Showing posts with label Windows Server 2012 RC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Windows Server 2012 RC. Show all posts

Friday, November 9, 2012

Customize RD Web Access, a drop down server list

As you might know, RD Web Access provides two different ways to allow users to connect. The tab “RemoteApp and Desktops” tab contains the Remote Apps and Desktops that are authorized to user. The tab “Connect to a remote PC” allows users to specify the destination remote client, server of farm by providing the DNS or hostname.
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In some cases you might want to pre-define the hostname users have to enter. In this blog post I’ll guide you through the process of configuring a drop down list containing destinations we want users to be able to select.
STEP 1. We’ll be editing the desktops.aspx which is located in C:\Windows\Web\RDWeb\Pages\en-US\Desktops.aspx (may differ based on the language of the Server OS). Be sure to create a backup of that file first.
STEP 2. Locate the definition of the function function GetParam(sParam, bReqd, vDefault) and add the following function specified below that function definition. We’ll use this function to retrieve selected value of the dropdown box. We can’t use the existing GetParams function as this returns the number of the select item in de dropdown box. (Uses by for example the Remote desktop size dropdown box).
function GetDestination(sParam, bReqd, vDefault)
{
    var obj = document.getElementById(sParam);
    if(obj != null)
    {
        switch(obj.tagName)
        {
            case "SELECT":
                return obj.options[obj.selectedIndex].value;
                break;
            default:
                break;
        }
    }
    else
    {
        if ((bReqd) && ((vDefault == "") || (vDefault == null) || (obj == null)))
        {
            var L_ErrMsgInvalid_Text = "%ParameterName% is not a valid or available parameter name.";  // {Placeholder="%ParameterName%"}
            var errMsgInvalid = sParam;
            errMsgInvalid = errMsgInvalid.replace("%ParameterName%", sParam);
            var retval = TSMsgBox(errMsgInvalid, vbInformation, L_sTitle_Text);
            return null;
        }
        else
        {
            return vDefault;
        }
    }
}
STEP 3. Replace the following code <input name="MachineName" maxlength="255" id="MachineName" class="textInputField" type="text"
                                    onfocus="updateConnectButtonState(this);" onblur="updateConnectButtonState(this);"
                                    onkeyup="onConnectToKeyUp(this);" onpropertychange="onConnectToPropertyChange(this);"/>
With the code: <select id="MachineName" style="width: 270px" name="MachineName">
                                        <option value="rds01.lab.local" selected="selected">rds01.lab.local</option>
                                        <option value="rds02.lab.local">rds02.lab.local</option>
                                        <option value="rds03.lab.local">rds03.lab.local</option>
                                    </select>

STEP 4. To make sure the connect button is always available find the following string and remove the part disabled="disabled"<button type="button" id="ButtonConnect" name="ButtonConnect" disabled="disabled"
STEP 5. Replace the following piece of code
var RDPstr = "full address:s:" + GetParam("MachineName", true, "") + "\n";
With the code:
var RDPstr = "full address:s:" + GetDestination("MachineName", true, "") + "\n";
STEP 6. The end result should look like something below:

Upon clicking Connect a RDP session to the selected destination is launched.
image




Wednesday, August 8, 2012

New Article: Using PowerShell to control RDS in Windows Server 2012 (Part 2)

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A few weeks ago I did a first article on using PowerShell to control RDS in Windows Server 2012. Today the part II of this article has been release on virtualizationadmin.com. Read it here:

Using PowerShell to control RDS in Windows Server 2012 (Part 2)

image“…Introduction. In a previous article, I discussed how to use PowerShell to set up a basic Remote Desktop Services environment. In that article, amongst other things, we discussed how to do a quick RDS deployment, add a Session Collection and add a RemoteApp. In this article we’ll dive a little bit deeper into PowerShell for RDS to take a look at how we can even further automate the installation, configuration and maintenance of Remote Desktop Services using the new PowerShell commands available with Windows Server 2012.…”

Source: http://www.virtualizationadmin.com/articles-tutorials/vdi-articles/general/using-powershell-control-rds-windows-server-2012-Part2.html

Thursday, July 19, 2012

RDV team blog post: virtual machine-based desktop deployment using PowerShell

 

imageYesterday my article post “Using PowerShell to control RDS in Windows Server 2012” was published. That article had a focus on Session Based Deployment using PowerShell. Today Omair Gillani, a program manager on the Microsoft Remote Desktop Virtualization team published a great new post on using PowerShell for RDS as well. This post has a focus on virtual machine-based desktop deployment.

