Installation of Remote Desktop Services and Licensing Manager

Installation of Remote Desktop Services and Licensing Manager

Overview

RDS is the inbuilt windows virtual desktop offering.

Following a successful Active Directory deployment, the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) role should be installed. We perform this as a separate post-configuration step to mitigate known installation conflicts and ensure system stability. To ensure a clean deployment, follow this three-step process:

3 steps

1. Add the remote desktop role
2. Add remote desktop services
3. Configuration of the default Session Collective for Licensing

Step 1: Add the Remote Desktop role

1. Search for and open "Server Manager". It will often be open when you log in.

2. Open the "Add Roles and Features Wizard" from the Server Manager window, under the "Manage" section

3. It will open a window. Click Next on the first window

4. Select "Role-based or feature installation" and click next.

5. Select the server you wish to install the role on.

6. Select remote desktop services, then click next.

7. Review the features if you'd like; otherwise, click Next on the features page.

8. On the next window, Remote Desktop Services, just click Next.

9. Add the roles: "Remote Desktop Connection Broker", "Remote Desktop Licensing", and "Remote Desktop Session Host", and click next.

Note: When selecting a role, you may get a window popping up to say you need more features. You can just add them.

10. Click install.

11. Once the installation completes, restart the Server.

IPMI

If you are connecting via rdp you might have issues connecting after installing this, you should also have access via ipmi.

Step 2: Add Remote Desktop Services

1. Search for and open "Server Manager". It will often be open when you log in.

2. Open the "Add Roles and Features Wizard" from the Server Manager window, under the "Manage" section

3. It will open a window. Click Next on the first window

4.  Select Remote Desktop services installation and click next

5. Select 'quick start' deployment and click next

6. Select 'session-based' and click next.

7. Select the server you want and click next. It will take a few seconds to load.

8. Tick the box for "restart the destination server automatically if required", then select Deploy

NOTE: You can't select deploy unless the box is ticked

9. Select close once the progress bars are completed

Step 3: Configuration of the default Session Collective for Licensing

1. After the service is ready, you can simply go into the Server Manager again, and open the "Remote Desktop Services" section.

Warning

If this stage hangs while attempting to connect to the RDP broker, then check that IPv6 is disabled on the Primary interface; otherwise, it may receive an APIPA IPv6 address, and attempt to connect giving IPv6 precedence.

2. Once in that section, click on "Collections", then click on "Tasks" on the top right of the page, and select "Edit Deployment Properties".

3. On the RD Licensing Section, Change the licensing Mode to Per User, enter "localhost" into the "Specify a License Server" section, and click Add.
4. Once that's done, you can click OK to apply changes, and the setup is ready to be licensed!

Manually Set the License server from Power Shell

In some situations, you may be unable to set the license server correctly within Remote Desktop Session Host. In these cases, you are able to override the configurations using PowerShell. An example of the commands you would use, to set the License Server to "licenseserver.ad.local", is included below. Where of course "licenseserver.ad.local" can be replaced with the hostname/computer name related to your license server.

$obj = gwmi -namespace "Root/CIMV2/TerminalServices" Win32_TerminalServiceSetting
$obj. SetSpecifiedLicenseServerList("licenseserver.ad.local")