Labs

Remote access software

Vector Networks PC-Duo Enterprise Remote Control 7.1 [PC Pro]
COMPANY: Vector Networks	PRICE: �56up to 10 users; 100 users, �37 each (all exc VAT)
RATING:	ISSUE: 104 DATE: Apr 03

Verdict: Almost identical to the excellent NetSupport Manager, but the additional options for network, asset and licence management offered by Vector Networks will be worth considering.

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Vector Networks has had a licensing agreement with NetSupport for many years, so you'll find PC-Duo Remote Control (PDRC) is virtually identical to NetSupport Manager (NSM). On review is version 7.1, but by the time you read this Vector will have released version 8, which brings it in line with NSM. There are, however, some noticeable differences, as PDRC is just one component of the PC-Duo Enterprise suite that provides a complete network management software package.

Software deployment is dealt with separately by a LANdeploy utility, which, although not as easy to use as NSM's utility, employs package definition files to remotely install clients on Windows NT, 2000 and XP systems. There's also evident duplication, as the PC-Duo Enterprise suite provides its own sophisticated hardware and



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software inventory, making the tools provided by PDRC pale into insignificance.

However, if you opt for PDRC, you won't be disappointed, as it provides a wealth of features. As you'd expect, the PDRC main control interface offers the same level of highly accessible support tools as NSM. These deliver easy access to client systems for remote control, viewing, file transfer and chat. Not only is security for controlling user access tight, but also the facilities for logging all types of activity. An audit trail feature keeps track of all actions, so you can easily find out when a client came online, which systems connected to it, what they did and even which files they accessed. You can also automatically record all actions taken on a client system during a remote-control session and replay them later on.

As with NSM, training tools are in abundance. A Show option allows you to broadcast the contents of your screen and all actions performed to any number of client systems simultaneously. File-transfer tools are also good, as drag-and-drop copying is supported along with basic directory synchronisation. However, this isn't as sophisticated as LapLink's agent - you can't choose a copy direction and the jobs can only be run manually. Still, it's worth noting that both NSM and PDRC delivered easily the best performance in the file-copy tests and by a significant margin.