BLACK BOX EMDRM Series Emerald Remote App User Manual
- June 11, 2024
- BLACK BOX
Table of Contents
EMDRM SERIES EMERALD® REMOTE APP
24/7 TECHNICAL SUPPORT AT 1.877.877.2269 OR VISIT BLACKBOX.COM
SPECIFICATIONS/OVERVIEW
HARDWARE/SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
Hardware/Software: PC, laptop, tablet or other user station running Windows®
10 software
Operating System: Windows 10 OS 64-bit
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Free disk space: 1 GB
NIC Speed: 1 Gbps
Targets Supported: The following target OS and monitor count are supported
when using the Remote App. To support more than one monitor/screen, the OS
must be capable of supporting Absolute Mouse Mode. This also covers Virtual
Machines that use the following OS:
- Windows® OS max 2 monitors/screens
- Mac OS max 1 monitor/screen
- Linux dependent on distro
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The Emerald system provides users with a seamless desktop experience anywhere
on a TCP/IP network, while allowing the actual hardware to be securely housed
in a corporate data center or in the cloud.
The remote desktops may be hosted on a physical PC / workstation or may be a
virtual desktop hosted on a private server or in the cloud. The Emerald system
provides its users with Receivers that communicate with target computer nodes
(whether physical PC or virtual desktop) over a standard TCP/IP network. The
receivers can be either a hardware box or the Emerald Remote App software.
Emerald® Remote App is new software from Black Box that allows users to access
their Emerald connections, both physical and virtual, from any Windows 10
device. This increases mobility and device access and monitoring in full HD
video on the Emerald System. Multiple connections can be launched
simultaneously to facilitate multiple device management.
Several licenses are available:
- EMDRMDEMO-LIC: Emerald Remote Access, 30-day Trial (4 Connections)
- EMDRM1-LIC: Emerald Remote Access, 1 Connection
- EMDRM5-LIC: Emerald Remote Access, 5 Connections
- EMDRM10-LIC: Emerald Remote Access, 10 Connections
- EMDRM20-LIC: Emerald Remote Access, 20 Connections
Physical PCs/Workstations/Servers have an Emerald ZeroU, EmeraldSE, EmeraldPE,
or an Emerald4K transmitter unit physically connected to provide communication
over the TCP/IP network. The performance of Emerald allows them to be deployed
on standard corporate networks and even across Wide-Area-Networks (WANs).
Desktop or remote users can access remote keyboard and mouse signals from the
Receiver box or Remote App software to the remote PC/workstations or Virtual
Desktop via the Emerald system.
OVERVIEW
2.2 REMOTE APP FEATURES
-
High-Quality User Experience: Supports HD video up to 1920 x 1200 with access to both physical machines and virtual machines.
4K Connections are scaled down. -
No hardware is required at the user’s laptop, tablet, or desktop device running the Windows 10 App.
NOTE: To use the Remote App in practice, a Boxilla is required to manage the entire system. -
Multiple Connections: Open connections to multiple devices simultaneously. This allows you to interact or monitor many systems from your own device. Purchase the appropriate number of simultaneous connection licenses.
-
Security: All access is authenticated by Boxilla in real time, ensuring that the Emerald Administrator has full control and can define only the users required to have remote access.
-
WAN Support: Users can connect from anywhere with access to all connected resources, once they can authenticate via Boxilla.
-
Supports audio and Copy and Paste from Client to Target.
CONFIGURATION
3.1 CONFIGURATION OF EMERALD REMOTE APP
The Remote App is software that acts as a receiver in the Emerald system. The
software loads on your Windows 10 PC to connect to a TCP/IP network and
decrypts and decompresses the streams to provide video, keyboard, and mouse
connections to a user. The Remote App is configured using the Boxilla Manager.
The network settings and unit name among others can be configured for a Remote
App. The target connections are defined by their target name, log-in
username/password, and TCP port number to be used. Users can be created and
specific connections may be allocated to the different users.
A Remote App user profile is protected by username and password to permit
different users to access the same unit securely.
3.2 CONFIGURATION OF TRANSMITTER
The Emerald SE/PE/4K Transmitter or ZeroU Transmitter converts the video and
USB connections of a PC or workstation to a format that can be connected and
controlled over a TCP/IP network. The RemoteApp also supports 3.5mm analog
audio signals from the targets if audio is needed. The Transmitter controls
the connection to a remote Emerald Remote App Windows 10 workstation and
manages the flow of information to it. It converts and compresses video and
peripheral information for transmission over standard TCP/IP networks. The
Transmitter is configured from the Boxilla Manager. The network settings, unit
name, and video quality are among the parameters that can be configured on the
the transmitter. The transmitter HID setting must use an Absolute profile
(Absolute, Mac Absolute, or Basic Absolute). Otherwise the mouse performance
will be impacted or the mouse may not work at all.
3.3 CONFIGURATION OF BOXILLA MANAGER
The License file for Remote App must be installed on Boxilla.
For more information on Boxilla, refer to the Boxilla user manual.
