how to setup remote access on windows server 2008 r2

How to configure Remote Desktop in Windows Server 2008 R2 step by step.

• Step 1: Begin the installation. Launch Server Manager and select Server Roles. Once the roles manager screen is up, check the box for Remote Desktop ...
• Step 2: Select Remote Desktop Services roles you want to install.
• Step 3: Pick the license mode.
• Step 4: Allow access to Remote Desktop Session Host (not required)
• Step 5: Configure the client experience.

Full Answer

How do I install the remote access role?

You must install the Remote Access role on a server in your organization that will act as the Remote Access server. On the DirectAccess server, in the Server Manager console, in the Dashboard, click Add roles and features.

How do I access my Remote Desktop settings?

To access your Remote Desktop settings, click on the Server Manager icon in the lower-left corner of your desktop next to your Start button. On the right side of your Server Manager window, you will see a link to Configure Remote Desktop under Computer Information. Click on this link to view your Remote Desktop settings.

How do I enable remote access on A DirectAccess server?

To install the Remote Access role on DirectAccess servers On the DirectAccess server, in the Server Manager console, in the Dashboard, click Add roles and features. Click Next three times to get to the server role selection screen. On the Select Server Roles dialog, select Remote Access, and then click Next.

How do I enable remote desktop services in the roles manager?

Once the roles manager screen is up, check the box for Remote Desktop Services. Some other boxes may already be checked, but this is fine -- the only box you need to worry about for this step is the Remote Desktop Services box.

How do I give Remote Access to a server 2008 R2?

Enable Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop ServicesOn the Windows ® Server 2008 R2 computer, click Start > Administrative Tools > Server Manager. ... Click Roles, and then click Add Roles. ... Select Remote Desktop Services, and then click Next. ... Select the Remote Desktop Session Host and Remote Desktop Licensing check boxes.More items...

How do I enable Remote Access to a Windows server?

Right-click on "Computer" and select "Properties". Select "Remote Settings". Select the radio button for "Allow remote connections to this computer". The default for which users can connect to this computer (in addition to the Remote Access Server) is the computer owner or administrator.

How do I setup a remote access server?

On the Remote Access server, open the Remote Access Management console: On the Start screen, type, type Remote Access Management Console, and then press ENTER. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.

How do I open Active Directory users and Computers in Windows Server 2008?

Click on the Start Menu from the desktop and point to the All Programs option. Locate and select Active Directory Explorer from the list of available programs found in the All Programs menu.

How do you check if RDP is enabled on a server?

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server and to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services. If the value of the fDenyTSConnections key is 0, then RDP is enabled. If the value of the fDenyTSConnections key is 1, then RDP is disabled.

How can I access a server from outside the network?

Use a VPN. If you connect to your local area network by using a virtual private network (VPN), you don't have to open your PC to the public internet. Instead, when you connect to the VPN, your RD client acts like it's part of the same network and be able to access your PC.

How do I Install Active Directory users and Computers on Windows 2008 R2?

Install Active Directory Domain Services on Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise 64-bitSelect domain name and password. Select your domain name and know the domain administrator password that you want to use. ... Specify the preferred DNS server. ... Add the Active Directory Domain Services role. ... Enable remote management.

How do I know if RSAT is installed?

On the desktop, click Start, click All Apps, click Windows System, and then click Control Panel. Under Programs, click Uninstall a program. Click View installed updates.

How do I activate Active Directory users and Computers?

Right-click the Start button and choose “Settings” > “Apps” > “Manage optional features” > “Add feature“. Select “RSAT: Active Directory Domain Services and Lightweight Directory Tools“. Select “Install“, then wait while Windows installs the feature.

How do I enable Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2019?

To do this, follow these steps:Open Server Manager.Click Manage and select Add Roles and Features.Select Role-based or Feature-based installation.Select the computer as the destination server.On the Select server roles page, select Remote Desktop Services.More items...•

How do I enable Remote Assistance in Windows Server 2016?

Expand the Computer Configuration/Policies/Software Settings/Administrative Templates/System/Remote Assistance node and open the Offer Remote Assistance rule. Check the Enabled radio button. Under Options: select Allow helpers to remotely control the computer from the drop down list.

How do I enable Remote Desktop on Windows Server 2016?

6 steps to Enable RDP in Windows Server 2016 (GUI)Step 1 : Find Server Manager option. Open Server Manager. ... Step 2 : Select Local server. ... Step 3 : Disable Remote Desktop. ... Step 4 : Enable the Allow remote connections to this computer. ... Step 5 : Confirm the configuration. ... Step 6 : Select the Refresh button to set the changes.

How do I enable RDP on Windows Server 2012?

To do so, do the following steps:Log in to Windows Server Manager and click on Local Server on the left pane of Server Manager.Wait for a few seconds while the information for the Local Server is updated.On the right pane of the Properties section, search to find Remote Desktop. ... To enable RDP in Windows Server 2012.More items...•

How to access remote desktop settings?

