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Remote access

Remote access opens an encrypted tunnel from the Privitty App to an Edge, so the operator can use an SSH, RDP or VNC client on their own computer or phone.

Before you begin

  • The operator has an active grant on the Edge with Remote access selected. See Grant access to an Edge.
  • The Edge is online.
  • The chat with the Edge has appeared in the App, and the App's access has not ended. See App licence and renewal.
  • The operator has an SSH client, RDP client or VNC viewer.

Protocols

Only these protocols are offered.

Protocol Client Reaches by default
SSH Any SSH client The SSH service on the Edge host, port 22
RDP Any RDP client The RDP service on the Edge host, port 3389
VNC Any VNC viewer The VNC service on the Edge host, port 5900
LAN Reach Your engineering tool A whitelisted device on the Edge's LAN. See LAN Reach.

The service must already be running on the Edge host. The tunnel does not install or start it. The App opens a local port on 127.0.0.1, so only the operator's own computer can use it.

Open a tunnel

  1. Open the chat with the Edge.
  2. Select the Remote Access button in the chat header.
  3. Choose SSH (Secure Shell), RDP (Remote Desktop) or VNC (Virtual Desktop).
  4. Wait while the dialog shows "Sending tunnel offer…", "Waiting for edge gateway…" and "Bridge starting…".

  5. When the dialog shows "✓ Tunnel established", connect your client to the address shown. For SSH the dialog shows a command such as:

    ssh -p 2222 user@127.0.0.1

    For RDP and VNC it shows 127.0.0.1:{port}.

  6. Select OK to keep the tunnel open in the background.

To close the tunnel, select Remote Access again and choose Close Tunnel.

  1. Open the chat with the Edge.
  2. Tap the Remote access icon in the toolbar.
  3. Tap SSH, RDP (Remote Desktop) or VNC.
  4. Wait while the App shows "Opening remote access tunnel…".
  5. When the App shows, for example, "SSH tunnel active", connect your client to the 127.0.0.1:{port} address shown.

An ongoing "Remote access" notification shows while the tunnel is open. To close the tunnel, tap the toolbar icon again.

  1. Open the chat with the Edge.
  2. Tap Remote Access.
  3. Tap SSH (Secure Shell), RDP (Remote Desktop) or VNC (Virtual Desktop). If the Edge offers one protocol, the App opens it without asking.
  4. Wait while the App shows "Sending tunnel offer…" and "Waiting for edge gateway…".
  5. When the App shows, for example, "SSH Tunnel Active", connect your client to the address shown.

To close the tunnel, tap Remote Access again and choose Close Tunnel.

Each tunnel shows a Session ID. Quote it if you contact your administrator or Privitty support.

One tunnel per chat

Close the open tunnel before you open another protocol in the same Edge chat.

If a tunnel does not open

If the Edge does not answer, the App shows "Timed out waiting for tunnel (180 s). Is the edge online?". The App does not say why. Check these in order:

Check Where
The Edge is Online. The Edge's page in the portal.
The grant is active, has not ended, and shows · remote. The Edge's Access tab. See Grant states.
No other tunnel is open in this chat. Close it in the App and try again.
The Edge's licence and the App's access have not ended. See App licence and renewal.

If the Remote Access button does not appear, the grant lacks Remote access, the grant has ended, or the chat is still getting ready. Wait a moment after the chat first appears.

Next steps