VMware Horizon Blank Screen

 End User Computing, Omnissa Horizon, Remote Access, VDI, VMware  20 Responses »
Apr 042020
 
VMware Horizon View Logo

In all my years assisting and providing support with VMware Horizon, one of the most common problems that customers report with their VDI implementations, is the VMware Horizon Blank Screen.

When a user is presented with a blank or black screen when using the VMware Horizon Client, the problem can be caused by a number of different things. In this post, I will address and provide solutions for some of the common issues that cause the VMware Horizon blank screen.

VMware Horizon Blank screen issue
VMware Horizon Blank screen issue

This troubleshooting guide applies to VMware Horizon 8, VMware Horizon 7, as well as earlier versions of VMware Horizon.

VMware Horizon Blank Screen Causes

There’s a number of different causes of a blank or black screen when connecting and establishing a VDI session to Horizon View. Click on the item below to jump to that section of the post:

Now that we have a list, let’s dive in to each of these individually. Some of these will require you to do your own research and will only guide you, while other sections will include the full fix for the issue.

VMware Tools and Horizon Agent Installation Order

When deploying the VMware Horizon View agent, you are required to install the agent, along with VMware tools in a specific order. Failing to do so can cause problems, including a blank screen screen.

The installation order:

  1. Install GPU/vGPU drivers (if needed)
  2. Install VMware Tools Agent
  3. Install the VMware Horizon Agent
  4. Install the VMware User Environment Manager Agent (if needed)
  5. Install the VMware App Volumes Agent (if needed)

It is important to also consider this when upgrading the agents as well. When upgrading VMware Tools, it is recommended to re-install the Horizon agent in versions up to and including Horizon 8 2103. As of Horizon 2106 and later, you no longer need to re-install the Horizon Agent when performing a VMware Tools upgrade.

For more information on the agent installation order for VMware Horizon, please visit: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2118048.

Network ports are blocked (Computer Firewall, Network Firewall)

For the VMware Horizon agent to function properly, ports must be accessible through your firewall, whether it’s the firewall on the VM guest, client computer, or network firewall.

The following ports are required for the VMware Horizon Agent when connecting directly to a View Connection Server.

DestinationNetwork ProtocolDestination PortDetails
Horizon Connection ServerTCP443Login, authentication, and connection to the VMware Connection Server.
Horizon AgentTCP22443Blast Extreme
UDP22443Blast Extreme
TCP4172PCoIP
UDP4172PCoIP
TCP3389RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol)
TCP9427Client Shared Drive redirection (CDR) and Multi-media redirection (MMR).
TCP32111USB Redirection (Optional), can be incorporated in to the Blast Extreme connection.
Network Ports Required for VMware Horizon View to View Connection Server

The following ports are required for the VMware Horizon Agent when connecting through a VMware Unified Access Gateway (UAG).

DestinationNetwork ProtocolDestination PortDetails
Unified Access GatewayTCP443Login, authentication, and connection to the Unified Access Gateway. This port/connection can also carry tunneled RDP, client drive redirection, and USB redirection traffic.
TCP4172PCoIP via PCoIP Secure Gateway
UDP4172PCoIP via PCoIP Secure Gateway
UDP443Optional for Login traffic. Blast Extreme will attempt a UDP login if there are issues establishing a TCP connection.
TCP8443Blast Extreme via Blast Secure Gateway (High Performance connection)
UDP8443Blast Extreme via Blast Secure Gateway (Adaptive performance connection)
TCP443Blast Extreme via UAG port sharing.
Network Ports Required for VMware Horizon View to VMware Unified Access Gateway (UAG)

You’ll notice the ports that are required for Blast Extreme and PCoIP. If these are not open you can experience a blank screen when connecting to the VMware Horizon VDI Guest VM.

For more information on VMware Horizon network ports, visit VMware’s Network Ports in VMware Horizon | VMware.

Certain types of IPS (Intrusion Prevention Service) can also intercept and block traffic. IPS may cause intermittent issues.

DNS Issues

While VMware Horizon View usually uses IP address for connectivity between the View Connection Server, guest VM, and client, I have seen times where DNS issues have stopped certain components from functioning properly.

It’s always a good idea to verify that DNS is functioning both internally and externally. DNS (forward and reverse) is required for VMware Horizon Linux guests VMs.

XDR, EDR, and AV Platform causing momentary blank screen at logon

When using an XDR (Extended Detection and Response), EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response), or special AV solution with non-persistent desktops, one may experience a momentary blank screen on user session logon. I have observed this with Sophos XDR as well as Cortex XDR, with blank screens varying from 10-30 seconds on user login.

