jwcolby
jwcolby at colbyconsulting.com
Sun Jun 1 20:48:46 CDT 2008
Logmein actually purchased Hamachi from the original developers. Logmein is a remote access solution, but it is fundamentally different from Hamachi, and they are used for different things. Hamachi is a VPN (Virtual Private Network) which can include computers all over the world if you so desire. People use it to set up game networks where gamers sit in their own home, and "log in" to a network created using Hamachi. Hamachi is NOT the remote access portion of the picture, it is a "virtual network" solution, networking 2 or more computers together, USUALLY across the internet. If you have a network, it is often useful to use Remote Desktop to control (for example) the wife's or the son's computer downstairs from your own computer upstairs. Or in a business you might want to log in to the server in another building from your own desktop, or just remote into another user's machine. As you probably know, NAT (Network Address Translation) causes each computer within your network to be assigned an IP Address, usually in the range of 192.168.x.x. The problem with NAT addresses is that they "interfere" with remote desktop, particularly coming in from the outside through a router. By default, Remote Desktop uses port 3398 as the remote access port. In order to come in through the router, each machine has to be assigned a static IP address by the router, and then port forwarding turned on, and "ports" forwarded to specific IP addresses. It just becomes messy. I use Hamachi to set up a network within my own network, which can then be accessed from outside of my network. Hamachi assigns a "real" unique IP address to each computer in the network. That IP is visible in the little Hamachi screen, and that IP can be directly addressed for Remote desktop or VNC. You can also directly browse shares on remote machines, drag and drop files from remote shares onto your machine and vice versa. Because I run only Windows XP Pro or Windows 2003, both of which contain Remote Desktop built in, I can then use remote desktop from my laptop to control any of the computers in my Hamachi network. Remote desktop is extremely fast in painting the screen of the remote computer, i.e. it is "responsive", making it seem as if you are sitting right there at the remote computer. Furthermore it is free and it is EXACTLY like I am there. But the "remote access" server has to be running on the remote machine, whether VNC or Remote Desktop. I am not proposing Hamachi over something like LogMeIn, I am just discussing the differences between them and what Hamachi does. Hamachi is by definition a NETWORK, not remote access per se. LogMeIn is probably a BETTER solution in many instances. For example I am finding myself providing technical assistance to friends and family. LogMeIn is designed expressly for that. You do not need to install VNC or have a version of windows which supports the Remote Desktop server (XP Pro or 2003 server etc.). For those situations, LogMeIn would allow direct computer to computer connection. That said, I find Hamachi and Remote Desktop fits my purposes when I want to be able to jump around an entire network of my machines. However I will definitely be looking in to LogmeIn for my "friend support" platform. John W. Colby www.ColbyConsulting.com Darryl Collins wrote: > > For a simple and free solution for remote access I use "LogMeIn" (www.logmein.com). It comes in plenty of flavors, but for me the free version does most of what I need to do. Recommended as well. Especially handy when playing IT Helpdesk to your parents who live 850 Kms away!