Run program over a network without need to use RDC TV or similar?

Dolke · 11 Nov 2014

Hi guys,

Is it possible to run certain programs on a PC that are fiscally installed on another PC on the LAN or VPN without need to connect to that same PC using RDC or similar software like TeamViewer, Radmin etc...?

So just purely locate the installation folder on the other PC through LAN or VPN, click .exe file and run it.

I guess answer is no to most standalone desktop applications but I would like to know some more facts about it.

Btw, both PCs have the same OS, windows 7 professional x86.

Thanks
Dean

LMiller7 · 11 Nov 2014

It is not possible to run programs on another PC without software designed for the purpose. This could be Remote Desktop, Team Viewer, VNC, Telnet, or something similar.

Modern operating systems do provide the native capability (Remote Procedure Call) to run a procedure in a different computer but this capability is not user accessible. It is the above mentioned software that makes this possible.

Edit: All of this requires that suitable software is running on both computers, that it is appropriately configured, and that the calling account has the necessary permissions on the destination computer.

Dolke · 11 Nov 2014

Thank you for the clear answer.

Still using mentioned software, one is able to access remote hardware in other word resources, from a distant physical location and use it own cpu and memory to run a program.

So basically there is no way to use local resources in order to execute program which files are on a remote computer simply using a high speed local area network...

zapp22 · 13 Nov 2014

there is always a way, but I guess it would be considered a hack

Dolke · 13 Nov 2014

Well if its not something official then I guess its not a solution to a posted question but a tweak or hack as you said...

Of course if its not complicated maybe you would be able to share how this works?

LMiller7 · 13 Nov 2014

I may have misunderstood your question. Your mention of Remote Desktop led me to believe you wanted to remotely run a program on a different computer. If you just want to run a program on your computer while the files are stored elsewhere that is possible, within limits. The computers of course must be connected in a network. For simple programs (unfortunately there is no simple definition for that) you can simply doubleclick on an exe in a different computer and it will run locally. For larger applications or games this is unlikely to work.

Dolke · 13 Nov 2014

Thanks for clearing that up.

So from what I understood, this might work for some applications while for some others might not.
There is no way to tell which would work.

It would be highly unlikely for more complex applications to work in described manner right?

badcrc · 13 Nov 2014

re: running programs over a network

Some software is specifically designed to run on multiple pc's without any remote desktop type access eg (in my case) the 3D design program Maxon Cinema 4D. Rendering the final output of a movie is very cpu intensive, but C4D can run on a server-client basis, distributing the workload across several clients/nodes. The scenefiles are sent to the client pc's, rendered locally, and sent back down the Cat5's to the server. The individual frames are later assembled into a complete movie using After Effects.

This C4D distributed processing does not only apply to movie clips - it can also be used on a single frame that needs a lot of muscle to render (due to complex reflections etc). In that scenario the image is split into sections. I currently have 6 x i7's in my little render farm. The workload is managed automatically, so if I need to pull one machine out of the loop to do other stuff, the job is re-allocated to suit. There's also commercial render farms, where you can upload your job, they render it across (typically) hundreds of nodes, then they send the results back. The Hollywood guys use render farms for their cgi eg Gravity etc. IIRC the Gravity cgi would have taken several thousand years to render on a home pc, but was done in a matter of months with a warehouse full of pc's.

Although my system does not require any direct access to the pc's, when a render job is running I use MS remote desktop to check on temps etc.

MAXON | 3D FOR THE REAL WORLD: Home

LMiller7 · 13 Nov 2014

In most cases if the application does not require installation it will run from a network location. There are exceptions.
If the application was installed things get complicated. Unless the application was specifically designed to run over a network this situation probably hasn't even been tested by the developer. You are in uncharted territory. Everything may work fine, or it may not work at all. Even when things appear to work well there may be issues. Every application is different.

The only way to tell if it will work is to try it.

Dolke · 13 Nov 2014

@badcrc

Thank you for sharing the story it sounds quite interesting and it seems system/program you use is designed that way so work can be distributed. Still, my case is not about distributing work load but simply running application using local resources very much like LMiller7 describes. Reason for my original post and question is actually effort to gain more performance on the server by overcoming current limitations which are ram memory that I cant upgrade as I'm stuck with 32bit OS. Why am I stuck is whole different and long story but in short terms problem is another licence that I need to pay to the program vendor + clean install windows 7 as there is no upgrade option from x86 to x64.

@LMiller7

Thanks for the detailed answer. ERP software that we use is just one of many solutions offered in our country and most of them are not designed to work over network in such manner although all PCs are using one DB stored on a single machine on LAN.