Removal of the platform can reduce the momentary blank screen down to 1-5 seconds.

I highly recommend configuring and tweaking policies as much as possible to enhance and optimize your environment. There will always be a trade off of performance for security, and the decisions should be made by those in the organization who make cyber security related decisions.

Incorrectly configured Unified Access Gateway

A big offender when it comes to blank screens is an incorrectly configured VMWare Unified Access Gateway for VMware Horizon.

Sometimes, first-time UAG users will incorrectly configure the View Connection server and UAG.

When configuring a UAG, you must disable both “Blast Secure Gateway”, and “PCoIP Secure Gateway” on the View Connection Server, as the UAG will be handling this. See below.

Picture of the Secure Gateway settings on VMware Horizon View Connection Server when used with VMware UAG.
Secure Gateway Settings on View Connection Server when used with UAG

Another regular issue is when admins misconfigure the UAG itself. There are a number of key things that must be configured properly. These are the values that should be populated on the UAG under Horizon Settings.

Connection Server URLhttps://ConnectionServerIP:443
Connection Server URL Thumbprintsha1=SSLTHUMPRINT
(Thumbprint of the SSL certificate your View Connection Server is using)
PCOIP External URLUAG-EXTERNALIP:4172
Blast External URLUAG-InternetFQDN:443
Tunnel External URLUAG-InternetFQDN:443

You must also have a valid SSL certificate installed under “TLS Server Certificate Settings”. I’d recommend applying it to both the admin and internal interface. This is a certificate that must match the FQDN (internal and external) of your UAG appliance.

Once you’re good, you’re green!

Picture of the VMware UAG interface showing all green (functioning).
VMware Unified Access Gateway showing valid

You should always see green lights, all protocols should work, and the connections should run smooth. If not, troubleshoot.

GPU Driver Issue

When using a GPU with your VM for 3D graphics, make sure you adhere to the requirements of the GPU vendor, along with the VMware requirements.

Some vendors have display count, resolution, and other limits that when reached, cause Blast Extreme to fail.

An incorrectly installed driver can also cause issues. Make sure that there are no issues with the drivers in the “Device Manager”.

VMware documents regarding 3D rendering:

Blast Extreme log files can be found on the guest VM in the following directory.

C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware Blast\

Looking at these log files, you can find information that may pertain to the H.264 or display driver issues that will assist in troubleshooting.

When using GPUs such as Nvidia GRID and AMD MxGPU, it is recommended to disable the VMware SVGA 3D Driver and adapter inside of Device Manager after you install the applicable GPU drivers.

NVIDIA vGPU Issues

You may be experiencing issues related to the NVIDIA vGPU platform, either inside of the VM guest, or on the VMware ESXi host.

Please check out my NVIDIA vGPU Troubleshooting Guide – How to troubleshoot vGPU on VMware for more information on how to troubleshoot, as well as a list of common issues experienced with VMware Horizon and NVIDIA vGPU.

VMware Tools

A corrupt VMware tools install, whether software or drivers can cause display issues. Make sure that the drivers (including the display driver) are installed and functioning properly.

It may be a good idea to completely uninstall VMware Tools and re-install.

If you’re experiencing display driver issues (such as a blank screen), before re-installing VMware Tools try forcibly removing the display driver.

  1. Open “Device Manager”
  2. Right click on the VMware Display adapter and open “Properties”
  3. On the “Driver” tab, select “Uninstall”
  4. Check the box for “Delete the driver software for this device”.

This will fully remove the VMware driver. Now re-install VMware Tools.

Horizon Agent

Often, re-installing the Horizon Agent can resolve issues. Always make sure that VMware Tools are installed first before installing the Horizon Agent.

Make sure that if you are running 64-bit Windows in the VM then you install and use the 64-bit Horizon Agent.

You may experience issues with the “VMware Horizon Indirect Display Driver”. Some users have reported an error on this driver and issues loading it, resulting in a blank screen. To do this, I’d recommend forcibly uninstalling the driver and re-installing the Horizon Agent.

To forcibly remove the “VMware Horizon Indirect Display Driver”:

  1. Open “Device Manager”
  2. Right click on the “VMware Horizon Indirect Display Driver” and open “Properties”
  3. On the “Driver” tab, select “Uninstall”
  4. Check the box for “Delete the driver software for this device”.

Now proceed to uninstall and reinstall the Horizon View Agent.

