Deploying RemoteFX on Windows Server 2012

Introduction

RemoteFX - A set of remote virtual desktop features that allow you to virtualize a server-based video adapter. (Available with Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1)
Many already know or have heard about this technology, so I will not dwell on its description.

With the advent of Windows 8 and Windows 2012, I wanted to get acquainted with the new features of RemoteFX. It was rumored that Windows 8 would support the RemoteFX server part, but having tried several editions of Windows 8, I realized that the rumors were false. Therefore, armed with Windows Server 2012 Standart, I began to deploy RemoteFX and ran into minor problems. About the solution of which I want to tell in this topic.

Hardware requirements required for RemoteFX operation

To fully utilize RemoteFX technology, you must adhere to the following hardware requirements:

• SLAT-compatible processor. The RemoteFX server processor must support Second-Level Address Address Translation SLAT. For Intel processors, this feature is called Extended Page Tables (EPT), and for AMD processors, Nested Page Tables (NPT);
• Graphics processor To use the RemoteFX functionality on the server, you need at least one graphics processor (GPU), the driver of which must support DirectX 11.0, with enough video memory, separated from the system memory. If more than one video adapter is installed on the server, they must be identical;
• Windows 8 x64 client with Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.2 and higher (if you do not use this driver, there will be gaps in the virtual machines, as in Figure 1);
• The installed Remote Desktop Virtualization Host (Remote Desktop Virtualization Host) service of the Remote Desktop Services role;
• GPU enabled for RemoteFX
• Hyper-V. The server must fully meet the minimum requirements for using the Hyper-V role.

Fig. one
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Deploying RemoteFX

Before installing RemoteFX, you must have the Hyper-V role as well as the Remote Desktop Virtualization Host service, otherwise adding Remote FX devices will be inactive (Figure 2). A virtual machine with a Windows 8 x64 operating system and a WDDM driver 1.2 and higher is raised.

Figure 2.

After all the preliminary steps are completed, you can proceed to adding RemoteFX to the virtual machine.

1. Launch Hyper-V Manager from the console or using CMD, using the - virtmgmt
   
2. Go to the Hyper-V parameters of your server, then Physical graphics processors and make sure that the necessary graphics processor is selected and there is a tick to use it with RemoteFX.
   
   Fig. 3
   
   
3. Further actions caused an error to me - I went to the Virtual machine settings , on which I need to add a RemoteFX video adapter. I added hardware on the Hardware Installation tab. Three-dimensional RemoteFX video adapter (Fig. 4). On the Three-dimensional video adapter tab, RemoteFX selected the desired maximum monitor resolution and number of monitors, clicked Apply , and then received an error - “Three-dimensional RemoteFX video adapter: error applying changes” (Figure. five).
   
   
   Fig. four
   
   
   Fig. five
   
   This error is present in the Hyper-V console GUI. Therefore, to bypass it, I suggest adding a video adapter via PowerShell.
   Start PowerShell and enter the following commands in sequence.
   Import-Module RemoteDesktopServices

   Import Remote Desktop Services Module into an existing Windows PowerShell session
   Add-VMRemoteFx3dVideoAdapter -VMName

   Adds a RemoteFX video adapter to the virtual machine. Then you can go to the GUI tab of the Three-dimensional RemoteFX video adapter and select the maximum monitor resolution or the number of monitors. If you want to do this through PowerShell, then use the SET-VMRemoteFx3dVideoAdapter command for this.
   Set-VMRemoteFx3dVideoAdapter –VMName –MaximumResolution 1920x1200

   With this command I set the maximum monitor resolution to 1920x1200 pixels.

As a result, your virtual machine should have Microsoft RemoteFX Graphics Device - WDDM installed.

Fig. 6

Conclusion

In this topic, you learned how to bypass the GUI error on the Hyper-V console. I really hope that Microsoft will soon fix this problem.