# RDP To MacMini OS XTiger From Windows XP local LAN on domain



## erpa1119 (May 3, 2005)

Windows only user here, my boss purchased a mac mini yesterday
so that we can make sure our website looks nice on the mac and
tweak if necessary.

Anyway, since I am in charge of networking, I would like to be
able to RDP from my windows xp machine to the mac mini for remote
administritation purposes etc. And also allow file sharing from and
to the mac.

I have the mac mini on our domain and connected successfully on
the LAN but at the moment cannot ping it from my windows xp box.

So the questions are:
1)
Where to allow pings from mac OS, Also how to find HOST name of mac.
So that when I RDP to the mac mini I can RDP via HOSTNAME vs IP as
the IP may change.
In Windows it is "ipconfig", what is the equivalent for a mac, also how
do you bring up the command line interface(dont know what its called
on mac)

2)
Allow/setup/configure RDP server on mac OS X.
(where is the "control panel" for a mac?)

3)
Allow file sharing from and to the mac.

I have not used a mac since using a Apple IIe(dual floppies <grin>)
back in middle school so if you can please be as specific as possible.

TIA
Eric


----------



## scruffy (May 3, 2005)

I don't think there is an RDP server in OS X.  I know there isn't one included by default.  You could get a VNC server, perhaps (or just a KVM, of course).  There is also an Apple remote desktop product, you might look into that - for all I know, it might even talk RDP.

I would think you ought to be able to ping the thing - you can by default.  Unless you changed something...  

"control panel" is "system preferences" (in the Apple menu).  Go to "Network" within that, then choose the "builtin ethernet" interface - it should show you the IP address, etc.  The hostname will be in the "Sharing" panel, as will Windows file sharing.

Once you enable Windows file sharing, I think you might stand a chance of resolving the hostname to an IP address.  Macs don't do WINS or any of the other weirdo Windows networking protocols by default - there's rendezvous, now called something else I can't remember due to trademark silliness, but Windows doesn't understand that.  Short of that, you'd need a DNS entry.

To get a commandline interface you want Terminal (in /Applications/Utilities).  The equivalent info can be got from the commands "ifconfig" and "hostname"


----------



## mdnky (May 4, 2005)

The only RDP program I'm aware of that works with OS X is the free client Microsoft has.  That's for you to control the Windows-based machine with the Mac, not the other way around.  You'll need to look into some 3rd party VNC programs.


----------