When running the Horizon Agent on Horizon for Linux, make sure that forward and reverse DNS entries exist, and that DNS is functioning on the network where the Linux VM resides.

Also, as a reminder, it is recommended that you re-install the Horizon agent in versions up to and including Horizon 8 2103 after upgrading VMware Tools. As of Horizon 8 2106, you no longer need to re-install the Horizon Agent when performing a VMware Tools upgrade.

Video Settings (Video Memory (VRAM), Resolution, Number of Displays)

When experiencing video display issues or blank screens on VMware Horizon View, these could be associated with the guest VM’s memory, video memory (VRAM), display resolution, and number of displays.

vSphere Video RAM (VRAM) configuration for VMware Horizon
vSphere Video RAM Configuration for VMware Horizon

If you do not have enough Video RAM (VRAM) allocated to the virtual machine and/or you have too many displays (multi-monitor), then you can experience the blank screen with Horizon.

Make sure you are adhering to the specifications put forth by VMware. Please see the following links for more information.

Master Image Resolution

While this isn’t likely to cause a blank screen issue (it can though), it’s always a good idea to set your image to a lower resolution before snapping or converting to a template for deployment.

It’s a lot easier for the VMs to start using lower resolution and VRAM (Video Memory) and then increase to what’s needed, instead of starting at a crazy high resolution and then getting adjusted down.

I consider it a good practice to reduce the graphics resolution before creating and deploying the image to the desktop pools.

Protocol

When troubleshooting blank screens with VMware Horizon, you need to try to identify whether it’s specific to the guest VM, or if it’s associated with the connection protocol you’re using (and the route it takes whether through a Connection Server, or UAG).

Always try different protocols to see if the issue is associated with all, or one. Then try establishing connections and find if it’s isolated direct to the Connection Server, or through the UAG.

If the issue is with a specific protocol, you can view the protocol log files. If the issue is with the UAG, you can troubleshoot the UAG.

Log files can be found in the following directory:

C:\ProgramData\VMware\

HTTPS Proxy and redirection issues

If you are connecting through a network that does passive and/or transparent HTTPS scanning or uses a proxy server, you may experience issues with inability to connect, or blank screens.

You’ll need to modify your firewall or proxy to allow the VMware connection and open the required ports for VMware Horizon and create an exception not to touch or manipulate the VMware Horizon related traffic.

Login banner or disclaimer (PCoIP)

I haven’t seen or heard of this one in some time, but when using VMware Horizon with PCoIP, sessions can fail or show a blank screen when the legal disclaimer login banner is used on the Windows instance (Windows 7, Windows 10, or Windows 11).

For more information on this issue, and how to resolve or workaround, visit https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1016961.

Old version of VMware Horizon

It never stops surprising me how old some of the VMware Horizon View environments are that some businesses are running. VMware regularly updates, and releases new versions of VMware Horizon that resolve known issues and bugs in the software.

While it may be difficult, simply upgrading your VMware Horizon environment (VMware vSphere, View Connection Server, VMware Tools, VMware Horizon Agent) can often resolve many issues.

Blank Screen connecting to Physical PC running Horizon Agent

When you install the VMware Horizon Agent on a Physical PC, you may encounter issues with a blank screen.

This is usually caused by:

After troubleshooting these issues, you should be able to resolve the issue.

Conclusion

As you can see there are a number of different things that can cause Horizon View to show a blank screen on login. It’s always best to try to understand how the technology works, and establish where the failure points are.

Let me know if this helped you out, or if you find other reasons and feel I should add them to the list!

Free HPE iLO Advanced License

 HPE  2 Responses »
Apr 022020
 
HPE iLO Logo

In response to the COVID19 crises and to help customers and partners, HPE is providing a free iLO Advanced license for your HPE Servers.

These licenses are full licenses that are valid until January 1st, 2021. This means you’ll have the full Integrated Lights-Out product through the end of the 2020 year.

This was announced on the HPE Servers Facebook page, followed by a post on HPE’s blog!

You can watch my video below, or read on for more information!

How to get your free iLO Advanced license

To get your free license, head over to the link below.

https://www.hpe.com/us/en/resources/integrated-systems/ilo-advanced-trial.html

Free iLO Advanced License
Free iLO Advanced License

This link will take you to sign up for a HPE iLO Advanced trial license. After filling out the form, you’ll be able to download your iLO welcome letter, which includes your iLO key (that is valid through 2020), and instructions.

Free HPE iLO Advanced License key, instructions, and expiry date of January 1, 2021.

