Symantec’s pcANYWHERE32

A Remote Possibility

The introduction ofMicrosoft's Remote Access Service (RAS) created significant confusion in theremote control software market. After all, why do you need remote controlsoftware, such as Symantec's pcANYWHERE and pcANYWHERE32? You can use RAS on anyclient system to easily dial in to an NT server and access files and printers onthe network. Oh, sure, it's not the same as taking complete control of anothersystem, but RAS is an effective solution for a variety of remote accessproblems.

Symantec recognized the challenge of RAS and responded by introducing newcapabilities to the company's line of remote control products. As a result,Symantec's latest release, pcANYWHERE32, provides impressive features that youcan use with--or instead of--RAS (pcANYWHERE32 can outright replace RAS; you canconfigure it to dial a call on the controlling system and to answer the call onthe host system).

Symantec's pcANYWHERE32 is for both the Windows 95 and Windows NTenvironments (Symantec does not, however, endorse pcANYWHERE32 with the betaversion of the Windows NT Explorer user interface). The product bears the Win95logo, so its appearance is decidedly Win95-like. Appearance notwithstanding,pcANYWHERE32 offers features that will interest any NT administrator,troubleshooter, or power user.

You can run pcANYWHERE32 in host mode on one system, and Win95, Windows NT,Windows 3.X, and even DOS clients can direct connect or dial in to the host andassume control of it. For example, a DOS PC can run the DOS-based pcANYWHEREclient, dial in to an NT Server running the pcANYWHERE32 host service, andaccess native NT programs (everything that appears on the server's screenappears on the client's screen).

Besides being able to establish a dial-in connection, pcANYWHERE32 canoperate over a LAN link or a RAS link. For example, you can initiate a LANconnection to take control of a pcANYWHERE32 host equipped for Internet dial-outand start cruising the Web. Or, you can establish a RAS link to an NT Server anduse directory sharing to access server-based files, but use remote control toaccess server-based applications.

Finally, pcANYWHERE32 includes some rudimentary gateway capabilities thatlet you share a modem over the network for both dial-out and dial-inconnections. These capabilities also let you use two pcANYWHERE32 gateways toestablish links between networks. The useful applications for these gatewaycapabilities are limited, however.

Mainstream pcANYWHERE32 Applications
One classic application for this product is in a Help desk environment. Ifboth a support technician and all the users have pcANYWHERE or pcANYWHERE32, thetechnician can establish a live link to a user system and watch that userinteract with the system and applications. Also, the technician can use theconnection to show the user certain operations or to troubleshoot problems onthe user's system.

Another popular use for pcANYWHERE32 is remote administration. For example,you can use most kinds of PC to dial in and assume control of an NT Serverrunning pcANYWHERE32. While connected, you can do anything to the server thatdoesn't require physical action (such as pressing the reset button or insertinga CD). You can run the Performance Monitor (Perfmon), change settings throughthe Control Panel, and look at the Event Log. With the exception of physicalproximity, it's just like being there. Also note that because this capability isavailable over a LAN, a server administrator can use pcANYWHERE32 to takecontrol of any server on the LAN.

Another typical use for pcANYWHERE32 is for power users to dial in to theirdesktop system. In this case, pcANYWHERE32 can provide access to applicationsthat aren't resident on the home (or mobile) system and can facilitate fast filetransfers between the systems. This access can extend beyond the host system tothe LAN; once you assume control of a host, you have access to all the resourcesof the LAN the host is connected to.

Both pcANYWHERE and pcANYWHERE32 offer powerful features. Of course, accessto such power demands strong security. You do not, for example, want to let justany bozo with a modem dial in to your NT server and take it over. To address thesecurity issue, pcANYWHERE32 lets you configure usernames and passwords forincoming connections. This logon information is specific to pcANYWHERE32 and isnot tied to any domain-based or workgroup user structures you have in place.Also, note that in the NT environment, pcANYWHERE32 can run as a startupservice, which forces you to go through the usual NT logon procedure after youestablish your pcANYWHERE32 connection.

In the Lab with pcANYWHERE32
Symantec provides pcANYWHERE32 on four high-density disks. The packageincludes a direct-connect parallel port cable (ours was a lovely, bright yellow)and two manuals, a user's guide and a manual for creating scripts. As youprobably expect, pcANYWHERE32 is an Intel-only product.

For testing, we installed pcANYWHERE32 on a 50-MHz 80486 laptop (8MB ofRAM) running Windows 95 and on a 60-MHz Pentium tower (24MB of RAM) runningWindows NT Server. Installation is straightforward, although with both Win95 andNT, you have to restart the system to complete the process.

All the pcANYWHERE32 components (host, client, and gateway) are loaded ontothe system during installation--no setup options let you choose which componentsto install. On the one hand, this lack of options makes the installation processsimple and gives you the flexibility of running any system as a client or ahost. On the other hand, who knows what average desktop users will think (andtry) when they stare at the available options, which you can see in screen 1.They look confusing.

