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Hey guys, I've a common problem across all my RDS/Citrix deployments when running a full desktop session as web browsing inside the session consumes a lot of resources plus has latency. I want to try Remoteapp for RDS first so I can use a Windows based thinclient or a regular computer converted to thinclient that will have IE/Chrome installed locally to run web browsing saving CPU/memory usage on RDS/Citrix server and deploy all applications like MS Office and other LOB applications as Remoteapps. I've not done this in production yet, but I've been testing in a POC at the moment and it works fine, especially with single sign-on, the person logs into the windows thinclient and there is no password prompts anymore. Have you guys tried something similar? Any thoughts, opinions, criticism, flaws that you could share so I can come up with something better? I'm planning to write an article how to do this in detail later on as I believe there is nothing out on the internet with the same goal as me.

Hi, I am looking to deploy Microsoft 2FA with our RemoteApps and RDS. We host this on prem and not in Azure. Has anyone deployed it this way and have any info they could share please? Thanks

Hello Everyone! We are trying to setup an RDS Farm and are confused with what certificates we need to use. Our setup is as follows: Server 1 - Internet Facing (remote.domain.com (joined to domain.local)) - RD Gateway - RD Web Access - RD Licensing - RD Connection Broker Server 2 - Non-Internet Facing (Session1.domain.local) - RD Session Host Server 3 - Non-Internet Facing (Session2.domain.local) - RD Session Host The confusion lies in signing the remoteApps. As they reside on a server that has a .local domain how can I get these to be signed by a Public Certification Authority? We are currently looking a purchasing a Wilcard certificate - *.domain.com and obviously this cannot be used for the session hosts. So my final question is how can I sign these remoteApps so that they can be used externally without any issues. I hope that the above makes sense! Thanks in advance. J.Worth

Morning, I want to implement a Server 2008 RDS into our network, and would like to know if anyone has any ideas / suggestions / help they would like to offer? I want to host 30 Desktops, It will be internal use only for now, We have an existing RM CC4 network (Server 2003) and getting it to integrate with this is my biggest worry! I was thinking along the lines of... Buy server + CALS, Join Existing Domain, Setup RDS.. any input much appriciated! Chris

Clutching at straws here but hoping someone might know of a tweak that we're missing. Migrating from RDS2012 to RDS2019 and testing SIMS as a published app. It's generally ok. Few seconds between clicking icons etc. But when you click the staff and/or student icons for the first time it can take several seconds before opening those pages. Sometimes the screen flickers and and sometimes we get a not responding message in the SIMS app. Strangle enough we don't seem to get these issues when logging onto the session host server and launching SIMS locally. We also don't seem to get these issues when logging onto a published desktop and launching SIMS from the desktop. The session hosts are pretty beefy so we don't think it's a server sizing issue. Other published apps, including FMS, all seem to work fine. Only other consideration is that we have installed SIMS onto a D: drive on the session host because the disk can fill and bring down the server when installed on C:. We did create the SIMSLink virtual mapping though so that the app knows where it is. Struggling to fault find this one. Not even sure what process is called when you hit those buttons to see if something could be timing out but it's just strange that this only seems to happen with the published app.

Hi, I wonder if someone could help. I haven't been able to find any information on setting up the firewall for RDS (How to set up and anything else needed for it). We are a school, and we would like staff to login from home and access the apps that we have made available for them. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Hi All, Recently setup RD Web access and associated roles (Connection broker, session host, gateway, licensing) on a server 2019 x64 standard VM running on Hyper-V. Locally web access works fine with published apps launching and working perfectly. Onto the issue... can't see the web page externally through out smoothwall. I have included screenshots of our smoothwall port forward config and gateway settings. Any help will be much appreciated as we're under a lot of pressure to get this operational.