This is awesome, and will definitely help out a ton of IT administrators this year to remotely manage, monitor, and maintain their servers.

Thanks HPE!

Install Office 365 in a Remote Desktop Services Environment

 Microsoft, Microsoft 365, Office 365, Remote Desktop Services (RDS)  65 Responses »
Mar 302020
 
Office 365 Logo

Once you deploy Remote Desktop Services (RDS) for employee remote access, your next step will be to install user applications as well as all your line of business applications.

One of the most widely used applications suite is Microsoft Office, particularly Microsoft Office 365.

In order to deploy Microsoft Office 365 in a Remote Desktop Services environment, a number of requirements must be met. There is also special instructions which must be followed to properly deploy it.

This information also applies when you want to install Office 365 / Microsoft 365 to a shared virtual machine or a golden image for VDI (for VDI you can read my full guide “Deploy, Install, and Configure Microsoft Office 365 in a VDI Environment“).

After reading and completing the steps in this blog post and deploying Office 365, you can head over to my guide on how to Configure Office 365 in a Remote Desktop Services Environment using GPOs to pre-configure Microsoft Office and it’s applications for when your users log in.

What’s required

To deploy Microsoft Office 365 on a Remote Desktop Services Server, you’ll need:

  • A Remote Desktop Services Server (Configured and Running)
  • Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (formerly named as Office 365 ProPlus)

Licensing

Special attention must be paid to licensing. In order to properly license and activate Office 365, you’ll need one of the following products that supports Shared Computer Activation:

  • Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (formerly known as Office 365 ProPlus)
  • Office 365 E3
  • Office 365 E5
  • Microsoft 365 Business Premium

All 4 of these products include and support “Shared Computer Activation“.

Microsoft 365 Standard, Office 365 Business, Office 365 Business Premium, and Office 365 Business Essentials cannot be used as they do not include or support Shared Computer Activation.

An exception is made for Microsoft 365 Business Premium which actually includes Microsoft 365 Apps for Business, but doesn’t support enabling “Shared Computer Activation” via Group Policy Objects and must be done using the XML configuration file method.

Installing Office 365

Once you have the proper licensing and you’re ready to proceed, you can start!

  1. First you’ll need to download the Office Deployment Tool from this link: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=626065. You save this wherever.
  2. Create a directory that you can work in and store the Office 365 installation files.
  3. Open the file you downloaded from the Microsoft Download site, extract the files in to the working directory you created in step 2.
  4. Open a Command Prompt, and change in to that working directory.
  5. We’re now going to run the tool and download the x64 image using the xml that was extracted by running the following command:
    setup.exe /download configuration-Office365-x64.xml
    To download the 32-bit version or enterprise version, use one of the other xml files that are in the directory.
  6. There will be no output and it will take a while so be patient.
  7. Now we want to open the xml file we previously used (in our case “configuration-Office365-x64.xml”) and add the following lines to the file right above the final line (right above </Configuration>):
    <Display Level="None" AcceptEULA="True" />
    <Property Name="SharedComputerLicensing" Value="1" />
    These variables enable Shared Computer Activation and disable automatic activation. Save the file.
  8. We can now install Office 365 by running the following command:
    setup.exe /configure configuration-Office365-x64.xml

Office 365 should now install silently, and then afterwards you should be good to go!

When a user logs in for the first time it will ask them to activate on their account. The user must have a license attached to their Office 365 account.

For more information and advanced settings, you can see the Microsoft guide here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployoffice/deploy-office-365-proplus-by-using-remote-desktop-services.

You are now ready to proceed to Configure Office 365 in a Remote Desktop Services environment, so that everything is configured and ready to use when your users log in.

Add and Install G729 Codec on FreePBX

 FreePBX, VoIP  No Responses »
Mar 282020
 
FreePBX Logo

I found out today that some time ago, the G729 codec was released from all patents, and is now available free of charge to use on FreePBX (and probably Asterisk).

On fresh installation of the FreePBX SNG distribution, the G729 codec is pre-installed and ready to go out of the box, however if you have an older system that you have been maintaing and upgrading, G729 is not automatically installed.

As of version SNG7-PBX-64bit-1712-2 (with FreePBX 14.0.1.22) which was released on December 21st, 2017 the codec is included.

As per the release notes:

Open Source G729 codec is now present on installation
 Older installations can activate it with the 'g729' command

How to install G729

If you have an older install that you have been updating to the latest release, as per the release notes you must run the “g729” command. This will tell you if it is, or is not installed. If it is not installed, it will advised you to run the “yum -y install asterisk13-g729” command.

