Remote Desktop Services and Azure Virtual Desktop Software

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We Fixed Remote Desktop Shadowing (And Some Other Stuff)

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One of the continuous laments that we’ve heard from our customer base, for years now concerns user session shadowing in Remote Desktop Services.  This is a shame, because the internal architecture for shadowing from Windows Server 2012 R2 onwards is pretty amazing.

Using MSTSC to shadow however, eh, not so much.

Let’s Face It: Remote Desktop Shadowing Hasn’t Been a Great Experience For, Well . . . Forever!

The litany of complaints includes problems like:

  • lack of proper shadowing support (zoom out) for multiple monitor sessions
  • dreaded permissions errors
  • the unfortunate requirement for help desk users to be administrators on the terminal servers they want to shadow
  • the inability for Windows 7 systems to initiate shadowing on Server 2012/2016/2019 systems and Windows 8 and 10 workstations.

There was also the small issue that there were no tools for shadowing/remote assistance inside Windows Virtual Desktop in Azure.

As a result, admins and IT staff have been paying an arm and a leg for remote assistance tools to bridge this gap – tools that require heavy install footprints, hundreds or even thousands of dollars per technician per year, and tedious invitation URLs, etc are required to start helping users.

Which Reminds Us: Delegation of Administration Options for Remote Desktop Services Have Been Nonexistent For Way Too Long!

The other need that we hear frequently from our customers is the ability to precisely delegate Remote Desktop Services management permissions to their help desk and front line support staff.  To date, the only real option has been to give help desk staff admin rights on session hosts and connection brokers.  Not an ideal situation from a security, or a “whoops I just rebooted a terminal server with 30 user sessions running line of business apps” perspective.

We tried to resolve some of these issues with our RDSConfig utility, that allowed permissions reassignment for users and groups on session hosts.  However, in larger RDS collections, you need a way to apply those permissions to a huge swath of session hosts all at once – especially as new session hosts are brought online.  Also, to do their jobs, help desk staff need rights to query the Connection Broker to dynamically list RDS collections and the servers that are members of each, plus they should have the ability to read RDS-related performance counters on those session hosts, so they can troubleshoot things like network latency from the client to the server.

So, We Figured Out How To Make Shadowing Much Better AND Created a Wizard To Let You Delegate RDS Management Tasks To Your Help Desk Staff

We call these new tools in the Remote Desktop Commander Client Premium Management Features.  For $99.99 per admin or help desk user per year, all of the aforementioned problems go away.  Want to shadow Server 2012+ systems from Windows 7?  No problem.  Want to monitor multiple user sessions at once in live view in one window?  We do that.  Do you have RDS users with multiple monitors that you haven’t been able to shadow before? Again, we’ve got you covered.

Watch this quick video on YouTube to see these features in action:

Next, download the latest copy of the Remote Desktop Commander Lite client.  Once you install it, you’ll be able to preview the SuperShadow features for 15 days.  The RDS Management Delegation Wizard becomes available after you purchase a subscription from us. 

Once you start your subscription, you’ll immediately be emailed a license file that will unlock all of those features.

SuperShadow

 

**Note 1: With the release of Premium Management Features in Remote Desktop Commander Lite, legacy shadowing support for Windows Server 2008 and legacy shadowing through the MSTSC client were retired. These features remain available in our Remote Desktop Commander Suite solution however.

**Note 2: If you are an existing Remote Desktop Commander Suite customer who would like to test these new Premium Management Features, please install the latest client on a VM or system OTHER than the system running the core Remote Desktop Commander Suite components.

Updated: November 2020.

Remote Desktop Commander v4 Now Available

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Greetings friends and current Remote Desktop Commander customers! We’ve just released Version 4.0 of Remote Desktop Commander, both the Lite and Suite editions, so we want to tell you what’s new under the hood in terms of features.

