| Filename | Purpose | bring.exe | desktop remote control client/server application |
|---|---|
| bring.ini | contains configuration parameters used by the bring client |
What is Bring?
Bring is a desktop remote control client/server application.
Bring
Remote
Individual
Needed
Gui
The Problem
You have a computer in some remote location;
(we will call this the remote computer- RC). And you need complete
access to that computer just as if you were physically sitting right
in front of the keyboard/mouse/monitor. However, travelling to/from
that machine frequently might be highly inconvenient or even impossible
depending on how frequently you need to access it. Additionally, the
commercially available solutions usually force you to access the entire
desktop instead of just a single window on the desktop.
The Solution
You have a computer in some near location:
(we will call this the local computer- LC). Both the RC and LC
are networked together either by LAN or WAN or internet. You run
a bring server on the RC and you run a bring client on the LC and
you use the bring client to access any window on the remote desktop.
You can access the entire desktop or just a single window or both.
Performance
Bring is designed for computers that are connected to a fast network -
like a LAN. Although you can access a bring server across a modem connection,
you probably will not like the experience. Bring delivers lossless transfer
of the target window in full 32bit resolution - and therefore is not well
suited for accessing large desktops running graphically intense applications
on a slow network. You need a fast network to have a good experience.
Performance will be affected by the size of the window accessed
and by the rate at which the window changes graphically. So attempting
to access a remote window that is displaying a DVD movie is not really
a good idea unless both machines are very fast and are connected via an
optical network.
Installing Bring
Do the following on your remote and local computers:
On your remote computer:
1) Download and save bring.exe to a folder with Adminstrator protections.
2) Find your remote computer ip address:
a) click Start/Run
b) type cmd
c) click OK
d) at the command prompt type ipconfig
e) press ENTER
(note: you will need this ip address to configure the bring.ini file on your local machine
so you may want to write it down on paper - trying to mentally remember ip addresses is not a
good idea)
3) Decide what port number will be used by the bring server
to listen for incoming connection from bring clients. Write
this number down beside the ip address of the remote computer.
If you have a firewall either hardware or software then you
need to consider everything involved with informing your firewall
to allow incoming connections for your selected port.
On your local computer:
1) Create a desktop folder called Bring.
2) Download and save bring.exe and bring.ini into this folder.
(they must be in the same folder)
3) Edit your bring.ini file with the ip address and port of your remote computer.
(note: use the remote ip address and port that you wrote down)
Simply replace 192.168.xxx.xxx with the correct remote ip address.# remotehost port pass --------------------------------------------- a 192.168.x.x ???? prompt b 192.168.x.x ???? prompt ---------------------------------------------
(see the documentation notes in bring.ini for more details)
4) If you already know the password that you will use when you run
your bring server then you can replace the word prompt with the
text of the password itself. Bring passwords are alphanumeric
with no spaces. If you use a password of prompt then
the bring client will present you with a dialog box so that
you can enter the pass word dynamically at runtime.
Running Bring
Do the following on your remote and local computers:
On your remote computer:
1) Login into your remote computer.
2) Open a command prompt in your bring install folder
3) Type the following command:
bring -s port pass [wait]
(note:
port is the port number you selected for the bring server
pass is the pass phrase you selected for the bring server
(your pass phrase must be alphanumeric with no spaces)
wait is the time in milliseconds to wait between frames
(wait is an optional parameter and the default is 1000 (1 second))
4) Press enter to issue the command
5) Press OK to acknowledge the bring dialog box.
On your local computer:
1) Open the bring folder on your desktop
2) Click on bring.exe
3) Press OK to acknowledge the bring client dialog box.
4) Select the remote bring server from the list box
5) Press OK to connect to the remote bring server
- if prompted for bring server password
- enter the server password
- press ok
6) Select the remote window you want to control
7) Press OK to bring the remote window to your local desktop
Closing Bring
To close a bring client, just simply close the window as normal.
To close a bring server, do one of the following:
1) Logout of the remote computer.
2) Stop the process on the remote computer
- you can use the task manager to do this
- press CTRL-ALT-DEL to access the task manager
3) Lock the desktop of the remote computer
- note that locking the desktop does not close the bring server
but it does temporarily halt all remote control access until
the desktop is unlocked.