Update Remote Desktop Services features in Windows Server 2012
Good afternoon, dear colleagues and friends!
Today I would like to talk a little about the innovations that have appeared in such component of Windows Server 2012 as Remote Desktop Services. There are a lot of innovations, many of them appeared due to the close and close feedback with our favorite colleagues-admins.
And so - in more detail about the new RDS.
')
In general, I think that first you can remember the main purpose of RDS - in short, the main point of RDS is that these services allow you to centralize and control the applications and user data that are necessary for them to do their work - and The list of devices from which access can be made can be quite extensive. RDS allows users to use the VDI infrastructure, i.e. connect to the virtual machines where the client OS of the user is located, run the RemoteApps application on the terminal server (and this is what RDS was used to call Terminal Services). Thus, it can be said that RDS allows to implement the approach “work from anywhere with anything” - i.e. it doesn’t matter to us that it serves as a device for accessing the user's work environment - a PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone. In the same way, RDS allows us to work with the work environment from almost anywhere - from home, in the office (of course!), On the road or while sunbathing on the beach in the Maldives (if only there were Internet - Amen!).
The main reasons and directions for improvements in the RDS section of WS2012 were the following things:
1.RemoteFX was quite a popular and sought-after solution, but the underlying protocol, RDP, did not provide high-quality access and data transfer over slow and geographically distributed channels like WAN (Wide Area Network).
2. Deploying user infrastructure both on the basis of sessions and on the basis of virtual machines was not a very simple and cost-effective event.
3. Administration of all components and services within the RDS role, if not to say difficult.
In Windows Server 2012, all the points listed above were radically reworked, namely:
In WS2012, RemoteFX feels much better on the WAN channel and can automatically adjust to the channel conditions depending on its characteristics and host capabilities. Also improvements include the following points:
• Adaptive graphics. Under adaptive graphics means the presence of a different list of codecs for working with different types of content (for the video, some codecs are used, for the text - others, for images - the third). Previously, we used only one codec, regardless of the type of content. In combination with this, we also use a new progressive data caching system - which allows us to reduce delays in work on heavily loaded networks and data transmission channels.
• Optimized media streaming. For multi-media data, we use a completely new codec, which was not previously in our arsenal - depending on the conditions, the positive effect on the quality of the transmitted content may increase up to 90% compared to the previous generation of RDS.
• Automatic adaptive network detection. This change is aimed at the fact that the user no longer needs to manually specify the connection characteristics — the system automatically determines the settings and configures itself.
• Support DirectX11 vGPU. In Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, we first introduced the RemoteFX Virtual GPU (vGPU), which supported the forwarding of DirectX 9 applications and Aero support inside virtual machines based on Hyper-V with physical GPUs. In Windows Server 2012, the vGPU feature has been expanded and all Windows 8 virtual machines can take advantage of DirectX 11-enabled adapters, as well as use software rendering in scenarios where DirectX 11-based GPs are not physically present in RDS servers. Also added support for multiple video cards within the same physical system - which significantly increases the density and performance of the system.
• Single entry point. In Windows Server 2008 R2, it was possible to enter user credentials once when connecting to RemoteApps or to RDP sessions — but setting up such a configuration was not very easy. In Windows Server 2012, we have significantly simplified the process in view of the abolition of the need to use a huge number of certificates. Also, if you are already under a valid account in the domain - you do not need to re-enter your credentials - they simply will be broadcast when you make a connection.
• RDS resource discovery using an e-mail address. now there is no need to memorize long url for working with remote resources - all the details can be easily identified by pointing to your e-mail, and Web Access now also supports Chrome and Firefox browsers on a par with IE.
• Multi-touch. RDS supports the full set of gestures that appeared in Windows 8 and for remote sessions (for example, increasing or opening the settings menu) between the client and the host with a resolution of up to 256 touches. So now no matter how you work - locally or remotely - if your device is multi-touchable - you will be able to work with touch apps properly.
