PC Tech Now

Cisco ISP Failover IP SLA Configuration Example

2011-11-24T06:40:00.000-08:00

On some Cisco routers there is the command IP SLA and on other routers it is IP SLA MONITOR. Without going into the reasons for the differences including IOS features and versions, this post will focus and show a working example of IP SLA. To view a similar post containing IP SLA MONITOR please visit the following link:

IP SLA Monitor Example for Fail-over Survivability of ISP .

That post will contain a similar configuration example to the following that uses the ip sla monitor configuration to accomplish the same task of redundancy/failover of an ISP link. Also similar to this post is that the primary interface or ISP for a custom application is a T! and the redundant or failover ISP is a DSL.

Configure ASA to allow traceroute responses

Below is a configuration example for IS SLA (no monitor in the command line interface):

Cisco IP SLA example configuration (not IP SLA MONITOR) also uses a track list and boolean operator condition. This was a working configuration so the IP addresses have been modified . The remote office this configuraiton was used for has a T1 connection to the internet (a "legacy" T1) and a DSL directly attached to the router. The interface for the T1 was 0/3/0:0.1 and the DSL was GigabitEthernet 0/1. they wanted a custome application to use the T1 exclusively but in case there was a T1 internet access failure, they wanted to ustilize the DSl as a failover. The custom application was cirtical to the business. The idea was simple, if the T1 fails, use the DSL for the custom applciation to connect to an online database source and server. There are some other mitigating factores that made this IP SLA configuration a little more challenging but I will not go into it at this time. It is not relevent actually to the commands used. The relevance came in to play in regards to what interfaces were to be used for sourcing the icmp ping used in the ip sla monitor. It is also the reaso nthe line-code tracker in combination with the bollean operator and track list.

There are two tracker objects in a tracker list. The list uses a boolean AND,

track 10 ip sla 20 reachability --> a ping to a target ip address for which there is ONLY a single static route to use the T1
track 11 interface Serial0/1/0:0 line-protocol --> Interface status

track 20 list boolean and --> boolean AND, two both conditions have to be met , almost seems redundant but TAC did this on another remote office router

object 10 --> tracker 10 shown above
object 11 --> tracker 11 shown above

ip route 4.2.2.2 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.11 track 20 --> tracked main route
ip route 4.2.2.2 255.255.255.255 192.168.1.1 100 --> alternate route is used if T1 is down

ip sla 20 --> referenced in tracker 10

type echo protocol ipIcmpEcho 8.8.8.8 source-interface GigabitEthernet0/0 --> had to use the interface as source, using the ip address did not work. This is the "inside" interface . Yes, I know "inside" is more (another

bug, perhaps) , there is a static route that says anny traffic for 8.8.8.8 use the T1 interface. so if there is a problem with the T1 the pings will time out.

timeout 1000 --> max ping reply time allowed in milliseconds
threshold 2
tag 20
frequency 5 --> status is checked every five seconds

ip sla monitor schedule 20 life forever start-time now --> scheduler for monitor 20

Cisco IP SLA Example for ISP failover

Some Cisco routers have IP SLA without the command option of monitor and other Cisco routers have IP SLA MONITOR. The configurations vary slightly, just enough to throw you off just a little.
Another simple article (or post) on a tech support for computers, servers, and routers blog site. It describes an example of how IP SLA was used for redundancy and how fears of asyncronous routing were dismissed. From what I have seen and found, support for ip sla monitor started at about the 12.3 release of Cisco's IOS for routers. The two connections or paths to a destination or the internet as it is most often used for, don't even have to be directly connected to the router.

Farm and Citrix Servers not listed or displayed in AMC

2010-11-16T08:26:00.000-08:00

Farm and Citrix servers are not displayed in AMC (Access Manage Console).

I recently updated a 4.5 presentation server in a vmware test farm and server to AMC 4.6.2. After the update, that went without error, the farm and citrix server nodes in access management console were no longer displayed.

I used the solution found in CTX125827 : http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX125827

I ran the two scripts and the batch file and they worked. The farm showed up first then the presentation server.