In this RDPSoft E-Newsletter:

 

New Remote Desktop Commander 4.0 Features

Introducing RDS Performance Audits, Custom Report Design Work, and White Glove Installation

Our Technology Alliance Partner, FSLogix, Is Simply the Best Solution for Office 365 Deployments Inside RDS, Citrix, and VDI

RDC 4.0 Download and Upgrade Links

New features include:

Pinpoint Historic CPU, Memory, and Other Session Load Bottlenecks on Servers Instantly With “Historical Performance and Load Across the Farm” Dashboard

This Feature Is Present In the Following Editions: Suite
Previous versions of Remote Desktop Commander allowed you to view recent performance metrics across your servers, as well as pull up snapshots of performance for all user sessions given a specific period of time. However, the new Historical Performance And Load Across The Farm Dashboard allows you to scroll through hour-by-hour graphs of when your RDS session host servers were under peak load, in terms of memory, CPU, or session count. The graph is interactive, so you can click on a point of interest, and be immediately transported to another dashboard that shows all of the sessions active in that time frame- so you can review the user session(s) that contributed most to the server load and determine what they were doing at the time.

Historical Performance And Load Across the Farm
Track CPU, Memory, and Session Counts On Your RDS Servers Over Time

Historical Performance And Load Across the Farm (2)
Pinpoint Times of High Resource Utilization on RDS Session Hosts.

Historical Performance And Load Across the Farm (3)

Review Which Users Caused High Resource Utilization
After Clicking On a Timeframe of High Resource Utilization, Immediately See Which Users Impacted the Session Host(s) Most.

Quickly Filter Dashboards By Date Range and RDS Collection Name / Server Groups

This Feature Is Present In the Following Editions: Suite
For organizations with larger RDS deployments, attempting to review all of the session host servers in a single dashboard can get complicated. Version 4 of Remote Desktop Commander allows you to quickly filter dashboards by a 1.) RDS collection name, 2.) user-defined group of RDS servers, and 3.) in some cases, a date range lookback. By doing so, you can keep multiple dashboards up and running inside the Remote Desktop Commander Client, with one dashboard per RDS collection.

Filter Dashboards By RDS Collections
Limit the Scope of Session Hosts Shown in Dashboards By Filtering By Collection Name or Computer Grouping.

 

Filtered Dashboard By Computer Group
A Dashboard With Fewer Elements Filtered By RDS Collection Name / Computer Group

Azure and Standard SQL Server Authentication Support

This Feature Is Present In the Following Editions: Suite
Previous versions of Remote Desktop Commander required use of a local SQL Server deployment with Windows Integrated Authentication. Version 4 now also allows you to use a.) an on-premise SQL server with Standard (explicit username/password) Authentication and/or b.) a Microsoft Azure SQL Server deployment. This provides organizations with the flexibility to create multiple SQL databases for multiple RDS deployments on a single SQL Server, even when each deployment is isolated in a different, non-trusting Windows domain.

Now Use Standard SQL Connections and Azure SQL Connections to Store and Review RDS Data
Now Use Standard SQL Connections and Azure SQL Connections to Store and Review RDS Data

Adjust RDP Permissions on Session Hosts Directly In the Session Navigator

This Feature Is Present In the Following Editions: Lite and Suite

In the summer of 2017, Andy Milford, CEO of RDPSoft and Microsoft MVP in the Remote Desktop Services category, released the beta version of the new free tool called RDSConfig at the PureRDS.org resource site he maintains. Just as TSAdmin was removed from Windows Server 2012, TSConfig was similarly removed, making it very difficult for RDS admins to adjust the RDP permissions on session hosts. This has prevented many organizations from being able to delegate certain RDS management roles to non-admin users, such as shadowing users for support purposes. In Version 4 of Remote Desktop Commander, this tool has been integrated into the Session Navigator area of both the Lite and Suite versions. Now admins can easily view and adjust RDP permissions on their session hosts any time they wish.

GUI to Adjust RDP Permissions
View and edit RDP permissions directly inside Remote Desktop Commander.

Adjusting RDP Permissions Granularly
Use the RDSConfig utility to view and adjust RDP permissions on your session hosts.

Speed Improvements and Other Bug Fixes

In version 4 of Remote Desktop Commander, we have optimized many SQL queries to speed the retrieval of historic performance data to the Client. Also, we have repaired a few bugs, including one that affected the ability to record screenshots from multiple monitor sessions in certain instances.

New RDS Consulting Services: Schedule an RDS Performance Audit, Request Custom Reports, or Schedule White Glove Installation

2017 was a great year for RDPSoft, and to celebrate our continuing growth, we’re now pleased to offer additional services to go along with our Remote Desktop Commander Suite solution.