• USB redirection. In Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, we supported USB isochronous probros only for virtual machines with vGPU activated. In the new version, we also added support for session-based scripts and physical hosts — thereby providing the same capabilities, regardless of whether you use physical access, session-based, or VM-based.
The second important part in terms of innovations was the simplification of the infrastructure as a whole and the reduction of costs for its implementation.
• Reliable Pooled Virtual Desktop Collection. “Pooled virtual desktop collection” or “Grouped virtual desktops collection” refers to such an infrastructure implementation, when a single virtual desktop template is used to manage and maintain a large number of VMs from the client OS. This model is very attractive for VDI scenarios because it allows administrators to provide a ready workplace to the user without the routine and resource-intensive work on customizing the client OS every time they need to create a new workplace. In Windows Server 2012, this model completely realized itself. Virtual machines can be automatically created or modified using the RD Connection Broker. This approach significantly reduces the cost of implementing VDI, and also allows you to get a more capacious and scalable service ...
• User profile disk. The big blocker on the way of the “pooled virtual desktop collection” approach was the limited personalization of user environments created: since the template is used to create such VMs, this implies the absence of user data, settings and documents. Now we have added a User Profile Disk to solve this problem, regardless of the type of RDS infrastructure implementation ... Now when the session is loaded, the user automatically mounts the disk of his profile - where all his data is located. This method can be effectively combined with such mechanisms as roaming profiles and folder redirection.
• Integration with various types of disk systems. RDS is built on top of Hyper-V and Windows Server 2012 - so all the changes that were related to these components for working with the disk subsystem are also valid for RDS
â—¦VDI over SMB, SAN or DAS
Groups of virtual machines can be associated with storage systems and their storage in order to optimize IOPS
â—¦ Highly available and continuous working environments can be implemented using clustering and storage space functions
• Arbitrage resources. In Windows Server 2012, the server-host of remote sessions, RD Session Host, distributes all the resources in such a way that a single user cannot eat all the resources of the host - and this is correct! (smile). Each user will receive an equal amount of resources unless the opposite is intentionally specified. Since these resource restriction mechanisms are built into WS2012 in general, these arbitration mechanisms have virtually no effect on system resources.
• Optional graphics processor. In Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 to use RemoteFX, a prerequisite was the presence of a special GP. In Windows Server 2012, the availability of a special GPU has become optional and is rather aimed at working with special applications like CAD / CAM.
• Elimination of the RD Session Host element in redirection mode. This component was required for the implementation of RDS in previous versions. Now all the functionality of connection redirection is completely in one component - the connection broker RD Connection Broker. This reduced the required configuration, as well as simplified deployment and support processes.
• RDS management interface integrated into Server Manager. RDS now uses a single WS2012 style interface and allows you to conduct final and complete RDS deployments, monitor deployment, and configure options along with RDS infrastructure management from a single management point. Thus, the new interface replaces the old set of tools (Remote Desktop Services Manager, RemoteApp Manager, and RD Session Host Configuration). Management tools for RD Gateway and RD Licensing are still provided separately, since these roles are often deployed separately and independently from the rest of the components.
• Connection broker in asset / asset mode. In previous versions, RD Connection Broker supported asset / passive clustering mode, which allowed it to get a fault-tolerant configuration in the event of a component failure, but was not designed for large-scale scenarios. Now, when we use the asset / asset mode — we no longer need clustering — and the connection broker works in farm mode, which allows us to both scale the RDS infrastructure and guarantee its resiliency
• PowerShell support. All functions and platform settings can also be set and controlled using a rich set of PowerShell cmdlets. Now you can solve RDS tasks in complex, complex scenarios and environments — you can automate many tasks with PowerShell — including those related to RDS ...
Well, I hope that a short list of new products inspires confidence - and therefore the desire to try new RDS features today!
I hope you will be interested to try them!