I ran the commands and installed the G729 codec on my system running SNG7-PBX-64bit-2002-2 (FreePBX Version 15.0.16.42, OS Version: 12.7.6-2002-2.sng7).

[root@pbx01 ~]# g729
 The Open Source G729 code is not installed.
 You can install it with the following command:
          yum -y install asterisk13-g729
[root@pbx01 ~]# yum -y install asterisk13-g729

The package then installed, I restarted the PBX, and g729 was available to use. I tested and it works great!

How to rapidly deploy Remote Desktop Services (RDS) for employee remote access

 Microsoft, Remote Access, Remote Desktop Services (RDS), Security  10 Responses »
Mar 222020
 
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services Logo

In the last few months, the crisis with COVID19 has put organizations in a panic to enable employees to be able to work from home, to continue business productivity, keep employees safe, and keep employees on the payroll. It’s good for business, and it’s good for employees to avoid layoffs so everyone keeps their jobs.

This has put IT departments and IT professionals in a hectic position where they must roll out and deploy remote access technologies on the fly, often with little or no notice.

I’ve heard horror stories where organization leadership has made decisions without consulting IT which resulted in the inability to work, also where organizations didn’t involve their IT teams in strategizing and planning moving forward.

Business executive giving directive on IT

In this post I’m going to outline the most efficient way to rapidly deploy Remote Desktop Services (RDS) for employee remote access.

Remote Access Technologies

There’s a number of different remote access technologies and software packages available today. Some are designed to allow you to work fully remotely (providing a remote desktop to office resources), and some are designed to provide access to specific resources remotely (such as documents, files, etc).

The main technologies typically used for remote access include:

The main software packages that enable a remote workforce include:

  • Microsoft Office 365
  • Microsoft 365
  • Skype for Business
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Zoom
  • Numerous other applications and cloud suites

Every technology or application has it’s purpose and is deployed depending on the business requirements, however in this specific situation we need a solution that is easy and fast to deploy.

For most small to medium sized businesses, Remote Desktop Services would be the easiest solution to roll out on such short notice.

Remote Desktop Services (RDS)

Remote Desktop Services is a server/client technology that allows the client to connect to the server, and have access to a full Windows desktop that’s actually running on the server itself.

These sessions are encrypted, secure, and essentially brings the display to the connecting client, and brings back mouse and keyboard feedback.

With Remote Desktop Services, you’re maintaining one Windows Server that provides multiple concurrent sessions for multiple concurrent users. You can install software packages (database applications, Microsoft Office 365, and other line of business applications), and make them available to the connecting users.

Even users who are accessing large files have a beautiful experience since the data never leaves your IT environment, only the sessions display is transmitted.

This works great for home users who have slow internet connections, users who are travelling, or using their cell networks LTE connection to connect.

For administrators, it provides an easy way to manage a desktop experience for multiple users by maintain a single server. There are also many additional controls you can implement to limit access and optimize the experience.

What’s required

When deploying RDS, you’ll need the following:

  • A dedicated Server or dedicated Virtual Machine running Microsoft Windows Server to be configured as a Remote Desktop Services server.
  • Remote Desktop Services CALs (Client Access Licenses – One CAL is required for each user or device)
  • A high speed internet connection (that can handle multiple RDS sessions)
  • A firewall to protect the RDS Server and preferably 2FA/MFA logins
  • A Static IP and DNS entries to make the server available to the internet and your users

You’ll want the RDS server to be dedicated strictly to Remote Desktop Services sessions. You will not want to run any other servers or services on this server or virtual machine.

You will need to purchase RDS CALs. A Remote Desktop Services Client access license, is required for every device or user you have connected to your RDS server. During your initial purchase of RDS CALs, you must choose between user count based licensing, or device count based licensing. If you need help with licensing Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, please feel free to reach out to me.

The connections between the server and client consist of an encrypted presentation of the display, as well as mouse/keyboard feedback, and other peripherals. For a single session it’s not much, which means your users don’t ultra fast internet connections. However, on the server side if you are running multiple sessions, the bandwidth requirements add up.

Remote Desktop Services servers are often under attack on the internet. You’ll find that the servers are subjected to scans, brute force attempts, and exploit execution. You’ll want to make sure that you have both a firewall (with intrusion prevention) and a security technology like DUO Security Two Factor Authentication configured to protect your server.