Read it here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2012/07/18/setting-up-a-new-remote-desktop-services-deployment-using-windows-powershell.aspx

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

New article: Using PowerShell to control RDS in Windows Server 2012

imageMy new article entitled "Using PowerShell to control RDS in Windows Server 2012" on virtualizationadmin.com just got published. In this article I do dive into some of the new PowerShell commands for the Remote Desktop Services scenarios that are available with Windows Server 2012. The article discusses the installation of a RDS deployment, the creation of a Session Collection and the creation of RemoteApps. All using Powershell. I’m already working on a part II of this article in which we’ll dive even deeper. Stay tuned!

image“…Introduction. PowerShell has been around for many years now. There is no way to work around PowerShell anymore, and you should not even want to work around it. With every new release of every new Microsoft product or service, we see an even tighter integration with PowerShell. With the upcoming release, it’s even bigger than before. With Windows Server 2012, we have over 2400 cmdlets available! That is a huge number! In this article, we will take a look at how PowerShell is integrated with Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2012. We will dive into PowerShell commands for both RDS scenarios that are available with Windows Server 2012. That is, the Virtual machine-based desktop deployment as well as the Session-based desktop deployment…”

Source: http://www.virtualizationadmin.com/articles-tutorials/vdi-articles/general/using-powershell-control-rds-windows-server-2012.html

Friday, July 13, 2012

Everything you ever wanted to know about Microsoft VDI - from TechEd 2012

imageGaurav Daga, the Lead Program Manager on Microsoft's Remote Desktop Virtualization team did a great summary blog post containing links to all the Channel9 video’s on VDI recorded at TechEd 2012!

“…In June, Dean Paron posted two TechEd overview videos for Remote Desktop Services (RDS) in Windows Server 2012. Today’s blog post summarizes the key presentations from TechEd. We suggest you watch these presentations in the order shown so that you will go from a high-level overview of RDS to a deep technical analysis (with demos) of everything you want to know about the Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) investments in Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8. You will also take away some general knowledge about VDI and other related desktop virtualization technologies..”

Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2012/07/12/all-you-want-to-learn-about-microsoft-vdi-from-teched-2012.aspx 

image

Monday, July 9, 2012

Windows Server 2012 will be released to manufacturing in the first week of August

imageWe’re close to the availability of Windows Server 2012. The following was announced today:

”…we are announcing that Windows Server 2012 will be released to manufacturing in the first week of August. The code will be complete and we will begin delivering it to our hardware partners. Then, the product will be generally available to customers worldwide through multiple channels in September.

You, our customers and partners, have downloaded pre-release versions of Windows Server 2012 more than 500,000 times - more than any other server from Microsoft before. We can’t wait to get the final version out the door to you!…”

This means we have exciting times ahead of us!
Source: http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/archive/2012/07/09/windows-server-2012-final-release-timing.aspx

Friday, July 6, 2012

Windows Server 2012: Licensing, FAQ and Capabilities

imageWindows Server 2012 will be available in four editions; Datacenter, Standard, Essentials and Foundation. Check out the details on licensing and capabilities below.

  1. Find licensing and pricing details in this downloadable datasheet
  2. Find the answers to the most commonly asked pricing and licensing questions.
  3. Check out the capabilities in Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate.
Edition Ideal for… High Level Feature
Comparison
Licensing Model Pricing
Open NL (US$)
Datacenter Highly virtualized
private & hybrid
cloud environments
Full Windows
Server functionality
with unlimited
virtual instances
Processor + CAL* $4,809**
Standard Low density or non-
virtualized
environments
Full Windows
Server functionality
with two virtual
instances
Processor + CAL* $882**
Essentials Small business
environments
Simpler interface,
pre-configured
connectivity to
cloud based services; no
virtualization rights
Server (25 User
Account Limit)
$425**
Foundation Economical general
purpose server
General purpose
server functionality
with no
virtualization rights
Server (15 User
Account Limit)
OEM Only

*CALs are required for every user or device accessing a server directly or indirectly. See the Product Use Rights for details.