For the life of me, I am having problems creating a managed Windows 7 Vdi Pool under server 2012R2. My RDS Virtualization server is running server 2012 R2 and I can create managed Windows 8 VM's quite easily. The trouble I am having is that when I create my Windows 7 VDI pool, I keep getting the error "The provisioned machine couldn't join the domain", but I can see the machine has been created, and it is listed in Active Directory, in the correct OU. My Windows 7 template has service pack 1 installed, the template joined the domain before it was sysprepped and generalized. I also made sure that the network card had the correct field in the DNS settings. The first machine is always created, and when I look at the machine in Hyper-V, I can see that it is at the log on screen asking me to sign in with Ctrl + Alt + Delete This is my setup: EDGE1.lab.local Server 2012R2 (RD Web Access, RD Virtualization Host, Rd Connection Broker) IP: 10.0.0.2 Subnet 255.255.255.0 Primary DNS: 10.0.0.1 DC01.lab.local Server 2008 R2 (DC, DHCP, DNS) IP: 10.0.0.1 Subnet: 255.255.255.0 Primary DNS: 127.0.0.1 The other problem I am having is with my Windows 8 Pool. RD Web Access URL: https://edge1.lab.local/RDWeb/Pages/en-US/login.aspx This is the strange part. When I log on using my admin credentials in IE, or Chrome, I can see the Windows 8 Powered on VDI machine. When I click on the machine in Chrome I download the .RDP and try to run it. It just hangs. Looking at the address of the file, it is listed as Edge1.lab.local and I get the error Remote machine is not powered on etc.... If I edit the .RDP file that I downloaded to match the NIC address of the machine, (10.0.0.123) I can connect to it using RDS, but I'm thinking, this is not the way it is supposed to work. Any ideas? The strange thing is that the machine works when I boot into it using RDS. Any thoughts? Another issue I'

Hello Everyone, We are wanting to deploy RemoteApp and RDWeb to allow staff to access SIMS.net remotely. What is the best way of setting this up? I was thinking that we should have one server hosting RD Web Access and RD Gateway (this will be internet facing). We then have another server that will be the session host server for the RemoteApps. Additionally, where should I install the Certificate Authority? When we were doing a test setup, there was an error launching the RemoteApps because the Certificate Revocation List could be found. How do we solve this issue? Lastly, how can we get Single Sign On (SSO) to work properly because we were finding that when logging into RDWeb we then had to enter our username and password again when launching an initial RemoteApp (after this happens subsequent RemoteApps launch without a password prompt)?

I dont think there is a right or wrong answer here, but I wanted to know peoples choices (any any reasons why, or problems encountered) when installing sims.net on RDS (Remote desktop session host). 1. Did you put the server into install mode, or install from the control panel applet. ie: (change user /install)...or not bother with either ? 2. 2008 R2 is 64 bit so, did you install to C:\Program Files (x86) or just C:\Program Files ? (my install prompts me to install to C:\Program Files I was expecting it to default to C:\Program Files (x86)) 3. Did you use simsinst, or use the application setup files directly? Thanks in advance.

So, I accidentally deleted the WWWROOT folder from the inetpub folder on C drive on my RDS server. Does anyone know of a simple way of getting this back, as the webpages from the server are now unavailable as they dont exist! I cant find it in Recycle bin or in any recovery scanner such as RECUVA. Is there any way to fix this? Any help would be hugely appreciated!

Hi I am trying to install rds on server 2016 on a new server. This is connected to our domain but is not a dc. It keeps failing with the following. Remote Desktop Seervices role services: Failed: the activity has exceeded the specified maximum running time of 1800 seconds. Sessions collection. Cancelled RemoteApp programs. Cancelled. Does anybody have any ideas why this is failing? Thanks in advance

I'm trying to setup RDS on server 2012 r2, a quick test install using two servers worked fine and was easy to setup, I'm now trying an advanced install involving 6 servers with two in a DMZ (gateway and web access). We have smoothwall as our firewall and bridging rules have been created to allow the two DMZ serves to join the domain. I'm using the RD licence server to manage all the other servers in the RDS collection, this is fin for local network servers but trying to add roles to the DMZ servers keeps failing. Has anybody else tried setting up RDS in a similar way? I want to make it as secure as I can which is why I'm using the DMZ.

Hi Guys and Girls, This is my first post, so I'll combine my intro with a question :-) I'm from South Africa, and currently employed as a Network Administrator at a small - to medium size company (we have approx 250 users, and 10 servers). I'm certified in Microsoft and Cisco, but someday I hope to do only Cisco - I'm getting a bit tired of Microsoft... I have a MCTS: Windows 7 Configuring, CCENT and CCNA: Routing and Switching. Currently busy with my CCNP: R&S (i've already written and passed my first exam, CCNP: SWITCH) Question: I have just installed our first Server 2012 host - to be used as our new Thin Client server. (Hate the OS.........) I have configured everything, and all works very well, but as soon as I enable port redirection on the Thin Client - and the try establish the RDP connection, it pops up with a "The publisher of this remote connection cant be identified. Do you want to connect anyway?" message.... No matter what I do, it asks me this every time, even if I select "don't ask me again for connections to this computer." tick box at the bottom... How can I get rid of this popup? I want to make the experience as smooth as possible for the end users... Thank you in advance!!

