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. 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 corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

when referring to their built-in

Windows NT Windows NT is a Proprietary software, proprietary Graphical user interface, graphical operating system produced by Microsoft as part of its Windows product line, the first version of which, Windows NT 3.1, was released on July 27, 1993. Original ...

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 The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establis ...

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 telepho ...

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 communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the suite are ...

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 ...

, 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 valuable ...

—there are client versions for other

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

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 network, packet-switched data communication in wide area network, wide area networks (WAN). It was originally defined by the CCITT, International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Co ...

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 introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such as a compu ...

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 a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

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. ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, provided by a company called

Jade Technologies Jade is an umbrella term for two different types of decorative rocks used for jewelry or ornaments. Jade is often referred to by either of two different silicate mineral names: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole gro ...

. 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 op ...

based program called

PC Anywhere pcAnywhere is a discontinued suite of computer programs by Symantec which allowed 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 networ ...

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, multi-user 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, a ...

based corporate systems since 1985.

References

{{Reflist Windows communication and services Modems

History

See also

References