“Many Mac administrators and technicians know about Apple Remote Desktop, which was introduced about four years ago. But a great number of Mac professionals don’t realize the full potential of the product. In fact, many assume that Remote Desktop’s only real use is to remotely monitor or control Mac workstations and servers. There is no doubt that is one of its major functions, especially for headless Xserves (it enables you to have complete control of Mac OS X Server beyond using SSH terminal sessions and Apple’s GUI administration tools),” Ryan Faas writes for InformIT.
“But Remote Desktop isn’t limited to remote management, troubleshooting, and surveillance capabilities. It can also be a powerful inventory aid or solution, revamp classroom and computer lab interaction between instructors and students, offer unique remote collaboration and presentation options, and make deployments of anything from applications and updates to specific files to full deployments of a new network of Macs much easier and more efficient,” Faas writes. “In this first of three articles covering the often untapped possibilities of Remote Desktop, I’ll look at the ways you can use it to significantly improve inventory processes, monitor network performance, remain alert to changes in workstations that might be signs of theft, and prepare customized reports easily on the state of the Macs in your network in preparation for an upgrade.”
Full article here.
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ARD is good with a Quad and another Mac, as the Quad has a extra Etherent port (the other on a modem) and you’ll need the network fastest interface you can get to get fast screen redraws.
Oh for the uninformed, you can’t use ARD to “add” processor power to your present machine, all it does is allows you to control another Mac.
Sure you can run apps on the other Mac which will free up processing power on the main machine, but again slow screen redraws are the major culprit with slow interfaces or over the internet.
I’ve never used ARD.
But I have used Timbuktu (in the OS 9 days) to control other Macs across a network and Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection to control a WinXp Dull machine across the internet (cable at home, DSL in the office) and I never had an issue with the screen redraw speeds of either of those programs. Is this a real issue with ARD or just some FUD?
just to let everyone know: this first installment covers setting up ARD and using its reporting features. those of you familiar with this area need not read the article.
ARD is great when it works. it still has its quirks and unfortunately it seems Apple’s development process is slow on this application (nothing like annual iLife updates).
it’s great for installing software and updates on multiple Macs over a network, so long as the software is either a drag-and-drop install or a in Apple’s package (.pkg) format. this excludes pretty much ALL professional Adobe software as Adobe chooses to use their own cruddy installers that force you to install and update software individually by hand (Adobe, once the champion of the Mac, now lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to adopting new Mac technology).
if you can afford it, ARD is nice to have, although whether it is better than Timbuktu is up to your preference. be aware that Apple did not offer upgrade pricing when version 2.0 came out.
MacDude (and others)
On the subject of XGrid. Is XGrid worth it if you have a two or three node network? Will GUI apps take advantage of it (say between an nMac G5 and a PowerBook G4)?
I ask because I’ve noticed XGridlite, a shareware product that turns an OSX client into an XGrid controller, and wonder whether it would be any use to me for speeding up DVD rendering.
I use ARD every day. I have a PC and a G3 at the office and use VNC and ARD to run my Mac at home. The craziest thing I ever did was edit some video and burn a DVD using Final Cut Express and iDVD. It took some effort, but it was doable.
I turn on the ARD server on all Macs running Tiger (in the sharing section in System Preferences) and then use the free “Chicken of the VNC” to control them.
Nothing like a free set of apps to make things useful and enjoyable.
I also use Timbuktu over the Internet, and it’s a much more complete application, but for the network at my job, Chicken of the VNC and ADR servers on all Macs is a great deal.
Ya know what’s really cool? VNC is built right into OS X. All ya need is a VNC client like Chicken-Of-The-VNC or something and pop, you’re remote controlling. ARD is great for managing large numbers of clients, but VNC is sweet for a one off support issue here and there. And it’s FREEE!
You’re killing me Larry…
is anybody accessing their Mac through home via a router’s firewall?
always have trouble finding out how to do that!
any guru’s out their? any links on how-to?
thanking you in advance!
“is anybody accessing their Mac through home via a router’s firewall?”
Find out what port(s) your RC client is listening on and create port forwarding rules in your router. Google “port forwarding” for a how-to.
This is generally not a good idea, though, because anyone scanning your router will see that open port and will try to hack your system*.
A safer option is to sign up for one of those “Access your PC from anywhere” services. These companies install an RC agent on your system that communicates with their server. Whenever you want to take RC of your computer you connect to the service’s website and their agent will initiate the outgoing RC session through the firewall – so no need to lower your firewall’s security.
* – of course, since you’re on a Mac you probably don’t need to worry about that. But then again, maybe you should.
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While reading the entry from Macslut above about editing video and burning a DVD using Apple Desktop Remote (ARD), it reminded me of doing something similar while I was working at [a place I will not mention the name of].
I was supposed to be giving a demo of Final Cut Pro to a customer who was in Perth, Australia and I was in Sydney, Australia – a distance of 2000 miles (3300km). The company wouldn’t pay for airfare so we had to get creative, and organised a hookup in the company’s offices via the Internet.
I was running ARD to Perth, controlling our company’s salesman’s computer which had been taken into the customer’s offices. There was another Systems Engineer (SE) in Adelaide, Australia (who covered that city from 1300 miles [2100 km] away) who might have done the demo but he didn’t get approval for airfare there either. So the other SE was using ARD in remote viewing mode, to watch me do the demo to the customer using ARD in the controlling mode, all whilst we were using iChat to do an audio chat.
Worked quite well, except for video playback on the canvas window not updating anywhere near far enough to stop it on the right frame. But I can honestly claim to have edited video from 2000 miles away using ARD.
Bill Lee