You can use the Remote.exe command-line tool to start a Remote Control session with a Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) client.All the Remote Tools functions that are available by using the user interface are also available from the command line when you run Remote.exe to establish a Remote Tools connection. This is useful when you develop programs that require the functionality in SMS Remote Tools.
By default, Remote.exe is located in the %SystemRoot%\SMS\Bin\I386 folder on a primary or secondary site installation. On a computer where only the SMS Administrator console is installed, Remote.exe is located in the %SystemRoot%\SMSADMIN\Bin\I386 folder.
Use Remote.exe with the following syntax:
remote address_type address \\site_server_name\
parameter can have the following values:
- 0 for SMS Resource ID
- 1 for IPX
- 2 for TCP/IP
- 3 for NetBIOS
parameter can be a valid Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) network number, a valid Internet Protocol (IP) address, or a valid client (host) name or NetBIOS name. The site_server_name
parameter is the site server name for the site where the client belongs. Note
You can also access syntax information by typing remote.exe /?
at a command prompt.
The following are two examples of the correct command-line syntax:
remote 2 172.16.0.0 \\big_server\Note
remote 3 dubn_netbios \\big_server\
In SMS 2003, the IPX and the NetBIOS address types apply only when you want to connect to SMS 2.0 clients. SMS 2003 clients use only TCP/IP connections.
When you use Remote.exe, the resource that you specify is always resolved to a resource ID in the SMS database. SMS object security is scanned to determine if the user has the permissions to remotely control the resource. The available remote control features depend on SMS resolving the computer address that you supply, instead of on how security controls are applied.
To establish a Remote Tools connection, you must have the Use Remote Tools permission and the Read permission for the collection that contains the client. If you are not a local administrator, your domain account must also be included in the Permitted Viewers list. To add your account to the Permitted Viewers list in SMS 2003 and SMS 2.0, follow these steps:
- In the SMS Administrator Console, expand the Site Database\Site Hierarchy\Your Site\Site Settings node.
- Click Client Agents, and then double-click Remote Tools Client Agent.
- Click the Security tab, and then click the Add button.
Note The Add button displays a yellow star.
- Type your domain account, and then click OK two times.
By default, Remote Tools in SMS 2.0 Service Pack 5 (SP5) tries to resolve a client's computer name to an IP address by querying the SMS database and by using the results of name resolution requests. You can configure this process.For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Remote Tools may connect to the wrong Systems Management Server client
SMS 2003 does not retrieve the IP address from the SMS database. SMS 2003 instead uses either the IP address that you supply or resolves the computer name to an IP address by using WINS name resolution requests.
You can connect to a client by using its resource ID. To do this, use the following command syntax, where site_server
is the NetBIOS name of your site server:
remote 0 <Resource_ID> \\site server\
The following is an example of the correct command-line syntax:
remote 0 2 \\big_server\
When you use a resource ID, Remote.exe tries to connect by using all the available protocols for the destination client. To determine the resource ID of a client, follow these steps:
- In the SMS Administrator Console, open a collection.
- Right-click the client computer, and then click Properties.
The resource ID appears in the Discovery data
area of the General
tab. You can also obtain a client's resource ID by using a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) custom query. For more information about how to create a custom query, see the SMS 2003 software development kit (SDK). To download the SMS 2003 SDK, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
If you use Remote.exe without any command-line options, the Remote Tools Address Connection
dialog box appears. Click the address type that you want to use, and then type the address.
After you configure the parameters, click OK
to connect to the client. A connection to the client is established if all the following conditions are true:
- The Remote Control Agent (Wuser32.exe) is running on the client.
- The SMS Administrator Console and the client share a common network protocol.
- The SMS security permissions are configured correctly.
After you establish a Remote Tools connection to the client by using Remote.exe, you can perform the same functions that are available in the SMS Administrator console.