The PS Tools suite that Microsoft offers allows for some powerful command line level interaction across the network. You can do a great variety of tasks. Some that you could accomplish other ways like VNC, remote desktop, or other command line tools, but this just adds more tools to the toolbox. The PS Tools might be faster than your previous manner or it might offer an alternative if the usual means aren’t quite working.
Out of the package of twelve tools, there are two worth highlighting from what I’ve used recently:
PsExec allows you to run commands across the network, as if you were sitting at the machine. For example, if you checked your MAC address locally at your machine with IPCONFIG, you could do the same thing at your machine with PsExec for another machine on the network.
PsExec Hostname IPCONFIG /all
The thing is that PsExec works with almost every command line executable. Another great use of PsExec is pushing out software. If you have a .msi file to install, you can push it across the network with:
PsExec Hostname MsiExec /a "c:install.msi"
PsLoggedon is a nice tool as well because you can just see who is currently logged onto the machine. Whether you want to confirm who is logging onto a machine or ensure that your account logged off after a remote session, use:
psloggedon Hostname
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896649.aspx