APPLICATION EXAMPLES
The Emerald system is built to be flexible so that it can be deployed in many different types of applications such as basic extension, switching applications (sometimes called matrix), cloud-based desktops, control rooms, digital signage, and kiosk applications and other applications in banking, financial services, broadcast, network operations, industrial, government and enterprise computing sectors. Emerald provides the state-of-the art performance by:
- using digital sources for video and peripheral control, hence removing analog noise issues or other potential environmental issues
- using advanced optimized compression to enable visually lossless video over standard low-bandwidth networks rather than a proprietary connection or dedicated gigabit networks of many systems
4.1 VIDEO AND PERIPHERAL EXTENSION
Many applications require video and peripheral extension such as PC back-
racking, board-room fit-out, remote monitoring, and digital signage.
The Emerald system is set up to connect the Transmitter to the Emerald Remote
App PC straight out of the box on a point-to-point network.
The Transmitter and Remote App PC can be attached to standard Ethernet IP
networks to increase the distance between units – within a building, between
buildings, or across a country. Only standard Ethernet/IP rules and the
maximum latency the application can tolerate need to be considered. If video
extension only is being used, latency rarely is a consideration as the traffic
is typically one-way. When USB-based HID peripheral devices are also required,
a network latency of <50 ms is recommended to avoid user issues with “poor
mouse response”, etc. For some applications, such as graphic design network
latency ,<20 ms may be required to ensure user satisfaction. Latency normally
is only an issue when extending across a WAN, because latency inside modern
buildings or on dedicated networks is much less than 1 ms.
In Figure 4-1, a typical deployment is shown in a basic extender application.
In this deployment, only one Transmitter and Emerald Remote App PC are used to
allow remote access to a single workstation. A Boxilla is required to manage
the connections and RemoteApp software.
4.2 VIDEO AND USB SWITCHING
Numerous applications require being able to switch between different target
PCs or Virtual Desktops. The user wants to be able to change the source of
Video or USB extension (or both of them together).
Connections can be made to a target using the Emerald intuitive On-Screen-
Display (OSD). In Figure 3-2, a larger scale system is shown. This is referred
to as a switching or matrix type of deployment. In this deployment, there are
several Receivers or Remote App PCs and Transmitters and a manager, as well as
virtual desktops.
OSD FOR REMOTE APP
5.1 EMERALD REMOTE APP SETUP WIZARD
To install Emerald Remote App on your computer, follow the steps below.
From the Welcome screen, click on Next. The License Agreement screen appears.
The Select Installation Folder screen appears.
Click Next. To install Emerald Remote App in the folder shown in the screen
above, click Next. To install it in a different folder, enter it in the screen
or click Browse to select another folder. Then click Next.
The Confirm Installation screen appears.
The Installing EmeraldRA screen appears.
When the installation completes, click Next.
The Installation Complete screen appears.
If OpenSSL is not installed, this screen appears.
Click Yes to install OpenSSL automatically.
After the software installs, you are ready to configure your Remote App.
5.2 CONFIGURING AND USING EMERALD REMOTE APP
When you launch Emerald Remote App, the Boxilla Configuration screen appears
first.
Enter the IP address of the Boxilla you want to use to manage your Remote App
connection.
You can choose from the Options drop-down menu. Select Connections, Settings,
Information, Log Out, or Close.
The login screen appears next.
Enter your username and password. This can be any user who has “Remote Access”
enabled within Boxilla, but the user must have this flag set before logging
in.
When you login as user, you get a screen of connections available. Click on
any connection and press Connect. The connection screen where a user can make
a connection appears.
If the list is already pre-populated with connections, click on the desired TX
or VM in the Available column and click on the Connect button or double-click
to select it.
NOTE: If you cannot see any target connections, verify that the
Boxilla>>Connections “Connection Mode” are set to “Optimized” and not
“Lossless.” If you set your connections for “Lossless,” the Remote App will
not show these connections.
The following message is displayed between clicking on a target to connect to it and when the target is shown. The popup showing the user is connecting quickly disappears and goes to the connection window.
If you have problems during this process like no video, or the device is
offline, you will see it show as well after you see the message of connecting
to the user.
If a connection is already established in private mode and the RemoteApp
attempts to connect to it, you will receive a warning message that the
connection is in Private mode.
If you connect to a target and the transmitter does not see a video sync, you will be notified via an onscreen message.
The settings offer different connection parameters which will be explained below.
Click on Connection Window. Click on Smart Sizing to size the screen automatically. This will ensure that the video resolution is correct to the aspect of the detected video. When it is disabled, the video may appear to be stretched.
For any Virtual Machines, you can select the RDP resolution that will be used
with the RemoteApp. Click on Apply to save your settings.
To abort/disconnect a connection, click on the TX in the Connected column,
then click on the Disconnect button to disconnect it.
If the network connection is dropped (or severely impaired) on the Windows 10 client running RemoteApp, you will see several messages relating to the disconnection of Boxilla, and the increased latency of the connection which means either the network is suffering from heavy traffic or you were disconnected. The RemoteApp will gracefully terminate any connection when it encounters an insufficient CPU resource or latency.
Emerald Remote App 2.x supports the following additional connection types:
- View-only, where keyboard and mouse activity are deactivated in the connection.