  • RDS Performance Audit

    • Administrator time is at a premium these days. Often, you may know there is a performance issue with your RDS farm, but you don’t have the time to figure it out on your own. Let RDPSoft do that for you. We will install our Remote Desktop Commander Suite software in your environment, and then gather up key performance metrics, including data from RDS-related event logs and installed Hotfixes. After gathering data for a week, we will build a comprehensive report that benchmarks performance in your farm and offers suggestions on how to improve it. You don’t even need to have your own instance of Microsoft SQL available for data collection – we can provide you with a secure connection to an Azure SQL database as part of this service. For more detailed information, and to request a quote, click here.

  • Custom Report Design

    • Do you need a report that’s not available out of the box? Let the RDPSoft team build that for you. Using the free Microsoft Report Builder tool, we can design custom SQL queries and RDLC templates that connect into our Remote Desktop Commander database. Click here for more information and to request a quote.

  • White Glove Installation

    • For only $99, an RDPSoft technician will establish a remote support session with you and install the Remote Desktop Commander Suite software. This service includes a.) installing the software, b.) linking it to a SQL Server Express, SQL Server, or Azure SQL database, c.) adding session hosts / workstations for monitoring, d.) verifying that data is being collected properly, and e.) verifying that the data is displayed properly in reports and the Remote Desktop Commander Client. Click here to purchase this service and schedule a time with an RDPSoft support expert.

Rolling Out Office 365 in RDS, Citrix, or VDI? FSLogix Is Your Lifesaver.

If you attempt an Office 365 deployment inside a virtualized environment, including RDS and VDI, you will be hit with lots of snags. Our technology alliance partner, FSLogix, pioneered the solution to these issues, and they remain the best solution in the market for virtualized Office 365 roll outs. Please read this wonderful article and product comparison that details why they remain the best-of-breed solution.

Remote Desktop Commander 4 Download and Upgrade Links

If you are an existing Remote Desktop Commander SUITE subscription licensee and/or active maintenance agreement holder, click here to request upgrade instructions.

If you are an existing Remote Desktop Commander LITE user, click here to download the latest version, which you can install directly over previous Remote Desktop Commander Lite versions.

If you’d like to learn more about the Remote Desktop Commander Suite, including its feature set and how to start a subscription for only $9.99 per server per month, click here.

Version 4 of Remote Desktop Commander Almost Ready!

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Hello friends and existing customers! We’re excited to let you know that the release of Remote Desktop Commander v4 is just about ready, and wanted to give you a sneak peak of all of the new features it contains.

We will be releasing Version 4 shortly after the start of the new year, along with a small price increase – our first price increase in over 18 months. If you’d like to test drive a release candidate of version 4, please complete the form here and mention that you want to try the release candidate of Version 4 in your comments.

New Remote Desktop Commander 4 Features

Now You Can Pinpoint Historic CPU, Memory, and Other Session Load Bottlenecks on Servers Instantly With the “Historical Performance and Load Across the Farm” Dashboard

Previous versions of Remote Desktop Commander allowed you to view recent performance metrics across your servers, as well as pull up snapshots of performance for all user sessions given a specific period of time. However, the new Historical Performance And Load Across The Farm Dashboard allows you to scroll through hour-by-hour graphs of when your RDS session host servers were under peak load, in terms of memory, CPU, or session count. The graph is interactive, so you can click on a point of interest, and you will immediately be transported to another dashboard that shows you all of the sessions active in that time frame, so you can review the user session(s) that contributed most to the server load and determine what they were doing at the time.

Historical Performance And Load Across the Farm
Track CPU, Memory, and Session Counts On Your RDS Servers Over Time

Historical Performance And Load Across the Farm (2)
Pinpoint Times of High Resource Utilization on RDS Session Hosts.

Historical Performance And Load Across the Farm (3)

Review Which Users Caused High Resource Utilization
After Clicking On a Timeframe of High Resource Utilization, Immediately See Which Users Impacted the Session Host(s) Most.

