannat]

make sure & keep your network cable to under 100m, did you mention if you have a home modem -which also can act as 4 port router?

direct ntwork cable connection is possible with a crossover cable [will be a special order]

the cable you have rigged up, can you see all the small wire colours inisde the plug & have them set corecttly? may be cheaper to just buya long new cat6 cable from a place like MSY [typically under $1 per m]

will you be running the cable underground?

[rmuhlack]

I use RDP to connect to the obs computers (which are running Win 8.1 Pro), which are connected by wifi to the home network. My inside computer is running Ubuntu, and so I use Remmina to establish the RDP connection. I also have an andriod app (RD Client) that I can use to connect to the obs as well.

[graphworlok]

Remote Desktop is built into Windows, or VNC will work as well.

If you dont even have them physically linked up yet, then you'll need to configure your network first before worrying about remote desktops.

If you are only connecting two systems, you may require the cable to be configured as a crossover, but that is rare these days. Another option would be to buy a small router/switch with wireless - this will give you more flexibility.

Worry about getting both computers to have a "Link Up" first - in Windows, this will show as "Media State: Enabled" under your local area connection status. This will depend on your cable being good, and not much else.

One thats done, you can set up your IP addresses, and start setting up network services between them

[RobF]

Make sure you try Teamviewer again Greg. Just seamless once you get it sorted, and consistent across platforms (e.g. phone, tablet, other O/S).

Also suggest read this thread: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=142309&highlight=teamviewer

[silv]

I'm a bit concerned about the underground cable.

Are you considering Cat5 because you want to collect the data directly to your office computer and therefore need bandwidth galore?

I'd probably go Wifi with 5GHz if this frequency is feasible.
5GHz is fast - but can not go through (many) walls. Window-to-Window should work fine.
(2.4 GHz is too slow.)
Wifi routers compliant with 802.11ac give the best throughput.
You would connect 1 computer to this wifi router via cable and the other computer connects to the WiFi.

An alternative could be PowerLAN (by Devolo, Netgear, TP-Link or AVM to name a few):
if the electrical circuit in the Ob feeds of the one in the house, PowerLAN gives you a stable quasi-Ethernet connection with ~ 500Mbit/s without an additional cat5 cable under ground.
Does not support going through power strips.

Remote Desktop software:
I know and like VNC, Damware, NetOp, Teamviewer - we never used Windows' own RemoteDesktop in our professional environments.

[silv]

here is a fruitful discussion on the same matter. maybe have a read?

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=144526