Once you install pcANYWHERE32, wizards guide you through the rest of theconfiguration process. These wizards work well and simplify a process that couldbe complex. During testing, we set up both systems to operate as clients and ashosts and tested pcANYWHERE32 in both a LAN (Ethernet) and a dial-upenvironment. All the settings we needed for tests were fairly apparent and easyto access. This simple setup turned out to be a good thing because the manualsand Help subsystem frequently failed to give detailed technical information,especially about operating pcANYWHERE32 in a LAN environment.

After we had pcANYWHERE32 up and running, we initiated a connection fromthe Windows 95 client to the NT Server host over an Ethernet LAN. Symantec'spcANYWHERE32 supports a wide range of protocol types (such as NetBIOS, Novell'sInternet Packet eXchange--IPX, and TCP/IP), and we started with NetBIOS.Unfortunately, we were unable to make a connection using NetBIOS and had toswitch to TCP/IP to make it work. We had a long conversation with Symantectechnical support and concluded that the NetBIOS problem was because of someeclectic features of our network and server configurations and not a productdeficiency.

For LAN-based pcANYWHERE32 operations, your choice of protocol affects someof the product's features. In particular, if you want the pcANYWHERE32 client toautomatically discover the available pcANYWHERE32 hosts in the network, youcan't use TCP/IP and must instead use NetBIOS, IPX, Novell's Sequenced PacketeXchange--SPX, or another third-party protocol that supports name browsing overthe network. The bottom-line difference is simple: If you use a browseableprotocol, the list of pcANYWHERE32 hosts will appear in a dialog, but if you usea non-browseable protocol (such as TCP/IP), you must configure the name oraddress of the host you are targeting for remote control. In our test, weconfigured the client with the IP address of the host system, and everythingworked fine.

You can configure pcANYWHERE32 to run as either a startup service oruser-based service in the NT environment. Clearly, each approach has its prosand cons. If you run pcANYWHERE32 as a startup service, you get the additionalsecurity protection of the NT logon process. Logging on to NT using thisapproach is simple because the pcANYWHERE32 client includes a Ctrl-Alt-Delbutton to trigger the logon dialog. On the downside, if you run pcANYWHERE32 asa startup service, it is available as soon as the server comes up. In somecases, you'll want to restrict access, depending on who is logged on to theserver--in this case, you can run pcANYWHERE32 as a user-based service.

Having resolved our protocol problems, we initiated a connection from aWin95 laptop to an NT server, which was running pcANYWHERE32 as a startupservice. After we logged on to the NT server, we received the usual ProgramManager display, as shown in screen 2. Although this screen shows the NTconnection as a medium-sized Win95 window, we ran the connection in either afull-screen or almost full-screen window (the difference was in whether theclient toolbar was visible).

While connected, we ran a number of NT-based applications. The speed ofscreen updates was acceptable for a variety of applications. We do not, however,recommend pcANYWHERE32 to run a full-blown spreadsheet, word processor, or otherheads-down data entry application: The refresh rate is too slow and toofrustrating for such applications. Another equally frustrating limitation isthat the client's cursor icon does not reflect the state of the host's cursoricon. So, while the host is waiting for an application to start and isdisplaying the hourglass cursor icon, the client shows an ordinary pointer icon.This limitation is not major, but it can get on your nerves.

Limitations notwithstanding, applications that are not so data-entryintensive, such as the Perfmon, the Control Panel, and the Event Log viewer,look and feel pretty good. We used pcANYWHERE32 to start a RAS dial-in link fromthe host into the Internet, and then ran the host-based copy of the Netscapebrowser. Here, the performance was good because our Internet connection isslower than our LAN link (28.8Kbits per second--Kbps--vs. 10Mbits persecond--Mbps).

The main factors that determine which applications are usable via remotecontrol are how much patience and tolerance you have. Our levels are prettylow--you may find the performance acceptable for a wider range of applications.We also saw no significant differences when we reversed the roles of host andclient--running the Win95 laptop as host to the NT Server client provided thesame level of performance and imposed the same operational limitations.

Surprisingly, the performance degradation that occurs when you usepcANYWHERE32 over a modem with a reasonable speed (14.4 Kbps or 28.8 Kbps) isnot as dramatic as you might expect. We anticipated a big difference betweenLAN-based and modem-based connections. The truth is, the difference--althoughclearly noticeable--did not strike us as being particularly painful. Symantechas invested a great deal of time and technology to optimize modem-basedtransmission. One final plus for pcANYWHERE32 is that it's easy to configure andoperate over a modem connection--pcANYWHERE32 picks up all the modem propertiesfrom the Win95 or Windows NT environment and is ready to go once it isinstalled. All you need to do is enter the number to dial, and you're all set.

Best of Both Worlds
Most people will purchase pcANYWHERE32 for one of its traditional uses: Helpdesk support, remote administration, or remote desktop access. However, once youadjust to the look and feel of remote control in a LAN or modem environment,you'll be amazed at the uses you can invent for it. Symantec's pcANYWHERE32 candeliver capabilities that RAS can't address, and best of all, you don't have togive up RAS to use pcANYWHERE32. Rarely do you get to enjoy the best of bothworlds.

Please see the article "Avalan's Remotely Possible/32 Remote Control Software"