Introduction
The Remote Desktop Services (formerly Terminal Services) provide technologies, with which users from a corporate network or the Internet can access session-based desktops, virtual machine based desktops and applications in the data center. The Remote Desktop Services enable a faithful impression of the desktop or the applications and allows remote users to set up secure connections via managed or unmanaged devices.
Hetzner offers appropriate licenses on a "per user" basis, but is only responsible for adding the license and activating the license server. Installing the required roles and their configuration must therefore be carried out in advance by the client.
Prices for the licenses can be found in the Price list for additional products.
Standalone
For Windows Server 2019, a standalone setup is no longer possible. Please follow the procedure described in the "Microsoft Design Specification" section.
The non-problematic stand-alone operation in Windows Server 2008 without AD with local license manager and session host is no longer possible with Windows 2012, 2012 R2 and 2016, because there is no configuration option in the server manager for linking license manager and session host.
Such a setup can therefore only be configured in a roundabout way:
- Add Roles and Features
- Remote Desktop Services
- Remote Desktop Session Host
- Remote Desktop Licensing Server
Afterwards the following changes need to be done within the Control Panel -> Group Policy
Local Computer Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Remote Desktop Services -> Remote Desktop Session Host -> LicensingUse the specified RD license servers = <servername>
Set the Remote Desktop licensing mode = Per UserCaveat
In some cases a fully functional remote desktop session host cannot find its license server and quits with the following message:
The remote session was disconnected because there are no Remote Desktop Licence Servers available to provide a licence. Please contact the server administratorThe solution is to delete the REG_BINARY value within the registry at the below path in order to have only the default value available:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\RCM\GracePeriod
(you must take ownership and give admin users full control to be able to delete this key)
Microsoft Design Specification
Starting with Windows Server 2008 R2 the licensing of CALs for the Remote Desktop service is done via a security group in Active Directory. The license server must be a member of this group, all terminal servers in the AD (Active Directory Domain Services) must use this license server.
Prerequisite
- Functioning and correctly configured AD
- The successful domainjoin of the host to be used as a license server
Please note that operation of AD and license server on the same host is not possible.
Installing the Remote Desktop Services
- Add Roles and Features
- Remote Desktop Services installation
- Quick Start
- Session-based desktop deployment
After the installation is complete, the Server Manager can be used to add a license server via the Remote Desktop Services entry.
Remote Desktop Services -> Overview -> RD Licensing
After successful configuration the licensing mode can be set to Per User, also via the Server Manager.
Remote Desktop Services -> Overview -> Deployment Overview -> Tasks -> Edit Deployment Properties.
Additional Note - RDP Login no longer possible after installation
Autoselected keyboard map de
ERROR: recv: Connection reset by peerThe error results from a change in the default setting after installation and subsequent reboot. In order to gain access again the following settings must be adjusted:
System and Security -> Allow Remote desktop access -> Tab Remote
x Allow remote connections to this computer
[ ] Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication (recommended)Conclusion
You should now have configured Windows Remote Desktop Services.