**Pricing represents Open No Level (NL) ERP. For your specific pricing, contact your Microsoft reseller.

Remote Desktop Related (taken from the FAQ):

“…Q28. Do I still need a separate CAL to access Remote Desktop Services Do I still need a separate CAL to access Remote Desktop Services  (RDS) and Active Directory Rights Management Service (ADRMS)?

Yes, The licensing requirements for Remote Desktop Services (RDS) and Active Directory Rights Management Service (ADRMS) have not changed with Windows Server 2012. Customers are still required to purchase an ADRMS or RDS CAL in addition to a Windows Server CAL to access ADRMS or RDS functionality. The CAL accessing the instance of Windows Server must be equivalent or higher in version than the server being accessed..”

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/windows-server/2012-editions.aspx

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Introduction to Windows PowerShell scripting in Windows Server 2012 Remote Desktop Services (by RDS team)

imageThe Microsoft RDS team released a new blog post on using Powershell for Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2012. It’s discusses the RemoteDesktop module, and contains many examples on the different cmdlets!

“…One of the new features that we’re all very proud of in Windows Server 2012 is a new Windows PowerShell layer, which provides a powerful set of functionality to set up, configure, and control your Windows Server 2012 Remote Desktop Services (RDS) deployments. The feature is too big to cover in one post, but I wanted to give you a quick introduction to help you get started with scripting your deployments in the Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate build. In this post I’ll give a brief overview of the kinds of tasks you can perform by using the new RDS Windows PowerShell layer, and then go a bit more in-depth with one of the Windows PowerShell cmdlets that you’ll likely be using a lot in your scripts (Get-RDServer), and finally finish up with a practical example showing how to use that cmdlet to install the Desktop Experience feature on all of the Remote Desktop Session Host (RD Session Host) servers in your deployment…”

Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2012/06/28/introduction-to-windows-powershell-scripting-in-windows-server-2012-remote-desktop-services.aspx

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Remote Desktop Web Access single sign-on now easier to enable in Windows Server 2012

imageThe Microsoft RDS team posts a new blog that explain the way to setup Single Sign On (SSO) with Windows Server 2012. The setup has been made a lot easier compared to what you had to configure with Windows Server 2008 R2.

“…Hi, I’m Sergey, one of the developers on the team that produces Remote Desktop Services. In Windows Server 2008 R2, we introduced Web Single Sign-On (web SSO), which reduced the number of times a user was asked for credentials when accessing RemoteApp programs published through Remote Desktop Web Access (RD Web Access). Enabling this was complex and difficult for users. In this post, I'll explain how easy it is to set this up in Windows Server 2012. It basically works "out of the box…”

Source:http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2012/06/25/remote-desktop-web-access-single-sign-on-now-easier-to-enable-in-windows-server-2012.aspx

Thursday, June 21, 2012

New article: Troubleshooting RDS in Windows Server 2012

image


My new article titled "Troubleshooting RDS in Windows Server 2012" on virtualizationadmin.com just got published. The article is about ways to gather information to troubleshoot and debug RDS deployments using Windows Server 2012.

 Introduction
In this article we will look at some ways of collecting valuable information for troubleshooting issues in RDS environments when running Windows Server 2012 (up until now Windows Server 8 Beta…”

“…The different roles that are part of the Remote Desktop Services Platform have several log files, trace files and also event logs where information, statuses and errors are stored. This information can be rather useful when troubleshooting an installation or configuration.

The main part of this article will be around a log file that contains information about the installation and configuration process. This log file is called RDMSDeploymentUI.txt. You can find this log file…”

Read the complete article here:
http://www.virtualizationadmin.com/articles-tutorials/general-virtualization-articles/troubleshooting-rds-windows-server-2012.html

Thursday, June 14, 2012

RDS Team: two new blog posts

imageI have blogged about many new features regarding RDS in Windows Server 8 and later Windows Server 2012 RC. The Microsoft RDS team released two new blog posts yesterday about Whats new in Windows Server 2012 RC and about RemoteFX VGPU. You can find the links below!

