Remote Network Connections

One of the big advantages to having a network is that you can set up shared folders for other people to access, and you can access the shared folders that other people have set up. This is so much easier than trying to share data using lessdirect means, such as the old "sneakernet" solution. (That is, place the files on a memory card or other removable media, walk the card over the other computer-sneakers are optional-and then insert the card in the other computer.)

Shared folders are great, but there are plenty of problems they can't solve:

• A program you need is installed on a remote computer, but not on your computer. For example, you might want to open or edit a document in a shared folder, but only the remote computer has a program that's capable of opening that document.
• A remote computer has data that's impossible or difficult to share. For example, you may need to read or respond to an email message that you received on the remote computer, or you might need to visit an Internet site that you've set up as a favorite in Internet Explorer on the remote computer.
• A remote computer contains data you need, but that data resides in a folder that hasn't been shared.

To solve these and similar problems, you need to go beyond shared folders and establish a more powerful connection to the remote computer. That is, you need to connect to the remote machine's desktop, which enables you to open folders, run programs, edit documents, and tweak settings. In short, anything you can do while physically sitting in front of the other computer you can do remotely from your own computer. As you see in this tutorial, Windows 7's Remote Desktop feature enables you to connect to a computer's desktop over the network. It's also possible to configure your network to allow you to make a Remote Desktop connection over the Internet. This is a great way to give yourself access to your home computer while you're traveling with a laptop.

You might think that operating another computer remotely would be too slow to be useful. However, the responsiveness of the remote session depends a great deal on the speed of the connection. For a LAN connection, an ethernet (10Mbps) connection or 802.11b (11Mbps) wireless connection is just too slow, whereas a Fast Ethernet (100Mbps) or 802.11g (54Mbps) connection will give you adequate performance for most tasks. If you want to play games or perform other graphics-intensive tasks, you really need a Gigabit Ethernet (1Gbps) connection or an 802.11n (248Mbps) wireless connection. Over the Internet, don't even bother connecting with dial-up; instead, you need a cable or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) broadband (1Mbps or better) link, and even then you'll want to avoid large files and heavy-duty graphic tasks.