After you perform tsteps above you might get a discovery error and see ONLY the farm but not the presentation server (xennapp server). Configure discover and add the servers name into the list for discovery. That will get the server node to appear, the published apps, and everything else. If you keep getting discovery errors, the following is what I did:

I went to configuration tools and removed the current configuration and then exited the console, I started the AMC console again then recreated the configuration. NO more discovery errors.

Migrating Printers to 2008 Server SBS from 2003 Server

2010-10-07T07:31:00.001-07:00

More information about Print Management on Windows 2008 Server, including Windows SBS 2008 can be found at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753109(WS.10).aspx

Start with adding te printer services role as shown above. This is done through server manager, click on the roles link in the upper right then select (check the box) Print Services . On the next step you can leave the default for most environments. Print server is the only option selected on a default installation of Printer Services on 2008 server.

The migrate print server link shown near the bottom of the first/top image in this post has the following information:
To migrate print servers by using Print Management
- Open the Administrative Tools folder, and then click on Print Management.
- In the Print Management tree pane , right-click on the name of the computer that has the printer queues that you want to export from (this is your source server), and then click Export printers to a file option. This launches the Printer Migration Wizard.
- On the Select the file location page, specify the location to save the printer settings, and then click Next to save the printers.
- Right-click the destination or target computer (this should be your 2008 server, standard or SBS) on which you want to import the printers and have them accessible for your clients, and then click on the Import printers from a file option. This launches the Printer Migration Wizard.
- On the Select the file location page, specify the location of the printer settings file, and then click Next.
- On the Select import options page, specify the following import options:
Import mode. Specifies what to do if a specific print queue already exists on the destination computer.
List in the directory. Specifies whether to publish the imported print queues in the Active Directory Domain Services.
Convert LPR Ports to Standard Port Monitors. Specifies whether to convert Line Printer Remote (LPR) printer ports in the printer settings file to the faster Standard Port Monitor when importing printers.
- Click Next to import the printers.

Password Complexity for SBS 2003 to 2008 Migration

2010-09-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

Windwos Server 2008 Password Policy Setting Recomendations

The following excerpt is from the Small Business Server 2008 Setup and Migration Help File:

"Password policies in Windows SBS 2008 enforce strong passwords by default, and the password policies dialog in the Windows SBS Console writes the configuration to the default domain policy. The password policy configuration is not written to the Small Business Server Domain Password Policy object, as in Windows SBS 2003. "

The password complextity is a small over-comeable problem that you could encounter during a migration from SBS2003 to SBS2008. The pasword complexity could lead to an even getting logged in the SBS migration and setup logs. The even doesn't tell you it's thecomplexity of the administrator account password, but instead leads you to believe that it the directory services restore mode password that has a problem.
The complexity of the pasword required varies depending on the stage of the install. The 2008 SBS server when joining the domain is a client and uses it's own local policy which at this point is no password is required. when joining the domain, it uses the default policy for a domain controller not the policy that is already set for the domain controller in the domain group policy. once in the domain, it will use the policy that has already been established.
So, when creating your answer file be sure to have a password complexity matching 8 characters and included uppercase, lower case, a number or a special character (!,@,#,$,%,etc>). If the administrator account that is being used for the migration does not match these characteristics then the migration will fail with and error "FATAL: DcPromo_JoinDomain: The server was not promoted to a domain controller" and an error telling you that "The Directory Services restore Mode password does not meet its complexity criteria" .

BEFORE starting the migration, make the administrator password or the password for the administrator account that will be used for the migration match complexity requirements. I recommend, OVERMATCHING!, or you could be formatting the installation of the new SBS2008 server and trying the migration again. Use 14 characters or more is the main recommended action to over match - that's what I did.

PC Tech Go: You cannot log on to the console because the server is not synchronized with the database. Upgrade the server and then log on to the console

2010-02-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

PC Tech Go: You cannot log on to the console because the server is not synchronized with the database. Upgrade the server and then log on to the console

This problem with Symantec's management console was solved without having to remove the entire product.

