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Microsoft Has Released the HTML5-Based RDP Web Client

By Rob Waggoner

In one of my previous blogs about Inspire, I mentioned the new RDP web client, but didn’t go into a lot of detail on how to take advantage of this new client within the MyCloudIT environment. Microsoft is now referring to this as the Remote Desktop web client, so I will use the same terminology going forward.

First, please know that this is the first version of the web client and in typical Microsoft fashion, it does have a few limitations that may impact your organization.

  1. From within the web client, users cannot access the resources of their local device (PC). Local storage, like thumb drives are not available to applications and desktops running within the web client.
  2. Local printers are not available within the web client. About halfway down the Set up the Remote Desktop web client for your users article, it talks about how to work around the printing issue.
  3. While this is not a limitation, please note that installing this web client will add additional processing demands to your RDSGW server (for Standard deployments) and additional demands to the RDSMGMT server for basic deployments.

Does the web client replace my current RDP client?
No. The good news is that once the web client is installed, users can choose to use either the traditionally RDP client, they are accustomed to using, or the new web client we are installing here. The web client does not interfere with the existing client.

Installing the web client
Installing the web client in an existing MyCloudIT infrastructure is not complicated. For now, it is still a separate installation process. We hope to automate this process and include it as a default installation option in the future. The web client is only supported on Windows Server 2016 or 2019, so if you still have a Windows Server 2012 R2 infrastructure, please reach out to us to discuss upgrade options if you want to take advantage of the RDS web client.

If you are installing the web client into a Standard MyCloudIT infrastructure, the installation process will happen on the RDSGW server. If you are using a MyCloudIT Basic infrastructure, the installation will occur on the RDSMGMT server. The article previously mentioned, Set up the Remote Desktop web client for your users, talks about how to install the web client. The instructions are very straight forward. The remainder of this article will assume you are installing the web client into a Standard MyCloudIT architecture. If you have a Basic MyCloudIT architecture, all actions to be taken on the RDSGW server will need to be done on the RDSMGMT server (for basic architectures only). For Standard installations, please DO NOT install this web client on the RDSMGMT server.

Should I resize my RDSGW server?
Maybe. As I mentioned, this client will add additional processing load to your RDSGW server. Typically, the RDSGW server does not struggle with Processor or Memory restrictions, the bandwidth is usually the deciding factor on a resize. I still feel this will be the case, but the new web client will generate more traffic and resources demands on the RDSGW, so please keep an eye on that. Personally, I feel that a dual core VM would be a minimum size requirement for most deployments that leverage the new web client. I feel the D2_v3 is the best VM when it comes to cost vs. performance.

Using the web client
The Access the Remote Desktop web client article talks about how to leverage the web client, once its installed. The first question is usually, how do I leverage the new client? The answer to that is that there is now a new URL for the new web client. Once the web client is installed, the URL to access the web client portion is like the URL users are accustomed to accessing. The new URL is https://<YourDeploymentDNS>.autords.com/rdweb/webclient/index.html  

For example, if the URL listed in the WEB ACCESS box of your deployment details is https://example.autords.com/rdweb, then the URL for the web client will be https://example.autords.com/rdweb/webclient/index.html

I have found that I do not have to include the “index.html”, that may be optional for as well.

This new web client could be a great solution for people that do not need access to local resources

What if I don’t want to do the installation myself?
We are happy to do this installation for you. As I mentioned, eventually we hope to include the ability to automate this installation, but for now, if you want us to install the web client for you, we will install it for a nominal fee. Please open a support ticket from with your MyCloudIT dashboard if you would like our assistance with the installation.

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Tags: Microsoft News & Events

azure cost optimization

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