RemoteStartupWeb 2023

Use RSW with VPN or remote desktop gateway

You can configure RSW for two different external access scenarios. One scenario is the installation of a VPN gateway and a VPN client on the external notebooks or PCs for access to the internal LAN. Alternatively, you can install a remote desktop gateway on a Windows Server and use this to establish RDP connections to the internal client PCs, as implemented in the SBS.

Use RSW with VPN

You need a firewall and a VPN gateway. You can do both e.g. with the open source software pfSense. This can be installed on a PC, such as IPU443 from NRG Systems GmbH. To achieve a good throughput, the CPU should support AES-NI crypto commands and use Intel Ethernet cards or chips.

After installation and configuration , you can set up OpenVPN.

You can then download the client software including configuration from the pfSense user interface.

Of course you can also use commercial products from Aruba, Cisco, ... Lancom to Zyxel.

Use RSW with Remote Desktop Gateway

If you want to use the remote desktop gateway, you must install it on a server (see below) and forward (NAT) the RDP port 3389 to the server on the firewall.

Create a Connection Authorization Policy in the remote desktop gateway manager. This policy specifies which groups are allowed to access this Remote Desktop Gateway. By default, RSW allows access to the RSWeb user group, see below.

Create a Resource Authorization Policy. This policy specifies which PCs are allowed access by which groups.

Installation of RemoteStartupWeb 2023

Prerequisites

• Internet Information Services (IIS)
• .NET Framework 4.8
• ASP.NET Core 7.0 Hosting Bundle
• .NET 7.0 Desktop Runtime x64
• Optional: Remote Desktop Gateway

You can install the IIS and optionally the remote desktop gateway via the "Server Manager - Manage - Add roles and features":

If you don't already have it, install the .NET Framework 4.8.

Then please install the ASP.NET Core 7.0 Hosting Bundle and the .NET 7.0 Desktop Runtime x64.

Please note

The installation on a Windows Domain Controller should be carried out as a domain administrator.

Please run the installation on a Windows Domain member server as a LOCAL administrator.

Before installation, please check whether you have access rights as an administrator to the file "C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config\redirection.config" and adjust the rights before installation if necessary.

Now you can install RemoteStartupWeb 2023.

Since RSW transmits the login data over the Internet, an HTTPS connection is necessary.

You can use a free certificate from Let’s Encrypt, or one from a commercial provider.

You can download a program for automatic installation and regular renewal of the Let’s Encrypt certificate e.g. from https://pkisharp.github.io/win-acme/.

A list of available programs can be found on page https://letsencrypt.org/de/docs/client-options/ under "Windows / IIS".

Configuration

The configuration for RSW takes place via the JSON file appsettings.json in the section RSWebSettings. By default this file is installed in the directory C:\Program Files\Karanitsch\RemoteStartupWeb\WebApp\appsettings.json and automatically opened for editing after installation.

  "RSWebSettings": {
    "AllowedGroup": "RSWeb",
    "Domain": "",
    "GatewayHostname": "",
    "Login": "D",
    "WolPort": "9",
    "WolIpAddr": "",
    "DesktopSize": "1024x768 1280x1024 1680x1050 1920x1080",
    "Registered": 0,
    "RegEmail": "",
    "ActivationKey": "",
    "LicenseData": "",
  },
        

AllowedGroup	User group that can log on to the RSW (default "RSWeb").
Domain	Internal domain name for Login e.g. LAN\username → "LAN"
GatewayHostname	When using the remote desktop gateway, the external domain name of the remote desktop gateway e.g. remote.contos.com
Login	"D" for domain login (default), "M" for login to the machine account.
WolPort	Port to which the Magic Packet is sent (default "9")
WolIpAddr	Additional IP addresses to which the Magic Packet will be sent (default none "")
DesktopSize	Possible desktop sizes of the RDP window.
Registered	Is set when RSW is activated - do not change!
ActivationKey	Is set when RSW is activated - do not change!
LicenseData	Is set when RSW is activated - do not change!

File format of the MAC-file maclist.txt

The file has a similar structure as a hosts file for IP addresses, see sample file maclist.txt :

# Copyright (c) KARANITSCH IT Services 2022
#
# This is a sample maclist.txt file used by KARANITSCH IT WakePC.exe or the WOL-Website.
#
# This file contains the mappings of MAC addresses to host names, a comment column and username filters.
# The comment column is displayed next to the hostname on the webpage.
# If the comment contains special characters such as äöü, the file must be saved in UTF-8 format.
# Each entry should be kept on an individual line. The MAC address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The MAC address, hostname and comment must be separated by at least one space or tab.
# Each filter starts with |
# If no filters are specified, the entry appears for all users.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual lines denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
00-22-64-AF-E7-31	PC01	Jane Doe|Administrator|Jane  <-- This entry is only visible to the administrator and Jane.
00-22-64-AF-E7-32	PC02	John Doe|Administrator|John  <-- This entry is only visible to the administrator and John. 
00-22-64-AF-E7-33	PC03	General PC                   <-- This entry will be visible to everyone.
        

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