Quickly Filter Dashboards By Date Range and RDS Collection Name / Server Groups

For organizations with larger RDS deployments, attempting to review all of the session host servers in a single dashboard can get complicated. Version 4 of Remote Desktop Commander allows you to quickly filter dashboards by an 1.) RDS collection name, 2.) a user-defined group of RDS servers, and 3.) in some cases, a date range lookback. By doing so, you can keep multiple dashboards up and running inside the Remote Desktop Commander Client, with one dashboard per RDS collection.

Filter Dashboards By RDS Collections
Limit the Scope of Session Hosts Shown in Dashboards By Filtering By Collection Name or Computer Grouping.

Filtered Dashboard By Computer Group
A Dashboard With Fewer Elements Filtered By RDS Collection Name / Computer Group

Azure and Standard SQL Server Authentication Support

Previous versions of Remote Desktop Commander required use of a local SQL Server deployment with Windows Integrated Authentication. Version 4 now also allows you to use a.) an on-premise SQL server with Standard (explicit username/password) Authentication and/or b.) a Microsoft Azure SQL Server deployment. This provides organizations with the flexibility to create multiple SQL databases for multiple RDS deployments on a single SQL Server, even when each deployment is isolated in a different, non-trusting Windows domain.

Now Use Standard SQL Connections and Azure SQL Connections to Store and Review RDS Data
Now Use Standard SQL Connections and Azure SQL Connections to Store and Review RDS Data

Other Performance Improvements

In addition to the features listed above, we’ve made many other performance improvements and bug fixes in this version. Stay tuned for our official launch announcement shortly!

Automating Microsoft SPLA Reporting With SPL Tracker – Part 1

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Automate SPLA ReportingSPLA reporting is an expanding and increasingly complicated need as cloud and subscription-based solutions become more prevalent in Microsoft Windows environments.

And Really, It Isn’t Just About SPLA Reporting

In addition to Microsoft’s Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA), there is the Citrix Service Provider licensing program as well. Those aren’t the only two examples where subscription-based license reporting is necessary – more and more software vendors that cater to the Managed Service Provider (MSP) community are also offering this form of licensing.

As a result, one of the monthly chores that can considerably complicate the life of an MSP is recurring, subscription-based license reporting.

While monthly subcription based licensing greatly reduces startup costs and large, capitalized expenses, the reporting requirements can be challenging. Every month, the MSP must provide a report to various licensing authorities based on the number of users who used, or more frequently, had the ability to use specific classes of software.

This gets very tedious and labor intensive for MSPs. Some will attempt to script a solution, others will do simple counts based on AD membership or equivalent. However, both of these approaches are problematic, and they do not reflect total costs or utilization rates over time.

SPL Tracker for SPLA Reporting and More . . .

Our new Service Provider Licensing Tracker (SPL Tracker) is a powerful and cost-saving solution for this specific challenge. Leveraging the software usage history and RDS/ICA usage history collected by our Remote Desktop Reporter tool, the SPL Tracker can analyze the difference between actual usage and ability to use certain classes of licenses.

Best of all, it only takes a few steps to configure, and once configured, can completely automate your SPLA reporting and similar MSP license reporting requirements.

 

Two classes of license types are shown in this screenshot from SPL Tracker, an SPLA reporting software.
SPL Tracker targets the increasing need for SPLA reporting. Above, two classes of license types are shown – Microsoft Office Users and Remote Desktop Users.

Step 1: Defining License Types

By default, two of the most common license classes are defined for you automatically in the software – Microsoft Office Users, and Remote Desktop Users.

Microsoft Office Users

This class represents all users who have accessed Office components (e.g. Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, etc) in your shared computing environment, based on Remote Desktop Reporter’s usage history.

Remote Desktop Users

Similarly, the Remote Desktop Users class represents all users who established an RDS or Citrix XenApp session in a given time period.

Additional Definitions / Classes

You can create additional definitions to track the usage of other applications – those that access SQL Server, for example. Simply create a new license type definition, select the processes that reflect the usage, and save it for later use.

Keep in mind that you can automatically omit disabled user accounts from reports. And, you can also prevent the SPL Tracker from marking newly on-boarded user accounts in a client’s Active Directory as inactive.

Upcoming Insights on SPLA Reporting and More . . .

In Part 2 of our Service Provider Licensing Tracker series, we will demonstrate how to correlate historical license usage with the Active Directory groups that control access to those license types.

Do you have questions about what you’ve read here? Respond below!

From the RDPSoft Blog

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