[Beeeater]

Many of my clients need to access their own workstations from home. Researching this, I came across a Microsoft technology called TSWEB, enabling remote desktop web access to workstations on a Windows Server network. It works fine when I test it by connecting directly from the server to the workstations, but I cannot get it to work using the TSWEB client across the Internet. I can get the login page on the server, but when I attempt to connect to a workstation (using the pc name or IP address) I get an error saying "The client could not connect to the remote computer. blah blah..."
Why does it work within the LAN but not from outside the LAN? Surely the whole point is to be able to use it across the Internet? Or is this just another great idea from Microsoft that simply doesn't work?
It can't be a permissions issue if it works internally, surely?
By the way, forget about using any browser other than IE - you can't.
Oh, and RD connections to these same workstations also work fine, so ports are correctly configured as well.

[navin_bvr]

Hi Beeater, TSWEB is a wonderful app for Remote Desktop Web Connection. But I heard that, need to do complex configurations, Client computers need to be installed with RDC 6.1. (RDC 6.1 [6.0.6001] supports Remote Desktop Protocol 6.1.) RDC 6.1 is included with the following operating systems:
* Windows Server 2008
* Windows Vista® with Service Pack 1
* Windows XP with Service Pack 3
(as per MS)

way go for it as you have such a easy configurable Desktop sharing utilities are available.

Ur a advanced user and i dont need to tell you, but what about the firewall you could have in ur office, or on the Router could block access from outside the LAN.

[Squashman]

If you need multiple PC's that need to do this from the Internet, you will need to change the port for the service on each computer. The reason for this is because you will need to forward that port in your router config to the LAN ip address of each comptuer.

Personally I think you should just use the Remote Desktop client rather then enabling the Web Interface. I don't see any advantage over using the Web Interface other than more setup time to get it to work.

You may want to look into use LogMeIn for all your users. This way you don't have to configure anything on the router at all.

[zx10guy]

Personally, I would recommend a VPN router. No fussing with ports and no need to use third party solutions which introduces other variables.

[Beeeater]

Thanks for the responses. I am loath to use 3rd party software if I can achieve what I want with what is built into the OS. I use RD, but there is a limit of two concurrent sessions through TS - is there any way around this without going 3rd party? And how would a VPN router help?

[zx10guy]

A VPN router at your edge provides the ability for remote users to securely connect into your LAN. It does not require port forward rules which compromises security by poking holes into your firewall. If you understand how VPNs work and how to implement one, they are actually much easier to administer than creating multiple firewall rules for each user who requires a specific type of access from outside of the firewall. A VPN allows a remote user to connect into your LAN just like the user being locally attached to the network.

Aside from the issue of a learning curve of how to properly set up a VPN infrastructure, there is overhead which needs to be accounted for due to the encryption. As such, you will have to size the type of VPN router/firewall you purchase to meet the number of concurrent connections you expect.

[Beeeater]

So basically TSWEB is a wate of time? Is that what you are all telling me? Why does MS waste our time like this, building unusable technologies into the OS??

[zx10guy]

No. The functionality depends on what your requirements are. You'll find in the IT world, there are multiple solutions for a given problem. Every solution can solve a given problem. But not every solution can do it well. It's up to you as the implementer to evaluate all solutions and to pick one which best fits your needs. It's like you needing a network solution to provide internet access. You can go with a regular Linksys router for home use or set up ICS or a proxy server to provide internet access. All options work but only one does the job with minimal effort.

[Squashman]

Originally Posted by Beeeater

So basically TSWEB is a wate of time? Is that what you are all telling me? Why does MS waste our time like this, building unusable technologies into the OS??

Absolutely not. TSWEB has its place. If you end up at an Internet Cafe that has the computer locked down to using a browser only, then remoting into your computer with TSWEB solves the issue.

If you can afford to buy a VPN appliance or VPN capable router then I agree with zx10guy's recommendation.

Otherwise you do have built-in VPN capability with XP, Vista and Windows Servers.
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networ...vpn_server.htm
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networ...vpn_server.htm

Or you could go third party VPN software solution. Comodo is free for personal use.
http://easy-vpn.comodo.com/download.html

[Beeeater]

Thanks everyone for the valuable input. I will definitely investigate this further based on what you have all said.

[LinuxHacker]

Do it right. Use a VPN.