To access your Remote Desktop settings, click on the Server Manager icon in the lower-left corner of your desktop next to your Start button. On the right side of your Server Manager window, you will see a link to Configure Remote Desktop under Computer Information. Click on this link to view your Remote Desktop settings.

Who has access to remote desktop?

Remote Desktop Users. Administrators have access by default.

Can you restrict remote desktop access to a few users?

Normally, all servers have Remote Desktop enabled for all users. While this works well, you may want to restrict remote desktop access to a few select users. To do this, click on the third option then click on the Select Users… button.

Can you modify user access for remote desktop?

All user access for Remote Desktop can be modified from here in the future. Once you see that the user is added to the list, click OK. Note that as long as Remote Desktop is enabled the Administrator account will always have access. You can then click Apply to apply the settings to the server and OK to exit the configuration.

How to enable remote access to a server?

To enable Remote Access, open the Routing and Remote Access console from the Administrative Tools menu, right-click the computer running Windows Server 2008 R2 that you want to host this role, and then click Configure And Enable Routing And Remote Access. Performing this action starts the Routing And Remote Access Server Setup Wizard. The configuration page of this wizard, shown in Figure 9-1, allows you to select the combination of services that this particular server will provide. The Remote Access (Dial-Up Or VPN) option is selected when you want to provide either remote access option or both options to clients outside your organization.

What is VPN in Windows Server 2008 R2?

Windows Server 2008 R2 supports four different VPN protocols: Point to Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol over IPsec (L2TP/IPsec), Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP), and IKEv2. The factors that will influence the protocol you choose to deploy in your own network environment include client operating system, certificate infrastructure, and how your organization’s firewall is deployed.

How to configure NPS data?

You can configure which NPS accounting data is sent to the computer running SQL Server by selecting options in the SQL Server Logging properties dialog box shown in Figure 9-9. Clicking Configure in this dialog box allows you to specify the properties of the data link to the computer running SQL Server. When configuring the data link properties for the SQL Server connection, you must provide the server name, the method of authentication that will be used with the computer running SQL Server, and the database on the computer running SQL Server that you will use to store the accounting data. Just as it is a good idea to have a separate partition on a computer to store NPS accounting data, it is a good idea to have a separate database that stores NPS accounting data.

Why use IKEv2 over VPN?

The benefit of using IKEv2 over other protocols is that it supports VPN Reconnect. When you connect to a VPN server using the PPTP, L2TP/IPsec, or SSTP protocol and you suffer a network disruption, you can lose your VPN connection and need to restart it. This often involves reentering your authentication credentials.

What is EAP TLS?

Extensible Authentication Protocol-Transport Level Security (EAP-TLS) This is the protocol that you deploy when your VPN clients are able to authenticate using smart cards or digital certificates. EAP-TLS is not supported on stand-alone servers and can be implemented only when the server hosting the RAS role service is a member of an AD DS domain.

How to configure a RADIUS client?

To configure a RADIUS client using NPS, open the Network Policy Server console from the Administrative Tools menu. Right-click RADIUS Clients and then click New RADIUS Client. This will open the dialog box shown in Figure 9-6.

How to write log files to remote share?

Log files can be written to remote shares. This is done by specifying the UNC path of the share. If you configure this option, it will be necessary to ensure that the share permissions are configured to allow the account that writes the logs to write data to the shared folder. The Log File tab of the Local File Logging properties dialog box is shown in Figure 9-8.

How to add remote desktop services to Windows Server 2008 R2?

Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services may be installed from the Server Manager tool. Within Server Manager, click on Roles in the left hand pane and click on Add Roles in the resulting screen to invoke the Add Roles Wizard. If the introductory screen appears, click on Next to list the available roles. On the Select Server Roles screen, select Remote Desktop Services and click on Next to select the specific services required. For the purposes of this chapter just the basic Remote Desktop Session Host option needs to be selected (the other options will be covered in subsequent chapters):

How to switch between remote sessions?

To switch between sessions simply click on the name of the session in the left hand panel and the corresponding desktop will be displayed.

How to invoke Remote Desktop Client?

To invoke the Remote Desktop Client select Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Remote Desktop Connection or enter the following in the Run dialog or at a command prompt:

What happens when you exit a remote desktop session?

When the Remote Desktop Client is exited by pressing the 'X' on the control panel the remote session continues to run on the server even though no client is connected. Next time the user connects the desktop session will appear exactly as it was left before.

What is remote desktop services?

Remote Desktop Services provides both remote desktop and remote application access. Under remote desktop access an entire desktop session running on the server is displayed on the client. The user then interacts with the desktop to launch and interact with applications (details on installing applications for use with Remote Desktop Services is covered in Installing Applications for Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services ). In the case of remote applications, the remote application running on the server appears in its own window on the client desktop, to all intents and purposes looking like a local application to the user. Remote applications are covered in detail in Configuring RemoteApps on Windows Server 2008 R2 .

