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     * What On-Demand Assist session events are logged for review purposes?
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   * VNC Developer
     * How do I get help with VNC Developer/the VNC SDK?


Toggle navigation


ALL ABOUT CLOUD CONNECTIONS

Follow
Tegan
Updated February 14, 2023 19:43


WHAT IS A CLOUD CONNECTION?

A cloud connection is one that is brokered by RealVNC’s cloud service. Cloud
connections are extremely secure, convenient and reliable. Both the remote
computer you want to control and the local device you want to control from must
be connected to the Internet.

Once brokered, where possible, our cloud service then negotiates
a peer-to-peer session between two endpoints, so session data is transmitted
directly between them; this is likely to be more performant. However,
intermediate network hardware may mean this is not possible, so the cloud
service automatically falls back to a relay session if necessary, to ensure the
cloud connection succeeds. Note that session data relayed via our cloud service
is encrypted end-to-end, so cannot be deciphered by RealVNC, nor anyone else.

*If you need to comply with a particular regulatory compliance regime that
disqualifies session data being routed via our servers, you can disable relayed
cloud connections. Note, however, this does mean these connections will fail.

To establish a cloud connection:

 1. On the remote computer you want to control, make sure cloud connectivity is
    enabled.

 2. On the local computer or mobile device you want to control from, sign in
    to VNC Viewer using your RealVNC account credentials (email address and
    password). The remote computer will automatically appear as part of your
    team; click or tap to connect:
    

 3. Authenticate to VNC Server running on the remote computer, by providing
    valid credentials. Find out what these are.


ENABLING CLOUD CONNECTIVITY ON A REMOTE COMPUTER

For some subscriptions, cloud is the only connectivity option so it is
automatically enabled and cannot be disabled.

If you have a subscription that includes direct connectivity, you have more
flexibility. You can establish a cloud connection to a particular computer, a
direct connection, or both. Read our guide to cloud versus direct for more
information.

To enable cloud connectivity, sign in to VNC Server at install-time using your
RealVNC account credentials (email address and password), simply follow the
in-app instructions.

You can check whether cloud connectivity is enabled for a particular computer
by signing in to your RealVNC account and seeing whether it appears for your
team on the Computers page:




ADDING A COMPUTER TO A TEAM AT THE COMMAND LINE (REQUIRES A SUBSCRIPTION
INCLUDING MASS DEPLOYMENT)

VNC Server can be enabled for cloud connectivity in bulk by using a cloud
connectivity token. Optionally, you can join one or more existing computer
groups (to restrict discovery) and specify a friendly name at the same time.

For more information on using cloud connectivity tokens see Using Cloud
connectivity tokens.


DISABLING CLOUD CONNECTIVITY

You can disable cloud connectivity for a remote computer, but note that VNC
Viewer users will never be able to automatically discover and establish cloud
connections to it. Only direct connections will be possible.


DISABLING CLOUD CONNECTIONS BUT RETAINING AUTO-RELICENSING

You can disable cloud connections but, providing the computer remains connected
to the Internet, leave the computer in communication with RealVNC’s cloud
service. This means the cloud service will automatically apply your new offline
license each time you renew, saving you having to apply it manually.

To do this, turn off Allow cloud connections in the VNC Server Options dialog:



Alternatively, set the underlying AllowCloudRfb parameter.


DISABLING ALL COMMUNICATION WITH REALVNC’S CLOUD SERVICE

You can remove the computer from the team altogether, so that it never ‘phones
home’ to RealVNC’s cloud service, and can be disconnected from the Internet.
Note this means you will need to manually apply your new offline license each
time you renew.

To do this, sign in to your RealVNC account, navigate to the Computers page and
choose Remove from team:




REMOVING A COMPUTER FROM A TEAM AT THE COMMAND LINE

 * Windows: 
   "C:\Program Files\RealVNC\VNC Server\vncserver.exe" -service -leavecloud
 * Mac: 
   sudo /Library/vnc/vncserver -service -leavecloud
 * Linux: 
   sudo vncserver-x11 -service -leavecloud

 

 



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TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is a cloud connection?
 * What is a cloud connection?
 * Enabling cloud connectivity on a remote computer
 * Adding a computer to a team at the command line (requires a subscription
   including mass deployment)
 * Disabling cloud connectivity
 * Disabling cloud connections but retaining auto-relicensing
 * Disabling all communication with RealVNC’s cloud service
 * Removing a computer from a team at the command line


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