Windows Small Business Server 2011 : Adding a Terminal Server - Configuring RemoteApps (part 1) - RemoteApp Manager

After you’ve installed the Remote Desktop Services role, along with the RD Session Host role service, you’re ready to configure RemoteApps. If there is one thing in Windows Server 2008 R2 that we think is “cool,” it has to be RemoteApps. Instead of having users connect to a remote terminal server, open a full desktop, and then run the applications they need, Remote-Apps allows users to run remote applications just as if they were running them locally, without opening up a desktop. The actual behavior is just like a regular application—when it needs to open an additional window, such as when you go to save a file, it automatically opens up a new window on your local workstation that has just the File Save dialog box in it. To the user, the application behaves just as it would if the application were running locally.

Applications can be published as .rdp files or as .msi files, allowing deployment through Group Policy. When installed with an .msi file, they can even be set to take over the default extension of the application on the user’s workstation, enabling automatic launch.

1. RemoteApp Manager

The RemoteApp Manager console (remoteprograms.msc), shown in Figure 1, is used to manage remote applications. From here, you can define the various settings that control which applications are available, who can connect to them, and how they’re distributed and published.

Figure 1. The RemoteApp Manager console

When you create a RemoteApp, you can set how it is distributed and available. You can create an .rdp file for it or a Windows Installer Package (.msi) file. Windows installer packages can be distributed using Group Policy and have additional options as compared to .rdp files.

To create a RemoteApp program, follow these steps:

1. Open the RemoteApp Manager if it isn’t already open.

2. Click Add RemoteApp Programs in the Actions pane to open the RemoteApp Wizard.

3. Click Next to open the Choose Programs To Add To The RemoteApps Programs List page of the RemoteApp Wizard, as shown in Figure 2.

   Figure 2. Choosing programs to make available through RemoteApps

   

4. Select one or more programs to add to the RemoteApps programs list. You can add any programs you see in the list, or use the Browse button to locate the program’s executable.

5. To change the run properties of the application you are adding, select it from the list of programs and click Properties to open the Properties dialog box for the program, as shown in Figure 3 for our editor of choice, gVim.

6. Change any application-specific properties that you want to change.

7. Click the User Assignment tab to control which users have access to the RemoteApp program, as shown in Figure 4.

8. After you’ve made all your changes to User Assignment or application properties, click OK to close the Properties dialog box for the application.

9. Click Next and then click Finish to add the program to the list of available RemoteApps.

Figure 3. Setting the properties for a RemoteApp program

Figure 4. You can control which users or groups are allowed to use a RemoteApp program on the User Assignment tab