Red Hat DESKTOP, Deployment Manual, Page: 39 / 48

Chapter 5.
Remote Desktop Access
In the enterprise environment, system administrators often need to deal with a large number of basic
problems on users’ machines. Remotely taking control of a user’s desktop to fix the problem, while at
the same time training the user how to resolve the problem for themselves, is an effective and simple
way to handle these types of support scenarios. This chapter describes how to use vncviewer and
Terminal Server Client to gain remote access to a user’s desktop to aid in the administration of the
remote system.
Both
vncviewer and Terminal Server Client allow the administrator to connect to a user’s desktop
session in a way that allows both the user and the administrator to simultaneously view the same
desktop screen, including all currently active applications and actions (such as mouse movements,
etc.)
While
vncviewer is primarily for connecting to a Linux desktop, Terminal Server Client can be used
to access both Windows and Linux desktops.
Note
These tools only allow you to connect to a user’s existing session. If the user is not logged in, the
connection will fail.
Important
All remote desktop connections described in this chapter use unencrypted connections, thereby
sending authentication information over the network without encryption. Their use is therefore rec-
ommended only inside a trusted, secure network.
5.1. Allowing Access
Before you can gain access to a remote user’s desktop, the user’s environment must be configured
to allow remote access. There are different levels of access that a desktop user may grant to another,
ranging from simple viewing of the user’s desktop, to gaining complete control of the desktop.
These different levels of access are configurable through
Applications (the main menu on the panel)
=> Preferences => Remote Desktop menu item.
The default configuration for remote desktop access is shown in Figure 5-1.