3. Installing the Remote Desktop Services RoleInstalling the Remote Desktop Services role and its supporting
role service should be one of the very first things you do on any
server you plan to use as an RD Session Host. Important changes to how
applications are installed happen automatically when you’re in
Application Mode on a Windows Server computer, and there can be problems if
applications are installed before the server is converted to an
application server. Our general preference is to run through the tasks
on the Initial Configuration Tasks Wizard (ICTW), skipping only the
Add Roles tasks, but joining the server to the domain, giving it a
name, setting a fixed IP address, and installing the basic features we
want on all servers. After that is done and all the required restarts
have been completed, it’s time to install the RD Session Host role.
You’ll also need to move the server from the SBSComputers OU to the
SBSServers OU.
To install the Remote Desktop Services role, follow these
steps:
On the SBS server, open the Active Directory Users And
Computers console, shown in Figure 1, from the
Administrative Tools menu, or by typing dsa.msc at a command prompt. Navigate to the SBSComputers OU, as shown in Figure 1. Select the
server that will be the RD Session Host server, and drag it to the
SBSServers OU. You’ll be warned about moving objects in Active Directory,
as shown in Figure 2. Click Yes
to confirm you want to move the object. Log on to the server that you want to add the RD Session
Host role to. Open a Windows PowerShell or command window as
administrator. Force a group policy update, as shown in Figure 3. This might
cause Remote Desktop to be disabled, so you should avoid doing
this from a Remote Desktop session. Alternately, you can simply
reboot the server. Log on to the server that you want to add the RD Session
Host role to, and open the Server Manager console if it doesn’t
open automatically. (If the Initial Configuration And Tasks Wizard
opens, you can close it and the Server Manager console will open
automatically.)
In the left pane of the Server Manager console, select
Roles, as shown in Figure 4.
Select Add Roles from the action menu to open the Add Roles
Wizard. The Before You Begin page of the Add Roles Wizard contains
some general information and recommended configuration settings.
After you’ve seen this once and have read it, you can select the
Skip This Page By Default check box. Once is quite enough. Click Next to open the Select Server Roles page. Select
Remote Desktop Services, as shown in Figure 5.
Click Next to open the Remote Desktop Services page. Read
the brief Introduction To Remote Desktop Services, and if you want
more information on Remote Desktop Services roles and role services, click the Overview Of Remote Desktop
Services link. Click Next to open the Select Role Services page, as shown
in Figure 6.
Select at least the Remote Desktop Session Host role
service.
Note:
You’ll need to install an RD Licensing server in your SBS
domain within 120 days of enabling Remote Desktop Services. This
can be installed on any Windows Server 2008 R2 computer in the
domain, and it can be installed at any point in that 120-day
period.
Click Next to open the Uninstall And Reinstall Applications
For Compatibility page of the Add Roles Wizard, shown in Figure 7. This is a
good reminder that applications that have already been installed
should be uninstalled and reinstalled so that they are properly
multiuser-aware.
Click Next to open the Specify Authentication Method For Remote Desktop Session
Host page, shown in Figure 8. There are
two choices for authentication: Require Network Level
Authentication Choose this if all your clients will
be running at least Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista. This
option is more secure and should be used when possible. Do Not Require Network Level
Authentication Choose this option if you have clients
that can’t be upgraded to at least Windows XP SP3. Clients
will still require RDP 6 or later to use RemoteApps.
Click Next to open the Specify Licensing Mode page, shown in Figure 9. Here you
can choose between per-device or per-user licensing, or you can
delay the decision. In most cases, unless you’ve already bought
your CALs, postpone this for now, until you’ve had a chance to
decide how your users will actually use the terminal server. This
will allow you to make the most cost-efficient choice for
licensing.
Click Next to open the Select User Groups Allowed Access To This RD Session Host Server page, shown in
Figure 10. The
default is only Administrators, so you’ll want to change that. We
suggest creating a Security Group specifically to control
Remote-Apps access, but you can also just give all users access or specify each individual user.
Click Add to specify additional users and groups that will
be able to use the terminal server. To add the same group of users
who are allowed access to Remote Web Access (RWA), enter Windows SBS Remote Web Access Users in the
Select Users, Computers, Or Groups dialog box, as shown in Figure 11. Click Check Names to make
sure you’ve typed the group name correctly, and then click OK to
return to the Add Roles Wizard.
Click Next to open the Configure Client Experience page
shown in Figure 12. Here you
can enable additional audio and display capabilities to provide the user
with a richer experience. The choices are Audio And Video
Playback Choose this to enable users to play audio and video from the RD Session Host to
their desktop. This will automatically install the Desktop
Experience feature on the RD Session Host. Audio Recording
Redirection Select this to enable users to record
audio on their client and have it available to the RD Session
Host. Desktop Composition (Provides The
User Interface Elements Of Windows Aero) Select this
to enable full Aero glass to the RD Session Host client. This
will automatically install the Desktop Experience feature on
the RD Session Host.
Click Next to open the confirmation page, and then click
Install to begin the installation. Before the installation is complete, you’ll need to reboot
the server. Click Close on the Installation Results page, and
click Yes to begin the reboot. When the server has restarted, log on with the same account
as you used to add the Remote Desktop Services role. The Installation Results page will open and
the installation will complete.
By default, there is no audio on a Windows Server 2008 R2 computer, and the
default graphics level is set to a 16-bit maximum. You can improve
this by adding the Windows Server 2008 Desktop Experience
feature. This feature gives your client sessions the visual look and
feel of Windows 7, as well as adding other programs that are
normally part of Windows 7, including Windows Media Player.
If you enabled Desktop Composition and Audio And Video Playback during the installation of Remote
Desktop Services, you’re all set. But if you didn’t, and now your
users are asking for the full Windows 7 experience, you can improve
the user experience by enabling 32-bit color and audio by following
these steps:
Open the Server Manager console if it isn’t already
open. Navigate to Roles and then Remote Desktop Services, and
then select RD Session Host Configuration in the left pane of
Server Manager. Select RDP-Tcp in the center Connections pane, as shown in
Figure 13.
Right-click the RDP-Tcp connection and select Properties
to open the RDP-Tcp Properties dialog box. Click the Client Settings tab, as shown in Figure 14.
Select a maximum color depth of 32 Bits Per Pixel from the
Limit Maximum Color Depth drop-down list to enable 32-bit
color. Clear the check boxes for Audio And Video Playback and Audio Recording in the Disable The Following
section. Click OK to close the Properties dialog box. If there are
current user sessions, you’ll see the warning shown in Figure 15.
By default, the Audio service is manually started on
Windows Server 2008 R2. You need to enable it before RDP clients
will get audio. Click Services on the Administrative Tools menu, and then
scroll down to Windows Audio. Right-click Windows Audio and select Properties, change the Startup
Type to Automatic, and then click Start to start the
service. Click OK and then close the Services console.
Making these changes improves the overall user experience for
end users but also increases the amount of resources used per
connection. That’s probably not a big issue in most SBS
environments, and we think it’s worthwhile. Adding the Desktop Experience doesn’t, however,
install the games that are normally included with Windows 7. This
probably improves productivity, but we think there should at least
be an option for them.
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