What Is A Remote Desktop Connection?

To understand what a remote desktop connection is, we need to

understand what it does and how. A remote desktop connection
implies the existence of two computers that can communicate with
each other. That means they have to be powered and connected to
either the same network or be connected to the Internet.

A remote desktop connection allows you to use virtually any

computer or device in order to connect to another computer. Once
you connect remotely, you get access to all the resources on the
computer you've connected to. That means you get unrestricted
control over the mouse and the keyboard and you can see
everything happening on the screen of the computer you've
connected to. Furthermore, unrestricted access to all the resources
on the remote computer also means you can do everything you
could if you were actually using it from where it's located.

For a clearer view of all this, imagine a situation when you have to
meet a tight deadline and you can't do all the work at your office,
but you need to work on your office computer. Wouldn't it be great
if you could stay at your home but still work on your office
computer? That is, without physically taking your office computer
with you.

Well, all that is possible if you set a remote desktop connection

between your work computer and your home computer. The one in
your office would be the host (because you're working on it) and the
computer at home would be the client (as it's the one used to
establish the connection). Then, after the remote desktop
connection is set, you could sit in front of your home computer but
you'd actually be working on your office computer. It's a very useful
tool, don't you think?

What Is Needed to Establish Remote Desktop

Connections?
First of all, in order to be able to establish a remote desktop
connection between two different computers, they should both be
connected to the same local area network. Or, they can connect
over the Internet, but in this case, the host computer's IP address
must be public.

Secondly, to be able to establish a remote desktop connection

between two computers, they must either support this feature out-
of-the-box (by the operating systems that are installed), or they
must run specialized remote desktop apps.

If you're using Windows computers, the good news is that most of

recent versions of Windows (Windows 7, Windows 8.1 & Windows
10) all support remote desktop connections. The bad news is that
not all Windows editions do. This feature is available in the following
versions and editions of Windows:

 Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise;

 Windows 8.1 Pro and Enterprise;
 Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise.

If both the computers you want to connect via a remote desktop

connection run on one of the Windows operating systems in the
above list, then everything is great. All you have to do is set up
your remote desktop connection. And if you need guidance on how
to do that, these tutorials are a very good starting point:

 How To Enable Remote Desktop Connections In Windows  - this

guide shows you all the steps you need to take in order to
 ready your Windows host computer to accept incoming remote
desktop connections.
 How To Connect Remotely To A Windows PC From Windows  -
this tutorial explains what you'll need to do on your Windows
client computer in order to establish a remote desktop
connection with a remote host computer.
 How to Use the Remote Desktop App for Windows 8.1  - if you
prefer using modern, universal apps, this guide shows you how
to use the Remote Desktop app available for Windows 8.1 and
Windows 10, in order to connect to a Windows remote host
computer.

While Windows is the operating system of choice for the vast

majority of people and companies, there are some who also use
other platforms: either Linux machines or Macs. If you use Ubuntu
or OS X on your client computer, these articles we've previously
published might come in handy:

 Connect to a Windows PC from Ubuntu via Remote Desktop

Connection
 Connecting Remotely to a Windows 7 Desktop from Mac OS X
 4+ Free Tools for Making Remote Connections from Macs to
Windows PCs

And if you find yourself in a situation in which you want to establish

a remote desktop connection between two computers that either
don't support this feature in their operating systems, or you intend
to create a remote desktop connection between two computers over
the Internet, but the host computer's IP address isn't visible, then
you should use specialized apps and services like TeamViewer or
LogMeIn. Here are two guides about the TeamViewer universal app:
  How to Use the TeamViewer Touch App for Windows 8.1
 The Remote Desktop App vs. TeamViewer Touch - Which is the
Better App?

There is one more thing we'd like to mention: up until now we've
talked about remote desktop connections between two computers.
However, you can also establish remote desktop connections
between other kinds of devices too. With a twist: the host device
must be a computer. But the client doesn't have to be. The device
you use to access the host computer remotely can be a
smartphone, a tablet, a hybrid device, etc. For instance, you can
use your Microsoft Lumia smartphone to access your home
computer. But for that to work, you'll need an app that knows how
to make remote desktop connections. And this is the guide you
should read for that: How to Use Microsoft's Remote Desktop App
for Windows Phone.