• STARTING IP:                                     10.5.0.0
• CIDR (ADDRESS COUNT):              /16 (65536)

• Windows 2012/2012 R2
• Windows 2008/2008 R2
• Windows 8.1/10

The first thing we need to do is logon to the workstation or server that has the Application that we would like to launch. For the purposes of this lab I will be using the following test machines.

• RemoteApp81 (Windows 8.1 Workstation running Word 2013)
• MSCORP-WPJ (Windows 10 Workstation running Word 2016)

Log onto MSCORP-WPJ and open the registry by using regedit.

As shown in the Image below navigate to the following registry key:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\TSAppAllowList

Change the fDisabledAllowList value from a 0 to a 1.

Now we need to Log Off of MSCORP-WPJ.

***Note: Workstation1 must be logged off in order for Workstation2 to stream it’s applications. If someone is logged on when this application is launched remotely they will need to consent to the remote connection in order to allow the application to launch.

Now its team to head over to RemoteApp81 and create our .rdp file which will launch our application directly. Follow the steps below to create this .rdp file:

Log onto RemoteApp81.

Launch the Remote Desktop Connection by running mstsc.

At the Remote Desktop Connection windows enter MSCORP-WPJ under Computer:

Click on the Show Options then click on the Save As button.

At the Save As pop-up enter MSCORP-WPJ then click Save.

Use Notepad to open the MSCORP-WPJ.rdp file.

Change the following values within MSCORP-WPJ.rdp:

• Remoteapplicationmode:i:1
• Alternate shell:s:rdpinit.exe

Now add the following line and save the .rdp file:

• Remoteapplicationprogram:s:winword.exe

Double-click the MSCORP-WPJ.rdp.

At the RemoteApp pop-up click Connect.

At the Windows Security pop-up enter your User Credentials.

At the Certificate Mismatch Warning click Yes.

Congratulations you are now successfully streaming Word 2016 from the remote workstation using RemoteApp. Another secret is the use of Internet Explorer on the remote machine. When IE is launched as the RemoteApp. You can then navigate thru the remote computer’s file system and launch most applications.

1. Navigate to portal.azure.com
2. In the Left-Pane select Browse.
3. Scroll down and select Virtual machines.
4. In the Middle-Pane select the Virtual Machine that you will be assigning the Static IP to.
5. In the Virtual Machine – Pane select Settings.
6. Under the Settings – Pane select IP addresses.
7. Under the IP addresses – Pane under the Private IP address section select Static for IP address assignment, then under IP address enter the Static IP Address that you would like to use.
8. Click on the Save button at the top of the IP addresses – Pane then Click Yes to Confirm.

• Installing Microsoft Azure PowerShell

• Importing the Azure Subscription Publish Settings File

• Adding Azure Account

These steps are pretty straight forward, however you organization might require CAC/Smartcard authentication to Corporate resources so the following steps can be performed to utilize an existing Smartcard to authenticate to Windows Azure PowerShell.

Installing Microsoft Azure PowerShell

The easiest method for installing Microsoft Azure PowerShell is using the Microsoft Web Platform Installer.  This installing will also install requirements like Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.  It can be downloaded from the following Link:

https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=320376&clcid=0x409

1. When prompted execute the WindowsAzurePowerShell.3f.3f.3fnew.exe click Run.

2. At the Web Platform Installer 5.0 click Install.

3. At the next pop-up select I Accept.

4. At the next screen click Finish, then Exit.

Managing Management Certificates

Microsoft Azure is a Subscription based service.  In order to Manage your subscription using a Smartcard, the Public Key of the Certificate must be uploaded using the Azure Portal.  The first step in this process is extracting the Public Key from your Smartcard.

Extracting the Public Key

1. Navigate to Start | Run.

2. In the Open: section enter mmc then click OK.

3. At the MMC navigate to File | Add/Remove Snap-in.

4. In the Left-Column select Certificates then click Add.

5. At the Certificates snap-in pop-up windows select My user account then click Finish then OK.

6. Insert your Smartcard into the Smartcard Reader.

7. In the Left-Column expand Certificates – Current User | Personal and right-click Certificates and select Refresh.  (At this point your Smartcard Certificates should be visible)

8. In the Right-Column right-click the Certificate being exported and select All Tasks | Export.

9. At the Welcome to the Certificate Export Wizard select Next.

10. At the Export Private Key screen click Next.

11. At the Export File make sure Base-64 encoded X.509 (.CER) is selected then click Next.

12. At the File to Export screen enter C:\Smartcard.cer under File name: then click Next then Finish.

Uploading the Certificate

Once we have successfully exported the Public Key of our Smartcard we need to upload it to the Azure Portal for usage with our Subscription.  This can be accomplished by completing the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Azure Portal and Login

    

   https://manage.windowsazure.com

    

2. At the Microsoft Azure screen enter your logon account then click Continue.

3. At the next screen select Microsoft account.

4. At the Sign in screen enter your password then click Sign in.

5. In the Left-Column scroll down and select SETTINGS.

6. Under the Middle-Column under Settings select MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATES then on the bottom toolbar click UPLOAD.

7. At the Upload a management certificate pop-up click FILE then navigate to C:\Smartcard.cer then click Open and click on the OK Checkbox.

   (Note:  Stay logged in to the Portal.  This will prevent you from having to re-enter your credentials for the next step.)

Downloading the Azure Publish Settings File

The Azure Publish Settings File contains the following information about your Subscription:

• ServiceManagementURL

• ID

• Name

• All Management Certificates Uploaded in the Azure Portal

The Azure Publish Settings file can be downloaded by using the following steps:

1. Launch Microsoft Azure Powershell.

2. At the prompt, enter the following command:

    

   Get-AzurePublishSettingsFile

    

3. At the File Download select the Save pull-down menu and then select Save as.

4. At the Save As pop-up enter a name for the file then click Save (Subscription.publishsettings)

Modifying the Azure Publishing File

By default the Azure Publishing File contains the Public Key for the default Management Certificate created with the Azure Subscription.  The steps below can be used to modify the Azure Publishing File to utilize your Smart Card Certificate Public Key:

1. Navigate to the location that you saved your Public Key (C:\Smartcard.cer).

2. Right-click the c:\Smartcard.cer and select Open with, then select Notepad.

3. Select and Copy the Public Key of your certificatesection between the -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----  and ----- END CERTIFICATE -----

4. Navigate to the location that you saved the AzurePublishSettingsFile.

5. Right-click the AzurePublishSettingsFile and select Open with then select Notepad.

6. Locate the ManageCertificate= section and paste your copied Public Key then Save the File.

Connecting to and Manage your Azure Publish Subscription

Now that we have successfully uploaded our Management Certificate and downloaded our Azure Publish Settings File, we can now successfully connect to our Azure Subscription using the following steps:

1. Launch Microsoft Azure Powershell.

2. At the prompt, enter the following command:

    

   Import-AzurePublishSettingsFile –PublishSetingsFile MySubscription.publishsettings

    

3. Test your newly Imported Certificate by issuing the command below:

    

   Get-AzureVM

    

If everything is configured correctly a list of all of your Azure VM’s will be returned. J

Enjoy

-Elliott