Supporting Technology with Technology.: Enable 24 bit color in RDP for XP or 2003 Server

2009-12-31T14:33:00.000-08:00

Supporting Technology with Technology.: Enable 24 bit color in RDP for XP or 2003 Server

The default maximum color depth for rdp connections to Microsoft windows XP or Windows 2003 servers is 16 bit color. Connect with true colour 24 bit rdp to XP or windows 2003 server. The pre-defined default color limit on XP or windows 2003 server limits the color depth of RDP connections made to the the systems to a 16 bit maximum but can be changed by using group policy editor on the local system system. How to configure the "server side" of remote desktop to accept connections at 24-bit true color. Windows 7, Vista, and server 2008 already allow higher that 24 bit color by default.

How to add dsa.msc to 2008 member server

2009-11-24T20:14:00.000-08:00

How to add dsa.msc to 2008 member server.

It's a simple and quick installation to add the functionality found by default in windows 2003 server to windows 2008 server. This is a useful tool for many. To just click start run then enter dsa.msc and click open. bang, active directory users and computers on a member server to access an AD object quickly. not so fast. In windows 2008, for some reason, this functionality was removed as a default feature. there's some logic behind it for sure. the first this that comes to mind is security. Although an average users doesn't have the permissions to actually make changes in the AD users and computers as they will not have the proper access rights and tokens, they can browse and poke in an area they need not be in.

So dsa.msc was removed from the default installation of windows 2008 member server. That's OK, it can be added pretty quickly and without a restart. The image shows the options to select to add the feature back into your member server and remember, during installation these options can be selected.

Reset CISCO 5505 ASA to Factory Default

2009-06-12T05:06:00.001-07:00

Reset CISCO 5505 ASA to Factory Default

You’ll need to use the Console Port to perform this proceedure.

Hook up the blue console cable to your DB 9 PIN serial port. Plug the other end into ‘Console’ port on the ASA 5505. The console port looks like a network jack. It’s above the usb ports and is surrouned with a blue color matching the console cable itself and says console right next to the port.

Use hyperterminal, click Start, Programs, Accessories, Communications, Hyperterminal, create a connection on Com1 using the terminal settings:

- Bits per second: 9600
- Data bits: 8
- Parity: None
- Stop bits: 1
- Flow control: None

After you open your connection through hyperterm, press enter a couple times. You should get a prompt similar to the following: ‘ciscoasa>’, or ‘nameofyourdevice>’
type ‘ena’ to go to enable mode. Enter the password, or just press enter if there is no password set.
type ‘config t’
type ‘config factory-default’
hit spacebar when the ‘more’ is displayed to get the next page of output. You want to get back to the prompt that looks like: ‘ciscoasa(config)#’
type ‘reload save-config noconfirm’

Make sure that the outside line is plugged into port zero, and your pc is plugged into any of the ports 1-7.

The Cisco ASA has been reset to factory settings. DHCP is enabled on the cisco device, and it’s internal IP address is now 192.168.1.1!

Configure RDP Port Forwarding on a Cisco ASA 5505

Verizon DSL Static IP 7500 Modem

2009-06-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

At the end, after entering the ip address information and switching to bridged connection and bridged routing, enter the following URL to finalize the activation to the Internet and to get on the web if you're unable to connect.

This installation had Verizon model 6110f and model 7500 router modem shipped to the customer. Both models are not to be used. The modem that's supposed to be used is the the 7500 Verizon mode router because this customer has received a static ip address as part of their service.

So the VC1 configuration for static ip DSL service has to be configured from ppp (PPPoE) to bridged in order to have the static address applicable for the configuration. The ip address and gateway are supplied by Verizon. Just enter them as noted and then click apply. http://192.168.1.1/verizon/redirect.htm

To disable NAT on the 7500 DSL modem completely then you have to choose for the protocol Bridge from the drop menu and also choose bridge for Bridge Mode. The option for adding the public ip address provided by Verizon goes away. This option is for putting your own router/firewall in place behind the Verizon DSL modem instead of using the features provided by Verizon in the free modem/router. The public ip address that was provided by Verizon has to be placed on the WAN interface of your router/firewall. Once that's done, then go to the wireless configuration and disable wireless access. This is for security and because it wont work right in this bridged configuration.

