A remote access service (RAS) is any combination of hardware and software to enable the remote access tools or information that typically reside on a network of IT devices. A remote access service connects a client to a host computer, known as a remote access server. The most common approach to this service is remote control of a computer by using another device which needs internet or any other network connection. Here are the connection steps: # User dials into a PC at the office. # Then the office PC logs into a file server where the needed information is stored. # The remote PC takes control of the office PC's monitor and keyboard, allowing the remote user to view and manipulate information, execute commands, and exchange files. Many computer manufacturers and large businesses' help desks use this service widely for technical troubleshooting of their customers' problems. Therefore you can find various professional first-party, third-party, open source, and freeware remote desktop applications. Which some of those are cross-platform across various versions of Windows, macOS, UNIX, and Linux. Remote desktop programs may include LogMeIn or TeamViewer. To use RAS from a remote node, a RAS client program is needed, or any PPP client software. Most remote control programs work with RAS. PPP is a set of industry standard framing and authentication protocols that enable remote access. Microsoft Remote Access Server (RAS) is the predecessor to Microsoft Routing and Remote Access Server (RRAS). RRAS is a Microsoft Windows Server feature that allows Microsoft Windows clients to remotely access a Microsoft Windows network.

History

The term was originally coined by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

when referring to their built-in

Windows NT Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released on July 27, 1993. It is a processor-independent, multiprocessing and multi-user operating system. The first version of Win ...

remote access tools. RAS is a service provided by Windows NT which allows most of the services which would be available on a

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

to be accessed over a

modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...

link. The service includes support for

dialup Dial-up Internet access is a form of Internet access that uses the facilities of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a connection to an Internet service provider (ISP) by dialing a telephone number on a conventional telep ...

and logon, presents the same network interface as the normal network drivers (albeit slightly slower). RAS works with several major network protocols, including

TCP/IP The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the set of communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the suit ...

IPX Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) is the network layer protocol in the IPX/SPX protocol suite. IPX is derived from Xerox Network Systems' IDP. It also has the ability to act as a transport layer protocol. The IPX/SPX protocol suite was very p ...

, and NBF. It is not necessary to run Windows NT on the

client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuabl ...

—there are client versions for other

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

s. RAS enables users to log into an NT-based LAN using a modem,

X.25 X.25 is an ITU-T standard protocol suite for packet-switched data communication in wide area networks (WAN). It was originally defined by the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT, now ITU-T) in a series of drafts ...

connection or WAN link. Starting in the mid-1990s, several manufacturers such as U.S. Robotics produced "modem terminal servers". Instead of having

RS-232 In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such ...

ports, these would directly incorporate an analog

. These devices were commonly used by

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

s to allow consumer dial-up. Modern versions interface to an

ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the digitalised circuits of the public switched telephone network. Work ...

PRI instead of having analog modem ports. Remote access services are now commonly used for online technical support for personal computers. The first instance of this was in 1987 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, provided by a company called Jade Technologies. This used the

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

based program called

PC Anywhere pcAnywhere is a discontinued suite of computer programs by Symantec which allows a user of the pcAnywhere remote program on a computer to connect to a personal computer running the pcAnywhere host if both are connected to interconnected networks ...

to directly link into

and early Windows-based PCs. The company had been providing RAS support for

Unix Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...

based corporate systems since 1985.

References

{{Reflist Windows communication and services Modems

History

See also

References