After playing with various systems (trying to force freerdp onto the ThinPro install, trying to use Windows FLP, getting angry and mashing keyboards etc...), I decided to create my own install to do exactly what I want instead. This supports NLA, Session Broker (Connection Broker or whatever it is called) and anything else that FreeRDP works with. It contains a custom login screen, to allow details to be entered before connecting to the RDS farm). I used the current stable Debian release - which I believe is "Squeeze". 1. Download the network install CD image (i386, ‘Small CD’). 2. Either create a bootable USB memory stick to install it, or burn to CD 3. Boot your thin client from your installation media 4. Install as a normal Debian install 5. When prompted what options to install, choose only SSH Server. You should be prompted to enter a proxy – enter an http proxy if you have one, with the port also. 6. Once it has finished and rebooted (remember to remove the installation media), you should now have a console to log in to. Log in as root. 7. Enter the following 2 commands (it deletes manpages, to free up space): rm -rf /usr/share/man/?? rm -rf /usr/share/man/??_* 8. Enter the following command (it deletes all the copyright notices, to free up space): rm /usr/share/doc/*/copyright* 9. If your network does not and will not use IPv6, run the following command to free up space: rm /lib/xtables/libip6t_* 10. Run the following command (remove some unneeded files, more space freeing): apt-get remove debian-faq manpages ispell aspell iamerican ibritish aspell-en laptop-detect 11. Now to install things. Run the following command: apt-get install fluxbox 12. You won’t actually use fluxbox, but it is one of the smallest DM’s that fulfil a dependency for the following package. Once that is installed, run: apt-get install gdm 13. We should do some cleanup, to ensure there’s enough space to continue. Run the following command: rm /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb 14. Now you can install a bunch of packages at once: apt-get install linux-sound-base alsa-base alsa-utils wx2.8-i18n python wxgtk2.8 python-wxtools xfreerdp libfreerdp-plugins-standard 15. Now that you’ve got all the packages needed, you should give the machine a reboot. This will present gdm to you. 16. Either using SSH or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F2, bring up a console. 17. Log in as root. 18. Run the same command as in line 13: rm /var/cache/apt/archives/*.deb 19. Now, enter “alsamixer” 20. It should bring up a mixer interface. You want to use the arrow keys on all of them, except “Mic Boost”. The up key will increase the volume for the channel that is selected (it will be highlighted in red at the bottom). If the little box at the bottom of the bar contains “MM” press the “M” key on the keyboard. This will unmute the channel. You can move to different channels using the left and right keys. You may not wish for “Beep” to be on full; a suite full of thin clients turning on at once all beeping loudly might be annoying! 21. We now need to set up the python script to act as the login screen. The following is a basic login form, that wraps around freerdp to pass the login details. Edit and use as appropriate. It is also attached, should the formatting not be right on the post. import wx import wx.xrc import sys import os class BonsaiThinConnectForm ( wx.Frame ): m_textCtrl1 = None m_textCtrl2 = None def __init__( self, parent ): wx.Frame.__init__ ( self, parent, id = wx.ID_ANY, title = u"Login to RDP", pos = wx.DefaultPosition, size = wx.Size( 180,170 ), style = wx.DEFAULT_FRAME_STYLE|wx.TAB_TRAVERSAL ) self.SetSizeHintsSz( wx.DefaultSize, wx.DefaultSize ) panel = wx.Panel(self) bSizer1 = wx.BoxSizer( wx.VERTICAL ) self.m_staticText1 = wx.StaticText( panel, wx.ID_ANY, u"Username", wx.DefaultPosition, wx.DefaultSize, 0 ) self.m_staticText1.Wrap( -1 ) bSizer1.Add( self.m_staticText1, 0, wx.ALL, 5 ) global m_textCtrl1 m_textCtrl1 = wx.TextCtrl( panel, wx.ID_ANY, wx.EmptyString, wx.DefaultPosition, wx.Size(150,-1), 0 ) m_textCtrl1.SetFocus() bSizer1.Add( m_textCtrl1, 0, wx.ALL, 5 ) self.m_staticText2 = wx.StaticText( panel, wx.ID_ANY, u"Password", wx.DefaultPosition, wx.Size(150,-1), 0 ) self.m_staticText2.Wrap( -1 ) bSizer1.Add( self.m_staticText2, 0, wx.ALL, 5 ) global m_textCtrl2 m_textCtrl2 = wx.TextCtrl( panel, wx.ID_ANY, wx.EmptyString, wx.DefaultPosition, wx.Size(150,-1), wx.TE_PASSWORD ) bSizer1.Add( m_textCtrl2, 0, wx.ALL, 5 ) self.m_button1 = wx.Button( panel, wx.ID_ANY, u"Login", wx.DefaultPosition, wx.DefaultSize, 0 ) self.m_button1.SetDefault() bSizer1.Add( self.m_button1, 0, wx.ALL, 5 ) panel.SetSizer( bSizer1 ) self.Layout() self.Centre( wx.BOTH ) # Connect Events self.m_button1.Bind( wx.EVT_BUTTON, self.OnLogin ) self.Show() def __del__( self ): pass # Virtual event handlers, overide them in your derived class def OnLogin( self, event ): if m_textCtrl1.Value: if m_textCtrl2.Value: os.system("xfreerdp -u " + m_textCtrl1.Value + " -p " + m_textCtrl2.Value + " -d DOMAIN -f --plugin rdpsnd RDSFARMADDRESS:3389") sys.exit() app = wx.App(False) frame = BonsaiThinConnectForm(None) app.MainLoop() 22. Save the python above into a file and store it in /usr/bin 23. Now we need to create the custom xsession to run that as the desktop environment. Create a new file in /usr/share/xsessions/ called custom.desktop, and in that file place the following text: [Desktop Entry] Name=Custom Comment=Custom Session to run ~./.xsession Exec=/home//.xsession X-Ubuntu-Gettext-Domain= 24. Save the above and now it is time to make the script itself. Create a new file in the home directory of the user account you set up during installation (I used ‘user’, so this would be /home/user) called .xsession. In that file, enter the following: #! /bin/bash python /usr/bin/pythonfilecreatedearlier.py logout 25. Save the above file, now we need to give it some execution rights. Use the following command to edit permissions: chmod a+x /home/user/.xsession 26. Now, on the GDM login screen, click the Actions button and select Configuration Manager from the menu. Enter the root password when prompted. 27. On the Security tab, tick the “Enable Automatic Login” box, and choose the user account that we’ve been working with. 28. Now tick the ‘Enable Timed Login’ box and select the same user account. 29. Change the Pause before login to 10 seconds (if you want it to be even less, see the notes at the end). 30. If you wish to change the GDM theme, under the Local tab, make any changes you need to (I chose a less ‘Debian’ branded one). 31. On the “General” tab, select “Custom” from the “Default session:” menu. 32. Once you’re happy with the look and feel, click “Close”. 33. Back on a console, we now want to edit the grub menu, so it doesn’t display the different options (as the machine would simply be reimaged if it breaks). Edit the file /etc/default/grub, changing the option “GRUB_TIMEOUT” to equal 0. 34. You should be done now. All aspects of the system are in place. You can now reboot and test. If you want to lower the gdm autologin time, you need to edit /etc/gdm/gdm.conf. Change the line which starts with “TimedLoginDelay” to equal the time you want in seconds. BonsaiThinConnect.zip

Hi We've just had a new server installed and domain built from scratch. Since we've had everything up and running again we can't conect to any external (outgoing) remote desktops connections. We keep getting the folowing error: The computer name and domain for the remote computer is correct. We're with exa-networks for firewall and filtering and they're adamant it's not them. All internal remote connections are working well and we can remote in to the site via offsite/mobile internet. We can also make external (outgoing) remote conections using a domain device to and mobile internet. We've also tried using domain admin account to establish a remote access connection to offisite server with not luck. Any thoughts on which step in the process we've missed will be greatfully recieved. Thanks in advance.

Hi, Please can someone tell me if you can deploy 2FA for staff using the free version of office 365? We do have an OVS license for our on-prem office/windows/server cals etc. Ideally what I would like to setup is 2FA for office365 and our RDS server. TIA