The free version of RealVNC (info) was installed so I could have access to the computer from New York. I like to show the users stuff in their own profile and this allows me to watch what they do so I can figure out what the problems are. This type of setup has worked out great so far.

My only snag has been that Outlook can’t find my mail server through the tunnel. (Okay, so that’s more than just a snag.) The mail settings resolve the Exchange server’s internal IP address to beta.[non-profit].org; that is, the server name on the domain. Outlook can’t find the server, I’m assuming, because once resolved it is seeking the website beta.[non-profit].org. I assumed that an entry in the hosts file will solve this. Unfortunately I was not able to test this by the end of the day due to hardware difficulty…

While the workstation had been working fine for me in New York, by the time it reached the branch office one of the fans seemed to have broken. As a result the tower makes some horrible noises and apparently shuts itself down from over-heating. I’ll probably have to ship out the other workstation to replace this one. It’s a good thing the second employee hasn’t started yet.

I feel now is the time for me to standardize on a smartphone/PDA solution. Since I prefer central management as much as possible, I don’t want to purchase cellphones that require a desktop client. We already have such setups in the New York office for both Blackberry and Treo. Both work fine but I don’t see this as a solution when dealing with remote site users. Since we have Exchange 2003, we have ActiveSync. Using a Windows Mobile device, like a Treo 700w, email and contacts can readily flow to the device. With no desktop client to install, there would be less hassles when something does go wrong with the workstation or PDA. A Blackberry server option winds up being an additional expense that, while far more useful for centrally managing mobile devices, is difficult to justify when we already own something that satisfies the general requirement. Still, Blackberry is not out of the equation yet.

There is a problem on the network side. Because it is easy, I was intending these users to be set up on POP3, which means while I can set up their Outlook to leave the mail on the server for a duration of time thereby syncing with the handheld device, their contacts will forever be on their desktop. Alternatively a VPN for Exchange would create constant synchronization and give me a chance to use ActiveSync. Currently a VPN is what we use for two west coast users, though the rest use POP3. VPN is currently handled between server and desktop instead of between firewalls. I fear over time this setup could eat up bandwidth and resources. I might not want to think that long-term though, since a growing organization is a changing one, and just setup a protocol that really works through the immediate future.