Using Windows Remote Desktop and PuTTY to access your SPH PC with 64-bit Windows Vista
Prerequisites:
- SPH unix/afs account - If you do not have an SPH unix/afs account, the following form can be used to request an account: User Services Form.
- An SPH PC running Windows XP that can be left "on" and that is not being used by another person.
- A "client" PC that will be used to remotely control the SPH PC (e.g. a computer at home). While these instructions describe how to set up a client PC running Windows XP, a similar procedure can be used with a client computer that is running OS X, Linux, or any other OS that has ssh and a Remote Desktop (RDP) client.
SPH PC Setup:
If you do not have an administrator account for your computer, please contact SPH Computing Services for assistance with the configuration of your SPH PC.
Windows needs to be configured to allow Remote Desktop connections. In Windows XP, this requires an administrator account on the computer. If you have an administrator account, you can log in with that account, right-click on "My Computer", and select "Properties" from the menu. Then, click on the "Remote" tab.
In the "Remote Desktop" section, check the box that says "Allow users to connect remotely to this computer".
The SPH Windows computer also needs to be configured to allow specific users to connect remotely. On the same "Remote" tab, click "Select Remote Users" and then add the appropriate users to the list of allowed remote users.
Client Setup:
In order to use Windows Remote Desktop to access your SPH PC, you will need to "forward" or "tunnel" the connection through ssh, using the SPH login server. The following instructions explain how to set up and use PuTTY for this purpose.
PuTTY will be needed on the "client" computer (the computer that will be used to remotely access your SPH computer - e.g. your home computer). PuTTY can be downloaded from R:\ssh\putty\putty.exe, or from the PuTTY Download Page.
You just need the current version of putty.exe, but you can use the "Windows Installer" if you prefer. For the purposes of these instructions, it will be assumed that you have placed putty.exe in C:\Program Files\PuTTY\putty.exe
After copying PuTTY to the client computer, make a shortcut to it (right-click on putty.exe and select "Create Shortcut"). You may want to place the new shortcut on your Desktop - you will need to double-click this shortcut each time you want to use Remote Desktop to control your SPH PC.
Edit the properties of the shortcut (right-click on the shortcut and select "Properties").
In the "target" field, add text after the end of the existing text so that it looks like the following:
"C:\Program Files\PuTTY\putty.exe" -ssh -2 -L 127.0.0.2:3390:[PC Name].ddns.sph.umich.edu:3389 login.sph.umich.edu
Replace "[PC name]" with the name of the computer you want to access remotely. By default, the PC Name will be "SPH-[inventory number]", where "[inventory-number]" is the SPH inventory number of your computer (e.g. "2006-0123"). For example, if your computer has SPH inventory number 2006-0123, the shortcut target would look like this:
"C:\Program Files\PuTTY\putty.exe" -ssh -2 -L 127.0.0.2:3390:sph-2006-0123.ddns.sph.umich.edu:3389 login.sph.umich.edu
If you're interested in what the different parts of that command line mean, here's a generic description:
[path to putty.exe] -ssh -2 -L 127.0.0.2:[local port]:[remote address]:[remote port] [gateway system address]
"-ssh" tells PuTTY that this is an ssh connection. "-2" tells PuTTY to use ssh version 2. "-L" tells PuTTY that the next bit describes the port forwarding that is desired.
Please note that a very similar command line can be used if the "client" computer is running Mac OS X, Linux or any other OS that has both ssh and a Remote Desktop (RDP) client.
Making the connection:
When you want to use the Remote Desktop connection, you first need to double-click on the PuTTY shortcut and log in to the SPH login server. Once you are logged in, you can minimize the window so it is out of the way.
Then, run the Remote Desktop client (Start Menu -> Programs -> Accessories -> Communications -> Remote Desktop Connection), and enter the following in the "Computer" field:127.0.0.2:3390
Click "Connect" and you will be presented with the login you see when at SPH. You are now connected to your computer. Login using your uniqname and active directory password; also, make sure that "Log on to:" says UMROOT.
