Remote Desktop Connection

[ronnyr]

I have 2 computers, one running XP pro and Windows server 2003. Can I use both the IP address and computer name to connect remote desktop? How to get the IP address of my computer though?
Can I also make a remote desktop connection if I am away from my home, for example at the office?

Thanks in advance.

 

[office politics]

can you use both ip or camp name? yes


how to retrieve ip address of local pc:

start | run, cmd <enter>, ipconfig <enter>



remote desktop away from home? the setup depends on how your machines are connected to the inet. if behind a router, you'll need to setup port forwarding. Also, if you have a dynamic ip, you will need a way to retrieve it. www.no-ip.com can help with that.

if your modem is directly connected it should be a easy config. you'll still run into the dynamic ip issue tho.

 

[ronnyr]

To clarify, I am using wireless connection into my cable internet. So, if it is still on the same area network, there should not be a problem with dynamic IP. Another word, I should worry about dynamic IP only if i'm away from my home. Am I right?

Thanks.

 

[office politics]

your machine prolly has two ip addresses. one private ip that is only accessible on your local lan and one global ip that it uses to connect to the inet.

you use ipconfig to find your private ip. you can use www.whatismyip.com to find your global ip.



your private ip is most likely a dynamic ip as well. but most soho routers allow you to reserve an ip for a specific machine. It does this by saving your machines MAC address and the reserved ip to a table inside the router. Look through your router config for ip reservation.

or you could assign the machine a static ip outside the router's dhcp scope; dont forget to add the dns addresses.

 

[ronnyr]

I tried to connect from my home to computer office and it threw me an error. Which one of this IP I should use, when I enter ipconfig, it shows me this:

Connection-specific DNS suffix: -------
IP Address: xx.xx.xx.xx
Subnet Mask
Default Gateway: xx.xx.xx.xx

What is those four means?
What should I do to make it works? I already check the remote desktop enable on the My computer properties. What else should I do so that I can open computer in office from home. BTW, my computer in office run XP Pro SP2, as well as computer at home.

Thanks in advance.

 

[office politics]

your machines at home connect to a wireless router for inet access?

Get started using Remote Desktop with Windows XP Professional

How to use the Remote Desktop feature of Windows XP Professional

 

[ronnyr]

Thanks team for your help,

Yes, my machine at home connect to router using a wireless connection.

 

[office politics]

you need to reserve a private ip address for the pc you wish to connect to; this can be set via your router config. Alternatively, you can set the pc with a static ip & dns addresses; be sure your router doesnt assign the same address tho.

also, you need to setup port forwarding for 3389 to the pc's private ip. there's a guide on port forwarding stickied in this forum.