What can I do with Apple Remote Desktop and how.
 

I have recently purchased the new ARD 3 for my macbook. I understand how to control and observe computers that are in my network only. I am still trying to figure out how to control over different networks. Please help me I am a new mac user and not familiar with ports and stuff. If you can explain to me exactly what I need to do that would be great. I need step by step information and try making believe that your teaching it to a five year old by explaining every little detail. Thank you so much.

See if this Apple document explains it adequately for you: Apple Remote Desktop: Connecting through a firewall or NAT
Apple Remote Desktop 2: Can't control or observe clients after update from ARD 1
or
"Well Known" TCP and UDP Ports Used By Apple Software Products.

If not, come back here with specific questions based on how Apple explains it.

Trevor

This document doesn't quite show me the info I need. I am on a macbook right now on IP address ....... and I want to connect to IP address ....... but it says trouble finding connection or something like that. The computer I want to control is a macbook also. so wat I have to do is go to system preferences and then ard. then when checked it says type in this IP address to allow others to control this computer. Then I type it in in ARD and it says trouble finding connection or something like that. What else do I have to do.

Yes, I have the very same problem, and reading dozens of posts still leaves me dazed and confused. Is the question complex, and we don't realize it? I simply want to access a colleague's MacBook from my MBP over the internet. There are no (visible) routers involved to "port" or anything else. Most interesting that the Apple site can't seem to help with this ARD 3.1 question. Can anyone over here? Thanks so much. [gh]

Are the IP addresses that you are attempting to connect to in one of the ranges below?

10.0.0.0 through 10.255.255.255
192.168.0.0 through 192.168.255.255
172.16.0.0 through 172.31.255.255

If so, these addresses cannot be directly connected to. They are the so called 'unroutable IPs', because they are, by definition, IP addresses that are reserved for people's private networks. There are hundreds of thousands of computers using each of those IP addresses, and so you can't address them directly from your computer.

What you have to do is address their router. And then you have to set their router to forward requests to the right computer.

So it goes like this:

your computer ---> your router ---> the internet ---> their router, which has a routable IP not in the reserved ranges above ---> their router forwards the packets to their computer.

The ports that need to be forwarded in their router are discussed in the Apple document that I linked to above.

Trevor

trevor,
WOW, thanks for the quick and clear reply! Yes, I am working in those common ranges, specifically the 192.xxx.x.x. Now, knowing that, can I address a "router" if I desire peer-to-peer ARD between two Mac laptops NOT physcially connected on the same subnet? As you probably already know, I can easily see the MacBook I am asked to support when we are both in the office. It is when I am three hours away that I can't get to Observe or Control.

How do I set a system preference or control on the two MacBooks? Both are running ARD 3.1; OSX 10.4.8.

I don't know if this will help you at all, but a few things. Under the Sharing tab in the system prefs did you check the ARD in the services tab, and in the firewall tab. This will allow access to the computer. ARD uses TCP ports 3283 and 5900 I think, and the same UDP ports.

So you would have to set your router to forward incoming traffic on those ports to the computer you want. If your computer is 192.168.1.XX or something, you would set your router to forward those ports to that IP which is the computer's local network IP. When someone tries to connect through ARD they connect to your external IP (router IP), and then the router sends the request to your internal (local network IP).

Port forwarding is also know as port mapping in some cases, depends on your router, but it's the same thing. Hope that helps.

Yes, exactly. You need to find out what the IP address of their router is.

Once common and easy way to do this is to ask the other person that you want to connect to, to go to a website that displays their IP address. My personal favorite is http://iwantmyip.com/ . The IP address that will be displayed for people behind a router, whose computer is using an unroutable IP address, will be the IP address of the router, not the computer.

(If you go to a website like that when you are not using a routable IP address, it should show you the actual IP of your computer. Note that if you are set up like this, you are vulnerable to hackers around the world, because they can address your computer directly.)

Now that you have their router's IP, you can tell ARD to connect to that IP.

But when you connect to their router, how does it know to give you to their 192.168.x.x IP? Presumably, there are other computers on their local network as well, and anyway, computers don't do things unless you or someone tells them to.

The method to go from their router to their actual computer is called port forwarding. They need to set up their router to forward the ports used by ARD to their computer. So if their router's IP address is 12.34.56.78, and their computer's IP address is 192.168.1.100, then you connect to 12.34.56.78, and their router forwards your requests to 192.168.1.100, and the ARD program on their end responds, if it is running.

Trevor

Trevor, you know too much about this. This worked great Ill get back to you.

As a side note if the outside IP is dynamic (will eventually be changed by the ISP) then you might want to look into dyndns.org to make it easier to connect when the IP address changes.

Ok trevor that didn't 100%work. I tried connecting to another mac about 4 blocks away. I went to that website were it shows the routable IP and typed it in on my computer. Then I checked off apple remote desktop in the sharing part of system preferences. I put in the username and password of the admin on the comp and it didnt go through. any idea?

Is the remote computer serving VNC? (In other words, it is the remote computer's desktop that will be displayed?)

And you are the VNC client? (In other words, you will be viewing the remote computer's desktop?)

If that is the case, does the remote computer (the VNC server) have port forwarding turned on for the ports listed in this Apple document:
"Well Known" TCP and UDP Ports Used By Apple Software Products
Note that the Apple document that I pointed you to in post #2 above seems to be outdated, and only apply to Apple Remote Desktop 1. I've edited the post above to correct this.

This document shows that the server needs to forward ports 3283, 5900, and 5988, as well as have those open on their computer's firewall.

Trevor

How do I know if it is turned on. and if it isnt how do i turn it on?

How do you know what is turned on?

Trevor

If you mean the VNC server on the remote computer, it is turned on in System Preferences > Sharing > Services tab > Apple Remote Desktop.

Trevor

How do I know if port forwarding is turned on. I need step by step instructions. Am i supposed to turn traffic off or what. Should I press start in the firewall pane in system preferences/sharing?

Port forwarding is different on every router. What brand of router is it?

Trevor

it says verizon on it.

Unfortunately, Verizon doesn't actually make routers, although they apparently put their name on some made by other companies. Is there a sticker on the bottom, or on the back face, that may tell you the actual manufacturer and model?

Trevor

sry man im nt there right now ill get back to u. do u have a skype name or an ichat account?

I do, but it would be much better to post anything you find out to the forum here, so that
1. others can benefit too, and
2. others can respond too. Opening up questions to the broad forum means that more people can give their expertise as well.

Trevor

kk well is there any way that u can control my comp? if i give u wha u need so i will understand how to do it to others?

I don't have ARD3. Also, I'd rather not do that--let's just stick to the forum.

Trevor

kk ill get back to u

Ok I have a belkin router in my basement. Where can I go from there. How do I set the ports to go through it?!

Port Forwarding for the Belkin F5D7632-4

Note that you didn't give me the model of Belkin router, so that may or may not be exactly correct, and also note that the directions that are important are for the router between the server (i.e. the computer that will be showing it's screen) and the internet.

Trevor

I also have a question about the program itself. I was monitoring other computers and i noticed that when i lock it it says on the remote computer locked by (name). How can I change the name on that and how can I take that sentence out.

I can not find a way to take the sentence out, but you can change the name displayed by changing your User Name. You'll have to log out and back in for changes to take effect.

Also how do I get the sound transfered from the remote computer to my computer when veiwing. like if i turn itunes on that comp I cant here it. I need a way to here it on mine. Thanks

As far as I know this is not possible through Remote Desktop.

kk thanks anyways