Remote Control technologies and requirements

N-able N-central provides a number of technologies that enable you to access devices by remote control.

For remote control operations, the default application varies based on your operating system and remote control type.

Remote Control Type	Windows	macOS
Custom	N/A	N/A
Take Control	Thick client	Thick client
Remote Desktop	Mstsc	N/A
SSH	PuTTY	N/A
Telnet	N/A	N/A
Web	Web Browser	Web Browser

No matter which technology you choose to employ when remotely connecting to a device, the following requirements:

• The firewall needs to provide Internet access to TCP Port 22 (Secure Shell) on both the N-able N-central server and the remote device.
• The N-able N-central server and Windows Probes must be able to resolve the domain name sis.n-able.com.
• Ports configured in N-able N-central for use by remote control connections should not already be in use by another application, making them unavailable, on the remote device.

Take Control

Take Control offers remote control of Windows and Mac devices, terminal services support, session reports in an audit trail, and detailed system information including Windows Event Log for Professional nodes.

Read more about Take Control.

Remote Desktop

To control devices remotely using a Remote Desktop connection:

• Within N-able N-central, the device must be configured to allow remote connections.
• If you are using a Windows probe to control devices remotely, enable the File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks option in the Local Area Connection Properties, and ensure your firewall is configured to allow this type of sharing.
• Ensure the Display mixed content option is enabled in the browser's Security Settings and the refresh rate should be set to a value less than the Session Timeout Value for the user account.
• J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 update 6 must be installed.
• If you are using the Windows XP operating system and have the Welcome screen enabled, pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete launches the Task Manager instead of launching the Windows Security dialog. You can disable the Welcome screen by clicking Start > Control Panel > User Accounts > Change the way users log on or off and clearing the Use the welcome screen for fast and easy logon check box.

SSH

The SSH connection is only available from a Windows Probe to a Mac or generic device.

SSH connection does not require a Windows probe.

Custom

To control devices remotely with a custom connection that uses VNC:

• Within N-able N-central, the device must be configured to allow remote connections.
• If you are using a Windows probe to control devices remotely, the File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks option in the Local Area Connection Properties must be enabled and your firewall must be configured to allow this type of sharing.
• Enable Javascript, java applet, and the Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins option in your browser security settings.
• Enable the Display mixed content option in the browser's Security Settings and the refresh rate should be set to a value less than the Session Timeout Value for the user account.
• J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 update 6 must be installed.
• Ensure the WMI Performance Adapter service is running on the device that you want to control remotely.
• VNC software must be configured as a service and not as an application.
• VNC connections to devices using Windows Vista, Windows 2008 or Windows 7 will not be able to use the Ctrl-Alt-Del icon unless User Account Control (UAC) has been enabled on the target device.

VNC remote control will not work on macOS devices unless a VNC server has been installed on the device or Apple Remote Desktop has been enabled. In order to use VNC on devices that use Apple Remote Desktop 2.2 or higher, perform the following:

For devices with macOS v10.4

1. On the device, click System Preferences > Sharing > Apple Remote Desktop.
2. Click Access Privileges.
3. Click VNC viewers may access with a password and enter a password.
4. In N-able N-central, configure the VNC connection to use the same password.

For devices with macOS v10.5

1. On the device, click System Preferences > Sharing > Remote Management > Computer Settings.
2. Click VNC viewers may access with a password and enter a password.
3. In N-able N-central, configure the VNC connection to use the same password.

   N-able N-central's VNC Viewer can be used for Mac devices using Apple Remote Desktop or both a third-party VNC server and Apple Remote Desktop at the same time. However, the N-able N-central VNC Applet will only work if the Mac device uses a third-party VNC server.

Example

N-able N-central can tunnel any client/server application that can add ports to the command line by including the Command Line Parameter of {IP}:{Port}.