How To Find Your Exchange 2007 version

2009-04-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

The above is a shot of the results after running the command on an Exchange 2007 SP1 system.

Get-ExchangeServer : fl name,edition,admindisplayversion

How to get your Exchange 2007 version.
Run the command in an Exchange Management Shell prompt:

Get-ExchangeServer : fl name,edition,admindisplayversion

Configure RDP Port Forwarding on a Cisco ASA 5505

2009-04-16T16:51:00.001-07:00

http://remotesupportsoftware.blogspot.com/2008/10/configure-rdp-port-forwarding-on-cisco.html - Configure RDP Port Forwarding on a Cisco ASA 5505 . This is a good simple code example of adding a port forwarding rule to a Cisco ASA 5500 series (in this case it was a Cisco ASA 5505) but it won;t differ much with other versions.

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PC Tech Support - Computer Desktop Software & Hardware, SAN

2009-04-16T16:43:00.001-07:00

PC Tech Support. NetApps Storevault S550's reliability is a questionable feature. The storevault s550 is a feature rich SAN that's very useful for backup and for network storage such as windows users shares, databases, and other information technology storage needs.The question of whether it's iSCSI networking components are reliable is a concern.

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How to View Public Folders in Outlook 2007

2009-04-10T06:47:00.000-07:00

Public Folders are not shown in the default view, you must be using the "Folder List" view in the Navigation Pane to see public folders. To change to the folder list view, click the Folder List button at the bottom of the Navigation Pane, or if you've reduced the number of buttons at the bottom, the folder list button will change to an icon that looks like a file folder.

How to View Public Folders in Outlook 2007

Microsoft HMC 4.5 Deployment Walkthrough - Does it Work

2009-01-23T03:54:00.001-08:00

Computer Support - Adventure (Rated PG)Microsoft HMC 4.5 Deployment Walkthrough - Does it WorkMicrosoft's HMC 4.5 Deployment Walkthrough is an excellent document and I could say that it does work.I found some minor little errors in the doc but none that were significant enough for a person with a good level of experience with Microsoft products. Microsoft's HMC has come a long way since the 3.x versions. The features in Exchange 2007 have increased tremendously and one of the newest and long awaited capabilities is being able to break out the various functions of the messaging system to different servers much more easilty and effectively that previous version of the software.

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Microsoft HMC 4.5 Deployment Walkthrough - Does it Work

2009-01-23T03:51:00.001-08:00

No Icons on XP Desktop after Cleaning Infected System.

2008-09-28T15:50:00.001-07:00

No Icons on XP Desktop

Antivirus 2008, Antivirus XP, and other such software miscreants can leave an XP desktop with no icons, no taskbar. They boot up normally otherwise and are clean of malware, Trojans, root-kits, etc., but those bad programs have leveraged their hooks into the operating system's start up although all startup locations seem clean and none of the cleaners are detecting this registry change as a problem (at least not at the time of this post).

There is a solution, a simple reg fix that all the big time tech forums didn't have an answer to. It can be found right here http://pctechnow.blogspot.com/2008/08/cant-find-explorerexe-when-run-from.html . The answer most given as a solution to XP starting up with no desktop icons and taskbar or desktop icons have disapeared, soon to replaced by this blogger's, was to re-install the operating system. This was too drastic of a move for me for this problem and besides doing a re-install won't cure the problem. Doing a complete new install would. The tech forums will find this blogger's answer and it will be the default answer to this problem on all the forums and other sites (they should at least acknowledge to where the answer came from by linking to the posts, that's the right thing to do).

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Can't open attachments with Outlook Web Access (OWA).

2008-09-24T20:11:00.001-07:00

http://pctechgo.blogspot.com/2008/09/attachmentashx-message-when-opening.html

This solution did the trick for a client that was having some file attachment issues. The file attachments couldn't be opened or saved. The operating system was Microsoft windows XP and the browser version was IE7 (Internet Explorer 7). The same fix can be applied to a Vista desktop operating system using Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) but the user would have seen a different error message. The fact that in neither case attachments can't be opened for viewing or editing not can attachments be saved with OWA. the Microsoft Exchange server version was Microsoft exchange 2007. There are configuration changes required on the server. This is desktop client side solution. One of the obvious points of how this error if displayed is not a server side problem is that if another browser is used from the same desktop that's not working when using IE7, the other browser such as FireFox works without any setting changes. In addition, other users are not experiencing the same problem.

