Windows RD Access

Windows Remote Desktop Access

Windows-based platform nodes include Remote Desktop Protocol support, allowing administrators to connect to the virtual desktop of a Windows machine and configure the server remotely.

The platform also includes the browser-based Guacamole RDP gateway. It works through HTML5 and does not require additional browser plugins or locally installed client software. A preferred desktop RDP client can also be used.

In this article

RDP Connection via Web Client

The workflow is similar for all Windows virtual-machine nodes. Immediately after node creation, the one-time Guacamole link from the notification email can be used. At any later time, access can be started from the platform dashboard.

1

Expand the Remote Desktop menu beside the required Windows node or node layer and click Open in Browser.

Remote Desktop menu in dashboard
Open the Windows node Remote Desktop menu and select Open in Browser.

The same menu also provides the following options for manual connections:

  • Reset RDP Password — resets and resends the Administrator credentials.
  • Info — displays brief instructions for establishing a manual RDP connection.
  • RDP link — provides the connection address for a local RDP client.
2

The remote desktop session opens in a new browser tab. After the connection is established, the Windows Server Manager is displayed and server configuration can begin.

Remote Desktop web client access
Windows Server Manager opened through the browser-based RDP client.

RDP Connection via Local Client

To connect through a local Remote Desktop client, use the Administrator credentials sent in the environment-creation email. Suitable clients include Remote Desktop for Windows, KRDC, Remmina, or RDesktop for Linux, and Microsoft Remote Desktop for macOS.

For Windows

1

Install and launch the Microsoft Remote Desktop application.

2

At the top of the application window, click Add > PC.

Windows Remote Desktop application
Add a new PC connection in Microsoft Remote Desktop.
3

Enter the RDP connection link, or endpoint, in the PC name field.

!

Note

When a Public IP is attached to the Windows VM, use that Public IP instead of the endpoint.

Provide RDP connection link
Enter the RDP endpoint in the PC name field.

The connection address is available in the creation email or through either of these dashboard locations:

  • Environment Settings > Endpoints
  • The node’s Remote Desktop menu
Windows VM RDP endpoint
RDP connection endpoint under the environment settings.
Windows VM RDP link
RDP connection link from the node Remote Desktop menu.
4

Click the + button next to User account and enter the Administrator credentials from the notification email.

Provide Windows VM access credentials
Add the Administrator username and password.

Click Save and modify any optional connection settings as required. The connection appears under Saved Desktops. Select it to start the remote session.

For Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD

The following example uses the rdesktop utility. Alternative clients such as freerdp can also be used. Install the required client through the operating system package manager.

yum -y install rdesktop
sudo apt-get install rdesktop
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Network Level Authentication

To connect with rdesktop, disable Network Level Authentication in the Windows VM Remote Desktop settings. To keep Network Level Authentication enabled, use a compatible client such as freerdp.

Disable Network Level Authentication
Disable Network Level Authentication when using rdesktop.
1

Open a terminal and run the following command:

rdesktop {access_url}

Replace {access_url} with the RDP access address from the dashboard or notification email. Enter it without the protocol prefix.

Unix RDP access command
Starting an RDP session from a terminal.
!

Note

The environment must be in the Running state. Otherwise, the client returns an unable-to-connect error.

2

In the opened login window, enter the credentials from the environment-creation email.

Unix RDP credentials
Authenticate with the Windows Administrator credentials.

The username and password can also be included directly in the connection command:

rdesktop -u {username} -p {password} {access_url}
Unix RDP connection with credentials
Starting the session with credentials included in the command.

After authentication, the remote Windows desktop opens and the server can be managed through the built-in Server Manager.