Remote Control from your Comfy Chair

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Remote Control from your Comfy Chair

• Vincent Spiars
• Wesleyan University
• Middletown, CT

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What is Wesleyan?

• 2700 students
• 510 lab and classroom computers
• 5 labs, 2 libraries scattered over 3/4 mile
  square campus
• Mixed platform (Mac/PC) environment
• Servers on secured floor separate from my office

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What is managed and supported

• 1 PC server (Ghost server app, LabStats/LabMaps,
  PCounter)
• 510 lab and classroom computers
• Lab Printers
• Keyserver application
• Netboot/Netrestore server
• 60 multimedia classrooms (and all included
  equipment)

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How many support staff?

• 1 full-time personnel and 7 students for the labs
• 2 full-time personnel and the same 7 students for
  the classrooms

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What does this all mean?

• A LOT of moving around if I were inefficient

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Tools of choice

• Remote control--
• VNC (Ultr_at_VNC)--Free downloads and integrated in
  OSX
• ARD--299 for Unlimited connection server
• VNC Scan(PC)--39.00 per server license
• Microsoft Remote Desktop--Mac and PC
  clients--Free in Win2000 and XP. Also free
  download for Mac OSX(viewer only)

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Tools of Choice (cont)

• Imaging tools
• Ghost (PC)--10 per seat buy-in and 5/seat
  annually.
• Radmind (Mac)--Free
• NetBoot/NetRestore (Mac)--part of OS X server.
  500 unlimited connections or 299 10
  connections.
• PSUBlast/BIC (Mac)--Free

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How is all this relevant?

• Efficiency is paramount.
• Remotely support computers in classrooms and labs
  via ARD and VNC
• Computer maintenance--ARD and Ghost
• Asset Manager--We can see and possibly fix an
  issue before it is reported.

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What you need to make this work

• 100 base-T network
• Best to be on a segregated subnet or v-lan
• Routers configured with IGMP turned on (specific
  to Ghost needs)
• Excellent working relationship with your server
  and network admin(s)

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Make it work (cont)

• Excellent working relationship with your network
  security department/person (VNC/VPN/MS Remote
  Desktop connectivity)
• Money for licenses
• Supervisors/Departments support

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Misc. Tools

• Security and tracking
• LabStats/LabMaps--7 seat buy-in and 1/seat
  annual renewal
• VPN--Unknown cost. But allows for worldwide
  connectivity with a high-speed connection.
• Asset Manager--AMX and connected equipment
  monitoring tool (250/seat).

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Misc. tools (cont)

• Pcounter--Printer billing tool. Our version is
  Web based. Clearing the queues can be done via
  the web or via VNC-ing to the server.

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Resources

• Ghost--Syamntec.com, BinaryResearch.net,
  Bigbangtraining.com
• Keyserver--sassafras.com
• NetBoot/NetRestore--Apple.com, bombich.com
• ARD (Apple Remote Desktop)--Apple.com

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Resources (cont)

• VNC (Ultr_at_vnc)--http//ultravnc.sourceforge.net/
• VNC Scan Enterprise Console-http//www.vncscan.com
  /
• Radmind--radmind.org
• PSUBlast/BIC--http//clc.its.psu.edu/Labs/Mac/Reso
  urces/blastimageconfig/default.aspx

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Resources (cont)

• LabStats/LabMaps--http//computerlabsolutions.com/
  
• Pcounter--http//www.andtechnologies.com/

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QA