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Deploying Microsoft RemoteFX on a Remote Desktop Session Host Server Step-by-Step Guide

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1

About this guide

Microsoft® RemoteFX™ enables access to the RD Session Host server from a wide range of client devices including rich clients, thin clients, and ultrathin clients. It also ensures lower bandwidth than Windows Server® 2008 R2 when transferring rich graphics applications. When used with a hardware-based application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), the server running Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 is capable of hosting more sessions than previous versions.

This step-by-step guide walks you through the process of setting up a working Remote Desktop Session Host (RD Session Host) that uses RemoteFX and that is accessible by using Remote Desktop Connection (RDC). During this process, you will deploy the following hardware in a test environment:

  • An Active Directory® Domain Services domain controller

  • An RD Session Host server that uses RemoteFX

  • A Remote Desktop Connection client computer

This guide includes the following topics:

Prerequisites

When implementing RemoteFX, consider the following:

  • The processor in the RemoteFX server must support Streaming SIMD Extensions 2 (SSE2).

  • Client devices can be rich clients, thin clients, or ultrathin clients that are running the appropriate version of Remote Desktop Connection.

  • Ensure that there is a LAN connection between the client and the RD Session Host server.

Scenario: Deploying RemoteFX on a Remote Desktop Session Host server that is accessible by using Remote Desktop Connection

We recommend that you first use the procedures provided in this guide in a test lab environment. Step-by-step guides are not necessarily meant to be used to deploy Windows Server features without supporting deployment documentation, and they should be used with discretion as stand-alone documents.

Upon completion of this step-by-step guide, you will have an RD Session Host server with RemoteFX that you can connect to by using Remote Desktop Connection. You can then test and verify this functionality by connecting to the RD Session Host server from a client computer.

The test environment that is described in this guide includes seven computers that are connected to a private network by using the following operating systems, applications, and services:

Computer name Operating system Applications and services

CONTOSO-DC

Windows Server 2008 R2

Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), DNS

RDSH-SRV

Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1

RD Session Host

CONTOSO-CLNT

Windows® 7 with SP1

Remote Desktop Connection

The following documents can assist you in configuring RemoteFX: