| As most of our newer customers are aware,
Minotaur service can be significantly more responsive
(and coincidentally more cost effective) if our customers
have a remote access facility. Such remote access (whether
by a direct link or over the Internet) frequently eliminates
both the time and the cost of return travel to the customer
site. For this reason, we have insisted that all new customers
for the past few years install at least some level or
remote access when their system is installed. |
There are two types of remote access which we encourage.
The first type, which is available only for users of the
MBS6 and MBS6.2 GUI versions of Minotaur, is simply to
install the GUI version in such a fashion that it is monitoring
the Internet for users. Minotaur can then simply call
the customer's system over the Internet and log in. |
While this type of facility is useful in resolving some
types of data problems, there are many types of problems
it cannot resolve. The facility provides the user only
with access to Minotaur. More complex technical problems
often require access to the entire computer or network
which the GUI access cannot provide. Further, while the
GUI allows Minotaur to access your system remotely, it
does not allow you to look at the same screens we are
looking at. This can be frustrating when dealing with
training issues. Finally, of course, this solution does
not work for older MBS4 (console) customers. |
To address these issues, we have tried a variety of solutions
over the years. Historically, we frequently installed
Symantec PCAnywhere on particular customer workstations.
More recently, we have often leveraged Microsoft Terminal
Server installations at our customer sites. While these
other solutions tend to resolve many issues, they were
often costly or difficult to implement. |
More recently, as our users and their Internet providers
have become more sophisticated, we have started to encounter
difficulties traversing the firewall security systems
that have been installed. All the above solutions require
that the customer open up a hole in their firewalls which
a secured user such as Minotaur can access. Depending
on the particular firewall system implemented opening
this hole can be a complex task. This issue can be particularly
frustrating when a working remote access system is shut
down due to firewalls implemented by third party Internet
providers. |
We have recently developed a tool based on the OpenSource
VNC product which generally facilitates access to host
computers via the Internet. It can be relatively easily
accessed from any Windows computer on a customer network
so that Minotaur can communicate with the particular computer
required. The system uses a reverse VNC connection which
generally allows access without requiring any changes
to the customer firewall system. Security is tight because
the tool need only be invoked when it is specifically
needed. At other times it can be turned off so that no
access via that tool is possible. |
Essentially what happens is that we (Minotaur) start a
remote version of the product and open up a specific firewall
port in our system to expect an incoming call. We then
contact you and advise you that the firewall port is open.
The connection tool is pre-configured with our IP address.
You then start a host session and attempt to access our
site at the appropriate IP address and port. As the call
is outgoing from your site, most firewalls will allow
the call through. On our side, we have of course opened
the appropriate port in our firewall. Hackers have no
additional access to your system because your firewall
is still preventing in-bound access. |
The VNC tool thus overcomes most of the issues we have
experienced with remote access. It can generally be installed
without requiring changes to your incoming firewall protections.
It can be installed on the appropriate computers at your
site so that Minotaur can access exactly the part of your
system we need to complete our work. It is secure because
it is not running unless you specifically use it to establish
a connection to Minotaur. The tool allows you to follow
the work we are doing which is ideal in training situations.
Finally, the tool will work equally effectively for console
and GUI Minotaur users. |
Please contact us if you are interested in implementing
the VNC remote access tool in your Minotaur environment. |
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