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Can't find explorer.exe when run from task manager or a command prompt

2008-08-20T17:21:00.001-07:00

Can't find explorer.exe when trying to execute the program from task manager file run menu option or can't find explorer.exe when running from a command prompt. If you have an XP system that boots but doesn't show the desktop after recently removing malware, spyware, adware, and others like Trojans and viruses, then try the fix described in this post for a fix - it worked for me.

Other symptoms include being able to access the explorer.exe file in the windows directory. You can rename it and move it , copy it and even delete it but when you try to run the file to get the desktop to show, the system tells you that it cannot find the explorer.exe or explorer file specified.

Especially if you already checked forums and found that no one has the answer to this one except to reinstall the operating system or try a repair install of XP. Doing a repair install in many cases doesn't help, the problem remains.

If you computer boots but is unable to display the desktop because explorer.exe is not running and all efforts to start explorer fail, then there check the following registry setting.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options]

Look for explorer.exe and delete the key. It should not be there. If you have doubts, then just look at another computer where explorer starts. You'll waste your time if you do however and besides, explorer isn't starting anyway - what are you going to break. If you've found this post then your already frustrated with all the forums and tech support sites that led to no answers or the classic cop-out "reinstall" or "repair". The repair doesn't work and will most likely hang and the wipe out and re-install, a little too drastic for this problem.

If the problem also exists for Internet Explorer, where even if you try and run iexplore.exe from the command line and get the same message as when explorer.exe is run then look for a key in the registry that's labeled iexplore.exe. It will be right next to explorer.exe. Delete that key too.

If you've found this post to be useful, PLEASE link to it.......

Link to post: http://pctechnow.blogspot.com/2008/08/cant-find-explorerexe-when-run-from.html

Link to blog: http://pctechnow.blogspot.com/

Can't find explorer.exe when run from Task Manager

No Icons on XP Desktop

For software that gives techs the ability of web based remote desktop support at an affordable cost try http://www.4remotesupport.com/ . I use it and for the low cost it's so worth the money. I use several remote access & computer remote control tools for remote support . I've tried the pricey stuff too and although I own a license for the expensive stuff and use some of the free utilities too, having another way to get to a computer is a nice thing to have in case one doesn't work for whatever reason or use a different tool dependent on the remote user's skills.

Providing Access to Citrix MetaFrame UDP port 1604

2008-03-13T09:33:00.001-07:00

In this article, you how access to your Citrix MetaFrame server farm works from a network level.There are two Citrix servers load balanced. There are remote offices connected with point-to-point T1 dedicated circuits. Clients can't find Citrix servers or farm without specifying the server names. Client versions that stopped using 1604 after v6.1, Citrix version is XPa server with Feature Release 3 and Service Pack 3; UDP is forwarded on the Cisco routers at the remote offices, ip forward-protocol udp 1604. Citrix dropped the use of broadcasting on UDP port 1604 and now uses port 80 TCP.

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Supporting Technology with Technology.

2008-02-16T07:35:00.000-08:00

Supporting Technology with Technology

Microsoft LiveMeeting has a new version and some great new features to go with it.
Sign-up for a demo:

LiveMeeting Demo

Read White Paper:

Conferencing and Collaboration White Paper

Tech Support

Acronis Disk Director 10 - Resizing partition gotcha

2008-01-11T20:29:00.001-08:00

Acronis Disk Director

This story may not be unique in that anyone who has ever needed to resize a partition on a server surely finds out the options are not many.

Not only are the options to resize server NTFS partitions small but the software chosen must nearly always be of commercial grade and very reliable. Sure, backups of the partitions to be resized could be backed up but no one wants to resort to that as the project will take longer (hours longer - usually into the late night) which might mean more downtime and once you've restored you are still in the same position you were when the project started, the size of the partitions has to be changed.

