SolarWinds Dameware Remote Support (DRS) vs. Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan)

I feel like this is a very robust solution that I would recommend to anyone who relies heavily on remote support. Most of the colleagues I work with already use SolarWinds products to one extent or the other. I feel the price for the solution is very fair and a good value for the product.

Incentivized

It is a useful tool and definitely beats other alternatives and options. There is always room for improvement however which is why I gave a rating of 8. From a core function perspective Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager is definitely what you want but down the line I think certainly some bells and whistles would be nice.

Incentivized

• DameWare Remote Support allows us to connect to the desktop of a user very easily and quickly. It can be configured to use different levels of security making it both fast and secure.
• DameWare Remote Support can be deployed to all computers in the environment quickly using the built in capabilities of DameWare.
• DameWare provides the ability to get system information as well using the full client not the mini remote control. This is handy in finding running services, events logs, etc and all based on our AD structure.

Incentivized

• One thing it does well is being able to deploy it quickly and easily. It takes very little space to install the actual program and also installs quickly. Once installed, it is relatively to start creating groups and adding servers/machines, without users needing to be trained in how to do this, or consulting the documentation.
• Another thing it does well is having an easy to use layout within the Microsoft Remote Connection Manager (RDCMan) window. There is a tree directory structure, showing groups, and corresponding servers/machines. There are also thumbnails of servers/machines that are displayed. This helps IT, Administrators, to see what is connected and what is not, along with understanding what is on the actual screen of the live server/machine in realtime.

Incentivized

• Connecting to last session is not always the last session.
• Saving your position in the Personal Host List would be helpful. I have a folder structure 3 levels deep and when I'm going through a list of computers it is frustrating to have to browse down through the same levels each time.
• When connecting to a host, an entry is saved in Saved Host List (even duplicates). I would be nice to have an option to save or not save like a quick connect option.
• DameWare Mobile has separate password than desktop and cannot be linked to Active Directory password like desktop.

Incentivized

• You can't drag and drop files between local and remote sessions—something many modern RDP tools allow, and it saves a ton of clicks.
• You can export settings, but not as CSV or something readable/editable outside RDCMan. Makes documentation or sharing config info harder.
• Hovering over minimized or background sessions shows nothing—no live thumbnail or last screen capture like some tools do.

Incentivized

We like DRS for remote support and have been using it for several years. It has made it easy to support our on network users when "hands on" support is required. We currently don't use DRS to its fullest simply because there are other tools that are easier to use, for instance we use AD Manager Plus to handle our AD tasks. I've not found DRS to be all that intuitive to use for anything other than remote support with the Mini Remote Control.

Incentivized

It's effective and easy. It'll do what you want it to do as long as you don't expect the world. I expect it would be even better if you were a Solar Wind shop; for us this is the only thing we use from them, mainly due to price point on other components

Incentivized

As alluded to in previous responses it is a very functional tool. It allows me to do my job quickly and efficiently every single day. There are little to no issues using the connection on a day to day basis. It handles everything you need from a remote connection perspective.

Incentivized

Yes, always available.

Incentivized

The application always seems responsive to me

Incentivized

I use a Samsung mobile device; DameWare Mobile was working and then after an Android update it started crashing. I reported the issue to DameWare and worked with the technicians and developers to gather data for them to correct the issue. They quickly published a beta release for me to test (which corrected the crashes) and then published an update to the Google Play Store.

Incentivized

Plenty of information and support online, and with many things it's pretty straight forward for the average tech to navigate and work with. But with most things online you're not the only person that's had the issue before, and using a search engine you should be able to figure it out.

Incentivized

It was excellent

Incentivized

The videos were more than sufficient to learn the product

Incentivized

It helps greatly if you know someone already using DameWare Remote Support. I was fortunate as my tech support guys were using it at their hospital and assisted me through the purchase, download and implementation of remote support. As well as, knowing how many licenses to purchase at the time. You have to make sure that anyone assisting in IT can have access to the program with their own license.

Incentivized

SCCM is pretty decent as a Remote Support tool, the main difference is that, as SCCM is much more, it takes long time to load and uses u lots of resources that are wasted if you only uses it to Remote. Dameware Remote Support is specialized software, so it is powerful enough for all your needs, while being light enough to barely make a dent on the system resources.

The Avanti Software needed alot of attention if you are new to such tools. So for that reason we chose Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Manager because of the more user friendly use of it. Also because it integrades great with windows and the remote servers we have. Thats also why we dont use TeamViewer either.

Incentivized

You get an 8 because of the constant initial freeze on most connections. Takes a reconnect to have it work.

Incentivized

• DameWare has allowed us to maintain our non-traditional approach to IT support. It allows our administrators to work from anywhere and has extended their reach to clients domestic and abroad.
• Return on investment was realized as soon as we purchased the licenses. We don't have to maintain a large office space or overhead costs due to the flexibility it allows our administrators.
• First call resolution has increased drastically since implementing DameWare company-wide. The user no longer has to wait to reproduce an error. We can screen share and view it as it happens and mitigate the issues.

Incentivized

• I can troubleshoot application errors faster for clients.
• While troubleshooting, I spend less time fumbling to find credentials and other machine-specific settings.
• Being able to connect to the same machines from multiple devices helps me when I'm not in the office.

Incentivized