With respect and napalm in hand,
Fireman
George A. Gadzhiev
Microsoft Corporation
Today I would like to talk a little about the innovations that have appeared in such component of Windows Server 2012 as Remote Desktop Services. There are a lot of innovations, many of them appeared due to the close and close feedback with our favorite colleagues-admins.
And so - in more detail about the new RDS.
')
In general, I think that first you can remember the main purpose of RDS - in short, the main point of RDS is that these services allow you to centralize and control the applications and user data that are necessary for them to do their work - and The list of devices from which access can be made can be quite extensive. RDS allows users to use the VDI infrastructure, i.e. connect to the virtual machines where the client OS of the user is located, run the RemoteApps application on the terminal server (and this is what RDS was used to call Terminal Services). Thus, it can be said that RDS allows to implement the approach “work from anywhere with anything” - i.e. it doesn’t matter to us that it serves as a device for accessing the user's work environment - a PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone. In the same way, RDS allows us to work with the work environment from almost anywhere - from home, in the office (of course!), On the road or while sunbathing on the beach in the Maldives (if only there were Internet - Amen!).
And what was wrong? ..
The main reasons and directions for improvements in the RDS section of WS2012 were the following things:
1.RemoteFX was quite a popular and sought-after solution, but the underlying protocol, RDP, did not provide high-quality access and data transfer over slow and geographically distributed channels like WAN (Wide Area Network).
2. Deploying user infrastructure both on the basis of sessions and on the basis of virtual machines was not a very simple and cost-effective event.
3. Administration of all components and services within the RDS role, if not to say difficult.
In Windows Server 2012, all the points listed above were radically reworked, namely:
In WS2012, RemoteFX feels much better on the WAN channel and can automatically adjust to the channel conditions depending on its characteristics and host capabilities. Also improvements include the following points:
• Adaptive graphics. Under adaptive graphics means the presence of a different list of codecs for working with different types of content (for the video, some codecs are used, for the text - others, for images - the third). Previously, we used only one codec, regardless of the type of content. In combination with this, we also use a new progressive data caching system - which allows us to reduce delays in work on heavily loaded networks and data transmission channels.
• Optimized media streaming. For multi-media data, we use a completely new codec, which was not previously in our arsenal - depending on the conditions, the positive effect on the quality of the transmitted content may increase up to 90% compared to the previous generation of RDS.
• Automatic adaptive network detection. This change is aimed at the fact that the user no longer needs to manually specify the connection characteristics — the system automatically determines the settings and configures itself.
• Support DirectX11 vGPU. In Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, we first introduced the RemoteFX Virtual GPU (vGPU), which supported the forwarding of DirectX 9 applications and Aero support inside virtual machines based on Hyper-V with physical GPUs. In Windows Server 2012, the vGPU feature has been expanded and all Windows 8 virtual machines can take advantage of DirectX 11-enabled adapters, as well as use software rendering in scenarios where DirectX 11-based GPs are not physically present in RDS servers. Also added support for multiple video cards within the same physical system - which significantly increases the density and performance of the system.
• Single entry point. In Windows Server 2008 R2, it was possible to enter user credentials once when connecting to RemoteApps or to RDP sessions — but setting up such a configuration was not very easy. In Windows Server 2012, we have significantly simplified the process in view of the abolition of the need to use a huge number of certificates. Also, if you are already under a valid account in the domain - you do not need to re-enter your credentials - they simply will be broadcast when you make a connection.
• RDS resource discovery using an e-mail address. now there is no need to memorize long url for working with remote resources - all the details can be easily identified by pointing to your e-mail, and Web Access now also supports Chrome and Firefox browsers on a par with IE.
• Multi-touch. RDS supports the full set of gestures that appeared in Windows 8 and for remote sessions (for example, increasing or opening the settings menu) between the client and the host with a resolution of up to 256 touches. So now no matter how you work - locally or remotely - if your device is multi-touchable - you will be able to work with touch apps properly.
