Help Connecting Viewer and Server

Hello,

I have the server running and the viewer set up, but the connection keeps failing. I’m assuming the server IP (for Viewer) is the external IP (of Server) since this is where the ‘port forwarding’ occurs. It seems so simple yet …? The router I’m trying to get through is the ActionTec GT701-WG and has a WEP key for wireless connections ‘to it - outbound’, but that isn’t the case here, I’m inbound. I did configure the server with a password but then I know that on the Viewer end. Trying to think of what else … oh, in the Server window should the External IP be red and Internal be green, seems they should both be green.

I know this is basic stuff, sorry to bother you guys … but help please.

You are correct to be using the external IP when outside your network.
But to be able to connect from outside your network you will need to setup port-forwarding on your Actiontec to forward port 5900 to your INTERNAL IP (192.168.0.105).

You can probably get to your router configuration screen from the Vine Help Menu. Hope that helps.

[quote=“JonathanOSX”] … setup port-forwarding on your Actiontec to forward port 5900 to your INTERNAL IP (192.168.0.105).

You can probably get to your router configuration screen from the Vine Help Menu. Hope that helps.[/quote]

Thank you for the reply. The ActionTec is configured (port forwarding/port 5900) for the internal IP 192.168.0.5 … you say my internal IP is 192.168.0.105 … how does .5 become .105

The server is behind the configured ActionTec. The viewer is also behind an ActionTec. Does the viewer side ActionTec need configuring?

Was reading more in the Viewer documentation and noticed Bonjour was used in the ‘discovery’ (?) process. Searching it out I discovered mDNSResponder wasn’t in the Activity monitor and Console Log said:

Mac OS X Version 10.4.11 (Build 8S165)
2008-01-04 06:20:14 -0800
Jan 4 06:20:16 g4-450 mDNSResponder: NOTE: Wide-Area Service Discovery disabled to avoid crashing defective DNS relay 192.168.0.1.
2008-01-04 06:20:18.023 SystemUIServer102 lang is:en

So am now troubleshooting why Bonjour is disabled???

The Bonjour advertising/discovery really doesn’t play a role outside the local network so although it would be good to figure out why it’s broken it shouldn’t impact this scenario.

You shouldn’t need to configure the router on the Viewer side.

Your screen shot clearly shows that the computer is running at IP 192.168.0.5 so that is where the forwarding should be targeted.

I went back to the server ActionTec and re-did the port forwarding - deleted the original 192.168.0.5 and put in a fresh one.

Came back to the viewer and viola (sp) … connected right up. Thank you.

Is there documentation or other resource for using Vine? I have some questions like:

Would other computers on the viewer side network experience slow connection speeds?

Is the internet connection speed relevant to redrawing speeds?

Would a person at the server see what I’m doing? Could they be on the computer at the same time?

Would I need a user account on other server machines?

The list goes on.:smiley:

I do family and friends IT stuff (pretty limited) but I’m thinking this could be real handy, not to mention accessing my office computer from home.

There is an FAQ right here in these forums and it contains a link to a more [url=http://faq.gotomyvnc.com/]generic VNC FAQ. There are also PDF manuals for [url=http://www.redstonesoftware.com/Documentation/Vine%20VServer.pdf]Vine Server and [url=http://www.redstonesoftware.com/Documentation/Vine%20Viewer.pdf]Vine Viewer.

To address some of your specific questions in brief.

Would other computers on the viewer side network experience slow connection speeds?
On a LAN it wouldn’t be noticed. Over broadband many networks have more inbound capacity than outbound capacity so it’s more likely to impact the VNC server’s network out than viewer’s network in.

Is the internet connection speed relevant to redrawing speeds?
Yes, the network latency (ping time) will affect time to start drawing but more significantly network capacity will determine how long until the update has been fully received.

Would a person at the server see what I’m doing? Could they be on the computer at the same time?
This varies based on the Operating System and configuration. Linux almost always has independent desktops (they can’t see you and they can use the computer at the same time in their own desktop). Windows never has independent desktops with VNC. On Mac OS X 10.4 and above you can depending on if it’s a desktop server or a system server (please refer to the Vine Server manual for more info).

Thank you