Remote Desktop Services “What’s New” in Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate ”…Hi, I’m Ben Meister from the Remote Desktop Virtualization team. We’ve been hard at work after the beta release earlier this year. This post highlights some of the features added and enhancements made in the Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate build. Special thanks to Snesha Foss and Shanmugam Kulandaivel for their major contributions to this post. By now there have been quite a few posts about Windows Server 2012 and the many features that Remote Desktop Services has introduced in this release. If you have not read them all, following are links…”
Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2012/06/13/remote-desktop-services-what-s-new-in-windows-server-2012-release-candidate.aspx

Your desktop will be a rich DX11-based experience, and your virtual GPU should be too “…When you take Windows 8 Release Preview home and launch it, you’ll see a rich and immersive experience accelerated by a DX11 desktop. Your VDI solution should focus on bringing all of that to you, all while tackling the challenges of distance and connecting from anywhere. You’ll want a touch interface, smooth animations that give a tactile feel, and the richest set of applications and compatibility. You’ll want the ecosystem of software, hardware, and the Windows operating system to bring that together. When RemoteFX v1 released in Windows 7 SP1 early last year, we introduced a set of technologies for a rich PC-like experience for VDI. It was the first place where we introduced and emphasized host-side remoting, a render-capture-encode pipeline, a highly efficient GPU-based encode, throttling based on client activity, ad a DirectX-enabled virtual graphics processing unit (VGPU). All these ideas proliferate more in Windows 8 Release Preview, and the VGPU gets better…”
Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2012/06/13/richvgpu.aspx

Friday, June 1, 2012

Windows Server 2012 RC is available–What's new on RDS?

Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate (build 4800) is here. The download was made available by Microsoft yesterday. I did the download and performed the installation in my existing LAB to see if there are new things related to RDS in the 2012 RC version compared to Windows Server 8 Beta.

I deployed a Quick Scenario Based Installation on the 2012 RC server.

First thing I noticed, besides the minor font changes, is the naming of the components! As an RDS MVP I’ve heard about this in Redmond back in February, but this is first time the new names are made public inside the new OS.

Windows Server 8 Beta Windows Server 2012 RC
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Virtual machine-based desktop deployment
Session Virtualization Session-based desktop deployment

Windows Server 8 Beta:
image

Windows Server 2012 RC:
image

Are these better names then before? Time will tell, but I think this way the difference between the two flavors can now be better explained.

Second thing I noticed is that the deployment overview picture format has slightly changed, circles around the + signs and some changes on the font there as well. It looks a bit more Metro now.

Windows Server 8 Beta:
image

Windows Server 2012 RC:
image

The interactive interface of the deployment overview picture has changes too. Where in Windows Server 8 Beta you could e.g right-click the RD Licensing tab and have these options available:

image

With Windows Server 2012 RC you cannot right-click anymore. You now have to left-click it to get the “Add RD Licensing Servers” dialog. Which means that the “Remove RD Licensing Servers” is gone. You can however, still perform the remove action from the Roles and Features screen.

image

New in Windows Server 2012 RC is also the option to connect to another deployment from the deployment overview. This option is still greyed out, but it seems you can now also maintain multiple deployments from one deployment overview by remotely connecting to it.

image

Inside the deployment properties we see a change in the way the certificates are named for the various roles. (remember that I blogged earlier about how certificates can now be managed from one place).

Windows Server 8 Beta:
image

Windows Server 2012 RC:
image

The names here now actually match the names of the roles, which makes it much more clear.

On the Session Collection part (remember that I blogged earlier about how the Quick deployment pre-configures some Remote Apps for you) there has been a change in the amount of RemoteApps that is pre-configured for you during the setup.

Where this was the default with Windows Server 8 Beta

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You now get 3 RemoteApps by default, which I guess is okay. Who would want to demo the ODBC connector or iSCSI initiator anyway :-)

image

On the Session Collection Properties we see a minor name change as well. The Connections tab is now called Session, which I guess makes more sense since were configuring session settings not connection settings here.

Windows Server 8 Beta
image

Windows Server 2012 RC
image

Furthermore the Configure Client Settings tab is now visible and working. With Windows Server 8 Beta you got the message below: (or at least I did).

image

With Windows Server 2012 RC we have all the options available to set client settings for the complete Session Collection, which is great!

image

As far as I can tell the RD Web Access didn’t itself didn’t change much, aside from the new name and logo of course.

These are the differences I spotted at a first glance while looking at a Quick Deployment. If I come up with some more changes, you can definitely expect them to be posted on this blog! It’s now time to setup a new lab with all servers running Windows Server 2012 RC.

And yes, I’m excited about this release! 

Smile