• USB redirection. In Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, we supported USB isochronous probros only for virtual machines with vGPU activated. In the new version, we also added support for session-based scripts and physical hosts — thereby providing the same capabilities, regardless of whether you use physical access, session-based, or VM-based.
More changes
The second important part in terms of innovations was the simplification of the infrastructure as a whole and the reduction of costs for its implementation.
• Reliable Pooled Virtual Desktop Collection. “Pooled virtual desktop collection” or “Grouped virtual desktops collection” refers to such an infrastructure implementation, when a single virtual desktop template is used to manage and maintain a large number of VMs from the client OS. This model is very attractive for VDI scenarios because it allows administrators to provide a ready workplace to the user without the routine and resource-intensive work on customizing the client OS every time they need to create a new workplace. In Windows Server 2012, this model completely realized itself. Virtual machines can be automatically created or modified using the RD Connection Broker. This approach significantly reduces the cost of implementing VDI, and also allows you to get a more capacious and scalable service ...
• User profile disk. The big blocker on the way of the “pooled virtual desktop collection” approach was the limited personalization of user environments created: since the template is used to create such VMs, this implies the absence of user data, settings and documents. Now we have added a User Profile Disk to solve this problem, regardless of the type of RDS infrastructure implementation ... Now when the session is loaded, the user automatically mounts the disk of his profile - where all his data is located. This method can be effectively combined with such mechanisms as roaming profiles and folder redirection.
• Integration with various types of disk systems. RDS is built on top of Hyper-V and Windows Server 2012 - so all the changes that were related to these components for working with the disk subsystem are also valid for RDS
â—¦VDI over SMB, SAN or DAS
Groups of virtual machines can be associated with storage systems and their storage in order to optimize IOPS
â—¦ Highly available and continuous working environments can be implemented using clustering and storage space functions
• Arbitrage resources. In Windows Server 2012, the server-host of remote sessions, RD Session Host, distributes all the resources in such a way that a single user cannot eat all the resources of the host - and this is correct! (smile). Each user will receive an equal amount of resources unless the opposite is intentionally specified. Since these resource restriction mechanisms are built into WS2012 in general, these arbitration mechanisms have virtually no effect on system resources.
• Optional graphics processor. In Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 to use RemoteFX, a prerequisite was the presence of a special GP. In Windows Server 2012, the availability of a special GPU has become optional and is rather aimed at working with special applications like CAD / CAM.
• Elimination of the RD Session Host element in redirection mode. This component was required for the implementation of RDS in previous versions. Now all the functionality of connection redirection is completely in one component - the connection broker RD Connection Broker. This reduced the required configuration, as well as simplified deployment and support processes.
And finally ...
• RDS management interface integrated into Server Manager. RDS now uses a single WS2012 style interface and allows you to conduct final and complete RDS deployments, monitor deployment, and configure options along with RDS infrastructure management from a single management point. Thus, the new interface replaces the old set of tools (Remote Desktop Services Manager, RemoteApp Manager, and RD Session Host Configuration). Management tools for RD Gateway and RD Licensing are still provided separately, since these roles are often deployed separately and independently from the rest of the components.
• Connection broker in asset / asset mode. In previous versions, RD Connection Broker supported asset / passive clustering mode, which allowed it to get a fault-tolerant configuration in the event of a component failure, but was not designed for large-scale scenarios. Now, when we use the asset / asset mode — we no longer need clustering — and the connection broker works in farm mode, which allows us to both scale the RDS infrastructure and guarantee its resiliency
• PowerShell support. All functions and platform settings can also be set and controlled using a rich set of PowerShell cmdlets. Now you can solve RDS tasks in complex, complex scenarios and environments — you can automate many tasks with PowerShell — including those related to RDS ...
Well, I hope that a short list of new products inspires confidence - and therefore the desire to try new RDS features today!
I hope you will be interested to try them!
With respect and napalm in hand,
Fireman
George A. Gadzhiev
Microsoft Corporation
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/167289/
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