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Desktop Replacement using RemoteFX on RD Session Host on LAN Design

  • Article

Updated: March 23, 2011

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1

RemoteFX enables access to the RD Session Host server from a wide range of client devices including rich clients, thin clients, and new low cost ultrathin clients. It also ensures lower bandwidth utilized than Windows Server 2008 R2 when transferring rich graphics applications. When used with the optional hardware-based application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), the server running Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 is capable of hosting more sessions than previous versions. If the hardware-based ASIC is not present, the server running Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 leverages the CPU to deliver the highly compressed rich graphics experience to the wide range of client devices.

Design Decisions

The design decisions you need to make when designing the RD Session Host environment to include RemoteFX are:

Design decision Options Selection Criteria

What server encoder to use?
  • Default CPU encoder

  • RemoteFX ASIC encoder for higher scale (Optional)
  • Desired server cost

  • Desired server scale

Type of end point access device to use?
  • Rich client with Remote Desktop Connection 7.1+

  • Windows Embedded or Windows CE software Thin Client with Remote Desktop Connection 7.1+

  • Hardware thin client with RemoteFX ASIC decoder
  • Desired client end point cost

  • Desired client end point power consumption

  • Desired client end point maintenance

Note
To access a RemoteFX session, a client computer must use the Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) 7.1 client. RDC7.1 is included in the Windows 7 with SP1 operating system. RDC7.1 is also available for Windows Embedded 2009 and Windows CE operating systems.

Once you have made the decisions, you can design the rest of the RemoteFX on an RD Session Host environment using the design guidelines Understanding the Remote Desktop Session Host Design Process.

The simplest way to deliver applications from RemoteFX on an RD Session Host server is to install the applications on a single server and have people log into that server using Remote Desktop Connection version 7.1 and above. To support this model you need to deploy two RDS roles: an RD Session Host server and an RD LicensingRD Licensing Server. You will also need to install the applications on the RD Session Host server and enable RemoteFX. For detailed instructions for implementing a session-based design:

To implement Microsoft® RemoteFX™, use the checklist to deploy an RD Session Host server.

  Task Reference

Deploy an RD Session Host server.

Checklist: Deploying a Remote Desktop Session Host Server

Deploy an RD Session Host server farm.

Checklist: Deploying a Remote Desktop Session Host Server Farm

Deploy remote programs.

Checklist: Deploying Application Virtualization

Deploy an RD Gateway server.

Checklist: Deploying a Remote Desktop Gateway Server

When you deploy RemoteFX on a single RD Session Host server for full desktop connections, users can connect to the RD Session Host server by typing the server’s name into the Remote Desktop Connection client. Only users with the right to log onto the RD Session Host server and members of the Remote Desktop Users Group will be able to connect using RDP.

By default, all users connecting to the full desktop will see the full set of applications installed on the RD Session Host server. They will have the permissions associated with their user accounts, so although they will be able to see (for example) the RDS tools they will not be able to reconfigure the server.

The main benefit to a single-server design for delivering full desktops is that it is a simple way to deliver desktop replacement.

For additional designs for implementing RD Session Host servers, see Understanding the Remote Desktop Session Host Design Process