Tivoli Remote Control

Usage and Config
1

(imported topic written by BenKus)

Hi everybody,

If anyone is interested in checking out our new integration with Tivoli Remote Control (a fully featured remote assistance/remote control tool that can be used by helpdesk teams), please email

betafeedback@bigfix.com

for info on the Tivoli Remote Control BETA.

Thanks!

Ben

2

(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)

Ben, is this the same or similar to the remote control feature in IBM Director? If so, is there a version requirement for Director? Are they compatible? Is a Tivoli/Director or some other agent required to facilitate this or is there an add-in to the BES agent?

3

(imported comment written by JackCoates91)

Hi Jon,

This is using the standalone mode of TRC (http://www-01.ibm.com/software/tivoli/products/remote-control/), which is also used by several other Tivoli products. Because it doesn’t come with the OS, it does require an additional installation, which we’re providing fixlets to take care of. TRC also has a brokered mode, which would require an additional installation if/when we are able to support integration of that feature.

Thanks,

Jack

4

(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)

Jack - a few questions here before we jump in.

How does this compare to the native Windows RDP / Remote Assistance?

Is this using Java?

Are there any special ports that need to be opened on the client firewall?

Does it support OS X?

5

(imported comment written by JackCoates91)

Hi Jon,

It’s more advanced than RDP/RA. It has the usual screen sharing, clipboard, chat, and auditable logging features. It also supports Linux.

Yes, a port needs to be opened, again fixlets are provided.

6

(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)

How does it compare in terms of bandwidth efficiency versus RDP? We abandoned an earlier version of TRC over bandwidth considerations across the WAN. Does it offer bandwidth controls?

If there is an existing Director agent, can that be leveraged? If so, what versions are supported?

Is it included in our Bigfix license or is a separate TRC license required?

Off the IBM web …

Client license

USD $37.00

or

Processor Value Unit (PVU) license

USD $370.00

$37.00 for 10 PVUs

x 10 = 100 PVUs

… are there any special considerations for IBM hardware customers? Usually stuff like this (Director, TPM lite, etc.) IBM gives us (huge IBM HW customer) along with hardware purchases.

To jspanitz’s point, it looks like at least the console is Java-based. What about the agent? Hopefully not …

7

(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)

AFAIK, TRC does not really support bandwidth throttling. It does allow you to configure the use of 8 or 24 bit color (http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v3r1/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.itrc.doc_5.1.2/welcome.htm).

For pricing, this is always the full retail price, which I doubt anyone actually pays.

I am very curious to see if BigFix will use TRC or Remote Diagnostics, which is what IBM was looking to include (for free) with their comparable BigFix product. In many ways they provided the same functionality, but full TRC allowed for more configuration.

The Java was used for the Java Web Start functionality, which IBM uses quite a bit for client interfaces. The agent is not java based (unless something changed). I think that IBM got the message about Java agents previously (at least I hope they did)

If you want some more reading, check out the Info Center at: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v3r1/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.itrc.doc_5.1.2/welcome.htm

I have not seen support for target OSx, but it seems that IBM is really starting to work on this more. For all supported clients, refer to: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v3r1/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.itrc.doc_5.1.2%2Ftrc-install24.htm.

8

(imported comment written by BenKus)

Hey guys,

I will try to get clarification on the pricing for you guys and get an answer about IBM Director…

  • The agent (target) is NOT a java app.
  • If you are already entitled to TRC in any way, then certainly this integration will be available to you without cost.

Ben

9

(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)

Good to hear Java is not involved on the client. Is Java used on the BES Server or Admin console for TRC?

I’d like to known more about what JonL asked - Bandwidth usage and performance over WAN / VPN.

10

(imported comment written by BenKus)

Hey guys,

Java is used for the TRC Console (but not the client).

I asked the TRC team and they said their tests and experiences show that it works fine on low bandwidth (I don’t have any experience myself in this area). Maybe you can try it out?

My understanding is that our TRC integration is not related to IBM Director.

Ben

11

(imported comment written by jeko1791)

We have it working correctly, but it’s using hostname to connect to. We don’t have DNS resolution for all systems, is it possible to hand TRC the IP instead?

It looks like we would just modify the registry key for ShellCommandRelevance, which I’ve tried, but have not found the right relevance yet.

Any suggestions?

12

(imported comment written by BenKus)

yea… You can modify the ShellCommandRelevance like you said, but instead of:

"%22C:\Program Files\IBM\Tivoli\Remote Control\Controller\jre\bin\javaw.exe%22 -jar %22C:\Program Files\IBM\Tivoli\Remote Control\Controller\TRCConsole.jar%22 --host " & ( value of property result whose (name of property of it = “Computer Name” ) of current computer )

Use:

"%22C:\Program Files\IBM\Tivoli\Remote Control\Controller\jre\bin\javaw.exe%22 -jar %22C:\Program Files\IBM\Tivoli\Remote Control\Controller\TRCConsole.jar%22 --host " & ( value of property result whose (name of property of it = “IP Address” ) of current computer

The problem is that a computer can have multiple IP addresses and so in my relevance, I just use the first one… You can try to find a more clever way if you want…

Ben

13

(imported comment written by beno91)

Hi everybody,

I’m rookie in the world of bigfix and I have installed the TEM 8.1 in first time and I would like to try the TRC function, but I don’t find the fixlet which can grant this function.

Can you help me?

thanks

beno

14

(imported comment written by JackCoates91)

under licensing, do you see a Tivoli Remote Control site?

15

(imported comment written by beno91)

No, I don’t see. I have evaluation license.

16

(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)

We upgraded our infrastructure from 7.2 to 8.1 last night. I also do not see the Tivoli Remote Control listed under the remote control configuration. I looked at the documentation and it looks like it should be under System Lifecycle > Remote Control Configuration. I only have Microsoft listed there.

I was told by our vendor that sold us BigFix/TEM that we are going to get the Tivoli Remote Control and the OS Deployment. Are these going to be seperate mastheads that need to be added or are these suppose to be features that should be available after the upgrade?

EDIT: when looking at the licensing overview I see BigFix Remote Desktop for Windows but nothing for Tivoli Remote Control. The only Tivoli branded site is the Endpoint Manager for Software Usage Analysis.

17

(imported comment written by JackCoates91)

Hi,

You might need to check with licensing; it should be there if you’re using the 8.1 Lifecycle Management license. It is a separate masthead called Tivoli Remote Control.

thanks,

Jack

18

(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)

Jack - So if one has the SLM / SCVM Combo Pack, should we be seeing the TRC site?

19

(imported comment written by JackCoates91)

Hey Jon,

I’ll look into your account and follow up on email.

thanks,

Jack

20

(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)

I sent an email to licensing@bigfix.com, is this still a valid email address? I did not get a bounceback but I wasnt sure if the email changed to an @ibm address.