Finally, you’ll need a static IP on the internet and a friendly DNS hostname for your employees to connect to using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) Client, such as “remote.companyname.com”.

Deploying RDS

Deploying RDS is easy. Here is a brief summary of the steps to rapidly deploy a Remote Desktop Services server for remote access.

  1. Install Windows Server on the server or virtual machine that will host RDS.
  2. Configure networking (static IP) and join to domain.
  3. Using the server manager, add the Remote Desktop Services role.
  4. Configure Remote Desktop Services and Remote Desktop Web Access
  5. Configure an SSL Certificate
  6. Configure user session settings
  7. Install user software on the RDS Server (Including Office 365, Line of Business applications, and others)
  8. Configure ACLs (Access Control) to secure user access.
  9. Test the environment
  10. Move to production

Even with limited to no experience with Remote Desktop Services, an IT professional will be able to deploy the first server within hours. A focus must be paid to securing the environment, performance enhancements can be made later after deployment.

Please note that special steps are required when you install Office 365 in a Remote Desktop Services Environment, and configure office 365 in a Remote Desktop Services environment.

Microsoft has a detailed deployment guide available here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/remote/remote-desktop-services/rds-deploy-infrastructure

Security Considerations

As mentioned above, your RDS server will be subject to ongoing attacks. These attacks include vulnerability scans, bruteforce attempts, and targeted exploitation attempts.

  • You’ll want to make sure that you have and enforce strict password policies to stop bruteforce attempts.
  • A firewall should be implemented that includes an intrusion prevention system to identify and stop intrusion attempts.
  • You should implement two factor authentication using a product like Duo from Duo Security.

Your new RDS server while enabling a mobile workforce, also substantially increases your security footprint. Considerations must always be made and factored in when deploying internet available services.

Below is a video demo of what Duo Security Two Facter authentication looks like when logging in to an RDP session.

Duo Security Two Factor Authentication on Remote Desktop Services RDS Demo

Optimizations

There’s a fair number of optimizations which can be made in an RDS environment. I’m going to cover a few of the most widely used below.

Please note, you should also configure the RDS Group Policy Objects (GPO) as well.

Folder Redirection

While most data should be stored on network shares, we often find that users will store data and files on their Desktop and My Documents.

If you have available and extra storage, you can enable Desktop and My Documents Folder redirection. This will redirect users Desktop’s and My Document’s folders to a network share. On local computers on your network, the computers will retain a cached copy for performance.

If you deploy an RDS Server and have Folder redirection configured, the users My Documents and Desktop will be available to that user. Additionally since the server is on the same network as the share hosting the data, the RDS server will not retain a local cached copy (saving space).

If you are considering implementing and turning on Folder Redirection, I would recommend doing so before deploying an RDS Server (especially before a user logs in for the first time).

Anti-virus and Endpoint Protection

Careful consideration must be made when choosing the antivirus and endpoint protection software for your RDS environment.

First, you must make sure that your antivirus and/or endpoint protection vendor supports Remote Desktop Services, and then also deploy their recommended settings for that type of environment.

A proper endpoint protection solution should run few processes for all users, and not individual processes for each user.

Service Delivery

For continued service delivery, your IT staff must monitor and maintain the server. This includes monitoring logs, updating it via Windows Update, and updating the various applications your users are using.

IT professional working on organization infrastructure including Remote Desktop Services RDS

As the environment grows, you can deploy additional RDS Servers and create an RDS Farm. If you get to this point you’ll be able to deploy a load balancer and grow as more performance is required, or additional users are brought online.

Software Installation

When installing software on your Remote Desktop Services Server, extra steps must be taken so that the registry is properly handled for the multi-user environment.

Before launching a software installer, open a command prompt (elevated as Administrator) and run the following command:

change user /install

This will change your user session to an install mode. You can now run your software installation.

After the software installation is complete, put the RDS Server back in to execution mode with the following command:

change user /execute

Performing the above will make sure that the registry is properly handled during software installation for proper functioning of software in a multi-user RDS environment. Restarting the server will always automatically bring it back up in execute mode.

Conclusion

Deploying a Remote Desktop Services server is a great way to get a large number of users online and working remotely in a short amount of time. This keeps management happy, employees happy, and maintains a productive workforce.

Employee working remotely from home using Remote Desktop Services

As I mentioned, there are numerous other technologies so depending on what your company has already implemented or is using, may change what solution would be best for you.

If you have any questions or require help or assistance with deploying Remote Desktop Services for your organization, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!

Leave a comment with some feedback!

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