New Project - RDS / Terminal Services / Virtual Desktops

[Pyroman]

Heya,

 

Currently we have staff with encrypted laptops with locally installed programs, office, SIMS, etc. I map drives to their home share, shared folders and we have VPN access to allow them to connect to these shares. The problem is it takes an age to set up laptops individually (differing hardware etc never have the cash to buy laptops in bulk) I'm looking to set up laptops with the bare minimum of software if possible and have them VPN into the school network and i want them to be able to remote into a windows 7 machine as though they were sat at their desktop machine (without them actually doing so, i'm not leaving 30 PC's on overnight) so presumably i need some sort of host that runs virtual windows 7 sessions/machines that have the same GPO's and set up as out current desktop machines. I want to make this as easy as possible to manage so i've not got 30 windows 7 VMs i need to look after is it possible to have this sort of thing where multiple users use the same "machine" and get all their mapped drives/documents/school programs.

 

We currently have a single Local Authority 2008R2 server running as DC/DHCP/DNS/PRINT/FILESERVER/YOUNAMEIT

 

Cheers

[jaminben]

I've just setup our RDS server and have been able to get Applications/Programs to work but so far not able to map any drives.... I did have to create some .cmd files to run the more tricky programs which wouldn't run on their own (Facility for example) so maybe it's possible to map drives like that (I've not tried yet). Edited January 7, 2015 by jaminben

[Pyroman]

I've just setup our RDS server and have been able to get Applications/Programs to work but so far not able to map any drives.... I did have to create some .cmd files to run the more tricky programs which wouldn't run on their own (Facility for example) so maybe it's possible to map drives like that (I've not tried yet).

 

This is where i start getting confused! How does this work, do you host apps in one place, desktops in another and run the apps in the virtual desktop or do you just host the apps then run them on the local machine you're connecting from?

[Pyroman]

I've just found this on xenapp vs xendesktop - Spiceworks

 

XenApp is primary utilized to deliver hosted applications to users. XenApp is Windows Server based only, so it will primarily be installed on Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2. XenApp is a shared solution meaning a single XenApp server is utilized to provide access to hosted applications for multiple users. All of these users share the same physical resources (CPU, RAM, etc.). XenApp does have the ability to deliver a desktop to users. However, this will be a shared desktop and will be a Windows Server desktop rather than Windows XP, Vista, or 7. There are configuration options to make the desktop appear more like a Windows Desktop OS, though it is still a Windows Server OS in the background subject to all the same concerns of application compatibility and vendor support.

 

XenDesktop is used to deliver a Windows Desktop (XP, Vista, or 7). The key differences between the desktop delivered via XenApp and XenDesktop is that the XenDesktop desktop is a true Windows XP, Vista, or 7 Desktop, and the desktop instance is not shared between users. This means every user receives their own instance of Windows; basically their own little sandbox

 

It sounds like what i'm trying to do but obviously citrix will have licensing for their software and then presumably you have to buy windows licenses on top of that. Is something like this do-able with RDS without too much of an initial outlay for testing purposes?

[jaminben]

We installed all the apps on the RDS server... users then log into that server (or servers if you have more than one broker). When users log in they actually create a local context on that broker and will have any apps which are assigned to them to use (any apps which run will be run from the broker and consume it's resources). I don't think you can re-point them to another machine other than RDP'ing to other clients. Pretty new to this myself so take what I say with a pinch of salt. Edited January 7, 2015 by jaminben

[Ephelyon]

Just set up a beefy RDS box/VM (ours has 12 cores and 64GB RAM) and install all the apps you'd normally deploy to workstations on there. Users can access it via RDS Gateway and you can install RemoteApp to give it a web-based front-end (while also allowing for seamless apps).

 

It's made a world of difference here; we have full remote access for both staff and students without needing to faff with VPNs and the tablets can use the same system during the day while no-one's on it from home.

[edutech4schools]

I've just setup our RDS server and have been able to get Applications/Programs to work but so far not able to map any drives.... I did have to create some .cmd files to run the more tricky programs which wouldn't run on their own (Facility for example) so maybe it's possible to map drives like that (I've not tried yet).

 

The RDS server should work like any other computer on your network. If you network computers can map drives then your rds server and sessions should also be mapping drives.

 

I have what the OP wants at all of my primary schools although I did end up using another server.

Install server OS

Install remote desktop services role

Install terminal services gateway role

Install terminal services licensing role

Buy CALS which are very cheap

 

That's a general overview of the process and worked for me

[jaminben]

The RDS server should work like any other computer on your network. If you network computers can map drives then your rds server and sessions should also be mapping drives.

 

Our broker has mapped drives but I don't see how/where to add them... when trying to add items its always looking for .exe's, .bat, .cmd etc. Where did you add your mapped drive? or did you just map it with a .cmd?

[edutech4schools]

We must have set things up differently. So long as a user has mapped drives while in the school they will get mapped drives while using the remote desktop. The way I look at it is they are in essence remotely controlling a computer in the school, be it a virtual one, but it's still in the school and the remote user is simply sending the mouse or keystrokes over the internet to the remote system. When they log in they are using a system that is part of the domain so any gpo's or scripts just run as though they are in the school.

 

I would start another thread if I were you and see if anyone on Edugeek can help as I did not really need to do much to get it working.

[Pyroman]

The RDS server should work like any other computer on your network. If you network computers can map drives then your rds server and sessions should also be mapping drives.

 

I have what the OP wants at all of my primary schools although I did end up using another server.

Install server OS

Install remote desktop services role

Install terminal services gateway role

Install terminal services licensing role

Buy CALS which are very cheap

 

That's a general overview of the process and worked for me

 

Great, a few questions. When users log in do they get a server session or a windows 7 session? We have a bunch of standard desktop icons, users get their own home folder etc when the log into the domain on a desktop machine in school and i want to replicate that so it looks like they're logging in to their own desktop machine when they use RDS. Where / How do you set up a windows 7 VM for them to log into? How many users can share that?

[Pyroman]

We must have set things up differently. So long as a user has mapped drives while in the school they will get mapped drives while using the remote desktop. The way I look at it is they are in essence remotely controlling a computer in the school, be it a virtual one, but it's still in the school and the remote user is simply sending the mouse or keystrokes over the internet to the remote system. When they log in they are using a system that is part of the domain so any gpo's or scripts just run as though they are in the school.

 

I would start another thread if I were you and see if anyone on Edugeek can help as I did not really need to do much to get it working.

 

That sounds exactly what i'm after, i want it to feel like they're using a school machine when the remote in.

[Axel]

These may shed some light on your musings

 

showing secure Gateway connection over https

-connecting to either specific applications or an RDP desktop

 

 

showing full VDI connection to a Win7 VM machine

 

 

In a nutshell, on the server you can publish a combination of individual applications, RDS sessions and/or virtual machines (ie Win7)

 

You point the client, regardless of it being a PC, laptop, thin client, or tablet (?) to the server URL (secure HTTPS connection) and all the above objects will be shown as icons.

 

You can filter what icons are displayed and/or auto-launch specific objects/icons

 

When you auto-launch or click on the icon - the client gets details of the resource/object to connect to and the connection is established - ie the same mechanism is used regardless

of what you connect to

 

Using a Gateway removes the need for a VPN

 

Whether you go "session" or "VM" based is the key consideration, both provide a very similar, familiar Windows desktop, but the cost will vary significantly....