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Device Overview

Overview​

Open a device from the Dashboard to see its overview page: status, system info, networking, drives, and live resource usage.

Device access in the app has seven pages: Overview, Remote Control, Terminal, Chat, File System, Remote Logs, and VNC Relay. Each is gated by its own permission code. Viewing this page requires device.read and device.overview.read.

Device Summary​

The overview displays a summary section with the following information:

FieldDescription
NameThe device name reported by the agent. Display-only
AliasEditable label for the device. Select the edit icon on the Alias row to change it
CustomerThe customer the device is assigned to
Online StatusOnline (check icon), Online with an outdated agent (warning icon), or Offline (cancel icon)
PlatformIcon indicating Windows, macOS, or Linux
IdUnique GUID. The copy button next to it copies the ID to the clipboard
Agent VersionVersion of the installed agent
Active UsersUsers with active sessions on the device. Shown only when at least one session is active
Last SeenTimestamp of the last device heartbeat

System Information​

Detailed system specs are displayed in the System Information section:

FieldDescription
OS DescriptionFull OS description string
ArchitectureCPU architecture (e.g., x64, ARM64) with 32/64-bit indicator
Processor CountNumber of processors/cores
Total MemoryRAM in GB
Total Storage (OS)OS drive capacity in GB
Used Storage (OS)Used space in GB with percentage

Networking​

Network configuration for the device:

FieldDescription
Public IPv4Public IPv4 address
Public IPv6Public IPv6 address
Local IPv4Private/local IPv4 address
Local IPv6Private/local IPv6 address
DNS HostnameDevice's DNS hostname
MAC AddressesNetwork adapter MAC addresses

Resource Usage​

Live resource metrics displayed as radial gauges:

  • CPU Usage: Real-time CPU utilization percentage
  • Memory Usage: Real-time memory utilization percentage

Drives​

Each detected storage drive is shown as a donut chart of used versus free space, with total capacity in the center, plus these details:

FieldDescription
NameDrive volume name
Volume LabelHuman-readable label
FormatFile system format (e.g., NTFS, ext4, APFS)
Root DirectoryDrive root path

Updating Agents​

The agent checks for updates when its service starts and every six hours after that. When the server offers a newer bundle, the agent downloads the platform installer from the server, verifies its SHA256 hash, and runs it to self-update. An agent refuses a bundle that was built for a different brand.

A device running an outdated agent shows the warning status icon. To force an update check, open the device's Actions menu on the Dashboard and select Update. That item appears for online devices with an outdated agent. The forced check runs even when auto-update is disabled on the device.

Desktop Preview​

Desktop Preview captures a single-frame JPEG snapshot of a device's desktop session. It captures the whole desktop, not an individual window. Previews work on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Unlike remote control, a preview does not establish a streaming session.

Use Cases​

  • Check what a session is showing before connecting
  • Confirm a device is interactively available without starting a full remote session
  • See which desktop session is on screen when a device has more than one

Accessing Desktop Preview​

In the app, open the Remote Control page for the device and select Preview on a session card. The buttons are hidden when the server disables previews with the DisableDesktopPreview setting.

The versioned REST API also serves previews:

curl "https://your-server/api/v1/desktop-preview/{deviceId}/{targetProcessId}?tenantId={tenantId}" \
  -H "x-personal-token: <tokenId>:<secret>" \
  -o preview.jpg

The targetProcessId is the process ID of the desktop client that runs the session you want to capture.

Requirements​

RequirementDetails
PlatformWindows, macOS, or Linux
Desktop sessionAn active session with its desktop client running
Capture permissionThe desktop client must hold the operating system's screen-capture permission. The agent checks it before capturing and the preview fails with the reason when it is missing
User permissiondevice.desktop-preview.read on the target device
Server configDisableDesktopPreview must not be enabled

Wake-on-LAN​

Wake-on-LAN (WOL) lets you send a magic packet to wake a device that is powered off but connected to the network. This is useful for:

  • Waking machines during off-hours for maintenance
  • Powering on workstations before employees arrive
  • Restarting devices that have been shut down

Sending a Wake-on-LAN Request​

On the Dashboard, find the offline device, open its Actions menu, and select Wake. The action appears only for offline devices.

The server does not emit the packet itself. It looks for other online ControlR devices that share the target's public IPv4 address within the same tenant and customer, and instructs those devices to broadcast the magic packet. You therefore need at least one online ControlR device on the target's network. When none is found, no packet is sent and the action reports that.

Requirements​

RequirementDetails
BIOS/UEFIWake-on-LAN must be enabled in the device's BIOS/UEFI settings
NetworkThe magic packet must be able to reach the target device (consider VLANs and subnet routing)
Online peerAt least one other online ControlR device shares the target's public IPv4 address, tenant, and customer, and broadcasts the packet
MAC AddressThe MAC addresses recorded on the device the last time it was online. They are listed under Networking above
User permissiondevice.wake.send

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