@GoodThings2Life
I have used pcAnywhere 10.5, 11.0, 12.5 with clients in the past, for its combination of features and not just to access a machine remotely. In my own lab network I am running all these versions and they work well together.
But to start with, accessing a remote machine with PCA shows the actual user Desktop and what the user is doing - great for debugging in customer support. Correct me but I believe RDP provides a virtual environment and not a connection to the Desktop. I suppose I could use VNC or other similar products if it was just remote access.
I use PCA for opening a chat channel to a client to keep them updated in realtime on progress of a task, say rolling out MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning) server and client software to their network, and of course, I am connected to each node remotely via PCA doing the actual install as well.
I have found that some software installations will not work properly if I am connected via RDP but work fine with PCA - depends on the software application.
I have found that connecting to a client's terminal server via RDP and then connecting to internal nodes via PCA works 99% of the time, assuming I have installed PCA on the terminal server for internal network operations.
I use the PCA whiteboard (v12 +) to communicate ideas visually to the client while adding audio commentary on the phone.
When connecting to a remote node, I use both PCA authentication feature and Windows login - double-login, if you will, for the added security.
Finally, I use PCA as a crude Network Management Station (NMS) through the Quick Connect panel. If PCA on each machine is configured to work with the default ports (5631 Data, 5632 Status) then PCA will poll the network for all machines running PCA via port 5632 and display them in the Quick Connect panel. If I do not see a particular host then I know something has happened to that node. In essence, PCA is giving me node up/down status.
I have not had a chance to check out other remote access applications to see if they bundle all these features together. Maybe a topic for ZDNET to visit and write about in the future.
Ion
Discussion on:
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