Enhance the "Connect when Available" button
1 vote
Hi,
When I reboot a computer, I will get a screen that has options for Connect, Connect when Available, and something else. I love the When Available button, but it could be enhanced to make it work better.
My normal usage is 1) Reboot the server. 2) Wait a couple seconds. 3) Click Connect when available.
When I do this, RDM will attempt to ping the server. Once it is successful, it tries to connect. The problem is that just because the server is pingable, doesn't mean it's RDP'able. Most of the time, the server is up far enough to respond to a ping, but not up far enough to actually be remoted into. This means the RDP connection fails and I'm back at the screen with the same buttons as above.
What I'd love to see is after RDM is able to ping the server and tries to connect, it the connection fails, it should wait a few seconds and repeat the process. It should then keep doing that until it either Connects or I click Cancel. That way it would be a lot easier for me to not have to keep clicking Connect when available over and over until it actually is available.
Thanks.
All Comments (3)
Hello,
I have made an improvement and it will be in the next major update.
Regards
David Hervieux
Hi Kelemvor,
Thanks for the suggestion and for describing the reboot case so clearly. You're right: a server responds to a ping well before Remote Desktop is ready to accept a session.
We've improved Connect when available for an upcoming version of Remote Desktop Manager (2027.1):
- It now keeps trying until the session actually connects or until you click Stop waiting. After a failed attempt, it waits a few seconds and tries again, waiting a little longer each time, up to 30 seconds. The panel shows which attempt it's on.
- For direct RDP connections, after the host responds to the ping, RDM also checks that the Remote Desktop port accepts connections. Most attempts that would have been too early no longer happen.
- It stops right away if the server refuses the sign-in, for example, due to a wrong password or a locked or expired account. Retrying in that case could lock your account.
- The panel now explains why the last attempt failed. If the tab is in the background, a notification tells you when it has reconnected.
In the meantime, you can already get most of the benefit. In the entry's properties, go to Management tools › Is online (ping/port scan) and set Online detection to Port scan. Connect when available will then wait for the Remote Desktop port instead of a ping.
Regards,
David Hervieux
Ah. I just tried the Port Scan thing on my v2.18 and it worked great. Thanks for the tip.