Headless Gigabyte

[zdog16]

Not sure if this is the best place to post this but it seems to fit better here than anywhere else. 

First some backstory, I work for a company that does building automation, mainly HVAC, our controllers are IP based so you can access everything the device's HTTP page and most of the time we just port them out to the internet for remote access. But many clients don't want these devices ported out for "security reasons", so we get around this by using Team Viewer to access a computer onsite. When the client dost have a computer onsite they can dedicate to our equipment we install a Gigabyte BRIX micro PC with Team Viewer and any software we may need. The great thing with using the BRIX PCs is that we can install them along side our automation controllers so the client never has to see it or deal with it, and it mostly guarantees no one will get curious and mess with it.

 

Here's the only problem, if you don't have a monitor plugged in, Team Viewer just comes up with a black screen when you log in. It won't display anything, even if you send a Ctl+Alt+Delete command, or reboot it, or send any of the commands. We have been getting around this issue by plugging in HDMI emulators(pics attached). This solution was worked out long before I started working here but I can't help feeling like there is a better way to do this. So who better to ask than the LTT community!

Is there some software, or driver tweak, out there that can do the same thing? I don't know if it's a Team Viewer issue or a hardware/driver issue, and if it's a driver issue I don't know enough to start poking around for a solution.

 

Also attached is all the information I have handy on the Gigabytes we use. Let me know if you need any more information. 

 

Any help is appreciated, and if I'm in the wrong category just let me know where to go and I'll re-post.

 

[Taswell]

Use Screen connect. I haven't found a better remote software yet. (the setup is a little more involved than team viewer and its not free)

[Matt_98]

would it be possible to use RDP?

[Taswell]

RDP would the best, but it sounds like hes not on the same network. using rdp like that wont work unless hes sets up a vpn or somthing

2 minutes ago, Matt_98 said:

would it be possible to use RDP?

 

[Matt_98]

Just now, ITheSpazI said:

RDP would the best, but it sounds like hes not on the same network

 

Depending on what routers they have they could set up a LAN to LAN VPN maybe?

[Taswell]

Just now, Matt_98 said:

Depending on what routers they have they could set up a LAN to LAN VPN maybe?

hes going to have to setup a vpn for every building he has installed a HVAC at in order to use RDP. So a third party software is the easier route.....Or start selling Terminal servers to go along with the HVAC systems and make it rain RDS CALS

[Matt_98]

Yea that might eat in the profit margins a tad.

[zdog16]

Yeah, I won't be able to convince my boss to switch over to another RDP software. We can access all the sites from our phones and iPads, we don't have to install VPNs on the sites, and lots of people in our industry use it so we when we need help from one of our vendors we just give them the team viewer ID and they can come into a machine and help us. I was just curious if someone had seen this issue before, the emulators are cheap and small so it's not a big deal but it seemed to me like there might be  a better way out there.