- Dual Head, where the target device head1 and head2 are displayed side by side within the Remote App window and the user can move the mouse across the target’s extended desktop.
- (RemoteApp 2.7 or later) 4K connections to EMD4000T when connection is set for Optimized only. Video will be scaled down to fit the RemoteApp Window.
NOTE: To call the Remote Task Manager, or to login with ALT+CTRL+DEL, use
the keys ALT+CTRL+END instead. Using ALT+CTRL+DEL will initiate your local
Task Manager and not the remote targets.
5.3 CLIPBOARD COPYING AND PASTING TO A TRANSMITTER
Users can copy small bits of text from their client computer and paste into
the target for easier data transfer options.
NOTE: The client computer is the Windows 10 computer/laptop. The target
is the VM/TX in the viewer window that the user is controlling remotely.
The Remote App installed on your Windows 10 PC or laptop can copy the
clipboard data to the target device connected to the Transmitter. The Remote
App can NOT take the remote clipboard data from the target device connected to
the Transmitter and then write that data to the client Windows PC or laptop
clipboard.
To paste the clipboard data to the remote target, copy the text from the
client, then open your RemoteApp connection and place the cursor where you
choose to paste the info and use the F8 function key to paste the clipboard
data to the target. F8 can be disabled as paste if this needs to be used by
the user in an application. To disable the F8 Paste hotkey, right-click on the
top border and left-click on the menu option “Disable F8 Paste hotkey.” Copy
and paste a maximum of 255 ASCII characters for the Transmitter.
NOTE: The Clipboard Copying and Pasting function is on by default for
Transmitter connections and cannot be turned off.
The RemoteApp can copy the clipboard data to the Transmitter device when its
input method supports these language packs:
English (UK), English (USA), French, German, Spanish, or Italian.
5.4 CLIPBOARD COPYING AND PASTING TO AND FROM A VM
The RemoteApp can copy the clipboard data on the client Windows PC or laptop
to a Microsoft Windows Virtual Machine target device.
The RemoteApp can take the Microsoft Windows Virtual Machine target clipboard
data and then copy the data to the client Windows PC clipboard.
NOTE: The Clipboard Copying and Pasting character set is OS-defined for
Microsoft Windows Virtual Machine. The Clipboard Copying and Pasting maximum
size (number of characters) is OS-defined for the Microsoft Windows Virtual
Machine.
The RemoteApp can paste the client Windows PC clipboard data to the target
Microsoft Windows Virtual Machine using the CTRL-V keys.
NOTE: The Clipboard Copying and Pasting function is on by default and
cannot be turned off for the Microsoft Windows Virtual Machine.
5.5 GRACEFUL SHUTDOWN REQUIREMENTS
The RemoteApp will terminate any connection when it encounters an insufficient
CPU resource or latency.
The following message will be displayed:
“Connection Timed Out: There may be too much latency in your network or the
host machine may have insufficient CPU resources to maintain operation.”
To view information about your Emerald Remote App, click on the Information
option from the drop-down menu. The Information screen appears.
https://vairw.bladcbox.com/en-us/support
To log out of the Emerald Remote App, click on Log Out from the drop-down
menu.
5.6 DEMO MODE
Demo mode is for users who want to use Emerald Remote App without having a
configured or licensed Boxilla.
Demo mode provides the user with two hardcoded connections, one to a TX with
default IP Address 192.168.1.22 and the second to a VM with default IP Address
192.168.1.40. The Remote App PC and target TX or VM must be on a private
subnet.
To access demo mode, enter DEMO into the Boxilla configuration window.
You can do this the first time the Remote App is launched after the initial
install or you can change it via the Settings option.
Once the Boxilla Settings are set, the login screen will be presented and you
can select the “Demo Mode” checkbox, and press “Submit.”
REMOTE APP, BOXILLA, & EMERALD PROTOCOLS
The Emerald solution uses standard IP protocols for communication between
Remote App, Boxilla, and Transmitters.
TABLE A-1. PORT USAGE PER APPLIANCE
| COMPONENT | APPLICATION | PORT | EMERALD 4K | EMERALD PE/ZU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appliance | Video | TCP: 16384 | Yes (6.3.10 onwards) | Yes (5.3x onwards) |
| TX connections | TCP: 3389 | Yes | Yes | |
| Boxilla | Boxilla REST HTTPS | TCP: 443 | — | — |
NOTE: Firewalls on the WAN may cause audio to fail due to a protocol issue that prevents it traversing some firewalls. The audio channel does not perform the SYN/SYNACK sequence which leads to some of these streams being blocked.
DISCLAIMER/TRADEMARKS
B.1 DISCLAIMER
Black Box Network Services shall not be liable for damages of any kind,
including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential or cost of cover
damages, resulting from any errors in the product information or
specifications set forth in this document and Black Box Network Services may
revise this document at any time without notice.
B.2 TRADEMARKS USED IN THIS MANUAL
Black Box, the Black Box logo type and mark, and Emerald are registered
trademarks of Black Box Corporation.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
Any other trademarks mentioned in this manual are acknowledged to be the
property of the trademark owners.
NOTES
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References
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