4 IBM Tivoli Remote Co ntrol Across Firewalls
1.1 IBM Tivoli Remote Control overview
The purpose of this chapter is not only to explain how IBM Tivoli Remote Control
works in general, but to emphasize its architecture and functionality in a firewall
environment. Even though the architecture and implementation of IBM Tivoli
Remote Control may differ when firewalls are involved from implementation to
implementation, the IBM Tivoli Remote Control functionality will remain the
same. Therefore, in order to fully understand how remote control sessions work
across firewalls, it is important to understand how this works in a non-secure
environment.
IBM Tivoli Remote Control (ITRC) provides a complete real-time solution for
remote controlling th e target systems. For all in tents and purposes, the
technician or administrator’s keyboard and mouse become the primary keyboard
and mouse for the target system for the duration of a remote control session.
Functionalities such as chat, reboot, and file transfer are available to the
administrator.
IBM Tivoli Remote Control runs on top of the IBM Tivoli Management
Framework. However, in the context of a firewalls environment, some other
components must be installed in order to simplify and secure the way that
communications are exchanged between the different components of IBM Tivoli
Remote Control. Before continuing and defining the complete Remote Control
process across firewalls, it is important to first know and understand the utility
and functionality of each component of IBM Tivoli Remote Control and of IBM
Tivoli Management Framework.

1.1.1 IBM Tivoli Management Framework components

The IBM Tivoli Management Framework enables you to install and create
several management components (services) that allow you to manage the
resources in your network. You can install any or all of these services, depending
on your organizational needs. As a minimum, one TMR server must be installed.
The following is a list of the management services provided by the Tivoli
Management Framework and a brief description of each:
TMR Server The Tivoli Management Region (TMR) Server includes
the libraries, binaries, data files, and graphical user
interface (GUI) needed to install and manage your Tivoli
environment. The TMR Server maintains the Object
DataBase and coordinates all communications with Tivoli
managed systems, like Managed Nodes and Endpoints
(through Tivoli Endpoint Gateways). The server also
performs the authentication and verification necessary to
ensure the security of Tivoli Enterprise™ data.