I found one interesting thing that caught me by surprise but made absolute sense when I first used Acronis Disk Director to resize a partition. The partition that needs to be resized has to have unallocated space right next to it on the hard drive. What this means is that if you have a c drive partition that needs to be resized and you have a d drive too. there needs to be unallocated space in between the c and d drives or else it isn't going to re-size no matter what you try to do and I believe I exhausted all possible work around.

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VMWare - How to boot from ISO image to install a guest OS.

2008-01-11T18:39:00.000-08:00

Last post regarding VMWare:

http://pctechnow.blogspot.com/2007/04/vista-running-as-guest-operating-system.html

In this post I wanted to post a quick blurb about how easy it is to start an OS installation if there is only an ISO image available. This is particularly useful if the computer you want to run an installation on has only a cd-rom drive and the OS you would like to install in on DVD.

With VMWare running on a host operating system, you could install a guest operating system from an ISO image. The trick is to click on the CD-ROM icon on the bottom right of the WMware window. From the small CD-ROM device window that opens, click on the browse button. Locate the ISO image on your hard-drive or a network drive then click OK. The virtual system then starts up. If it's an installation image then the guest operating system will begin the installation process.

The installation then just begins. That's all there is to it.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Installation Checklist (abbreviated version)

2007-10-02T06:19:00.001-07:00

Exchange Server 2003 Installation Checklist A nicely outlined list of steps that are involved in installing Microsoft Exchange Email Server in a Microsoft Active Directory Domain environment. If anyone is looking (for any and many reasons) for a description of the steps required, then this post will be helpful. Links to Microsoft Site provided.

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Vista running as guest operating system in VMWare

2007-04-16T15:20:00.001-07:00

Still hesitating trying out Vista because you don't want to wreck your running operating system just to taste Microsoft's new Vista operating system? Checkout VMWare. I was a skeptic at first but know I'm a believer. I was able to get Vista running on my XP machine and didn't to ruin my system to do it.

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Remote Support Software - Remote Tech Support Software

2007-04-02T06:07:00.001-07:00

Want to be able to remote control control computers over the Internet to support your clients or users no matter where they may be? And do it without sticker shock. There are affordable solutions for remote support software. This site posts a description and review of an online service. The service provides techs with an affordable alternative to expensive remote desktop support services and gives everyone the opportunity to get software that will allow them to provide desktop support to their clients remotely.

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PC Tech Support

2007-02-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

For all PC tech support, application and server support specialists, system integrators, engineers, etc., this software I found for remote control and remote support through the Internet really does the job and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to buy. It's does what the name brands do but for a fraction of the price.

This package allows you to remote control desktop through the Internet with having to spend a thousand dollars or more. The site doesn't even restrict the number of computers you can access and control or the number of times you control them each. They don't restrict bandwidth or anything else.

If you need software that lets you access and remote control computers over the web to provide PC remote support to anyone you know or for your job than check this out. The service has file transfer, auto-reconnect, chat and a bunch of other features. The remote computer doesn't need any thing on their system to connect to you for remote control. All they need is an Internet connection.

While I trying out the system, I noticed to that they make it simple for end-users. Your users can not have a real clue about computers and they'll be able to get this done to connect to your viewer for support. The site doesn't use active-x controls that make browsers pop a message that as you know if your in tech support, they miss and ask "what message?". They don't use any pop-ups which with so many pop-up blockers not too many users even notice counters that show you another pop was blocked and even more of them won't know that a windows got blocked.

They've kept is so simple for users to log in and get support from you. Once you've connected up with their computer you;ll have complete remote control. I mean complete. You can do anything you need to to fix whatever problem they have on it.

This remote support solution has really helped me out so far. To try their remote support software system you don't even need a credit card. You just sign up active the account through an email that's sent to you and you good to go accessing your user page and setting up to remote control desktops through the Internet. Their system isn't just and executable even though they have that too if you need it. You get a user page where you set your viewer and connection options and a tester right on their user page. Once you've tested your setup just go ahead and start remotely connecting to computers on the web and provide customer support or just tech support assistance to anyone.

The site for this remote support software solution is http://www.4remotesupport.com/