How to close a remote desktop session?

To end the session select Start in the remote desktop session, click on the right arrow button in the bottom right hand corner of the menu and select Log Off. This will close down the remote desktop session and close the remote desktop client.

How to change configuration options for each session?

To change configuration options for each session right click on the desired session in the left hand panel and select Properties. This panel has a number of tabs which enable credentials, screen size and program start properties to be defined. Having configured Remote Desktop Services on a Windows Server 2008 R2 system, the next step is to install applications suitable for remote access as outlined in the next chapter.

Planning Your Terminal Services Gateway SSL Certificate

Because clients use HTTPS to connect to the TS Gateway, the TS Gateway will need an SSL certificate — just like an electronic-commerce Web server.

Configuring the Terminal Services Gateway

To add the Terminal Services Role to Windows Server 2008, follow these steps:

Configuring the Remote Desktop Client

You must configure the Remote Desktop Client with the IP address of the TS gateway before connecting to a Remote Desktop server on your internal network. To configure the Remote Desktop Client, follow these steps:

Need More Help?

For more information about Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008, visit technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/servermanager/terminalservices.mspx.

What is RemoteApps in Windows Server 2008?

RemoteApps are a part of the Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services role. Up until this point, Remote Desktop Services have been covered in the context of displaying an entire virtual desktop session on a local client from a remote server (otherwise known as an RD Session Host). Whilst this can be useful in a number of situations it is actually more common that only individual applications running on a remote server needs to be displayed on a local client, essentially making the applications appear as though they are running locally. This functionality is provided by RemoteApps and is the focus of this chapter.

How to configure RemoteApp?

To configure an application as a RemoteApp, begin by clicking on the Add RemoteApp Programs link in the Actions panel located in the top right hand corner of the RemoteApp Manager screen. This will display the RemoteApp wizard containing a list of currently installed applications. One or more applications may be selected from the list before pressing the Next button:

What are RemoteApps?

RemoteApps are part of the Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services role. The objective behind remote desktop services is to allow client systems to access desktops and applications running on remote servers. As the description suggests, remote desktop access presents an entire desktop session from the remote server on the screen of the local client. This allows the user to perform a number of desktop based tasks including launching and interacting with applications on the remote host. The RemoteApps feature avoids the necessity to access an entire desktop on the remote system in order to launch an application, instead allowing the user to launch individual applications from their local system. When launched, each RemoteApp appears in its own window on the client's desktop just as any locally running would.

How to launch an application on a remote computer?

To launch an application the user simply clicks on the icon for the required application. First to appear will be the RemoteApp Connecting dialog. This will be followed by a second dialog which contains warnings about any risks inherent in running the application. A Details button is provided to display settings allowing the user to decide which resources on the local system (such as drives, devices, keyboard, mouse, printers, ports etc) should be made available to the application running on the remote system. This can be particularly useful, for example, if a user needs to print from the remote application onto a local printer, or save a file onto a local disk or USB drive:

How to access RemoteApp Manager?

This can be accessed either from the Start -> All Programs -> Remote Desktop Services -> RemoteApp Manager or by running remoteprograms.msc in a Run dialog or at a command prompt. Once launched, the manager will appear as follows:

How to create a RDP file?

To create an RDP file for a RemoteApp, right click on the RemoteApp program in question on the RemoteApp Manager RemoteApp Programs list and select Create .rdp File from the menu. When the RemoteApp Wizard welcome screen appears click on Next to proceed to the package setting screen. On this screen, set the target directory where the .rdp is to be generated. Also on this screen are settings for controlling which server and Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) port the client system will be directed to in order to launch the RemoteApp. The final setting allows access to the RemoteApp to be protected through the use of digital signatures.

How to access remote app?

By default, RemoteApps are configured to be accessible via RD Web Access (for details on installing and configuring the RD Web Access service role refer read Configuring Windows Server 2008 RD Web Access ). As outlined above this setting can be checked during the RemoteApp configuration process by verifying that the RemoteApp is available through RD Web Access box is set in the properties dialog. This setting can be modified at any time by right clicking on the RemoteApp program in question on the RemoteApp Manager RemoteApp Programs list and selecting either the Show in RD Web Access or Hide in RD Web Access menu option.

How to access remote access server?

On the Remote Access server, open the Remote Access Management console: On the Start screen, type, type Remote Access Management Console, and then press ENTER. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.

How to install Remote Access on DirectAccess?

On the DirectAccess server, in the Server Manager console, in the Dashboard, click Add roles and features. Click Next three times to get to the server role selection screen. On the Select Server Roles dialog, select Remote Access, and then click Next.

How to deploy DirectAccess for remote management only?

In the DirectAccess Client Setup Wizard, on the Deployment Scenario page , click Deploy DirectAccess for remote management only, and then click Next.

How to add roles and features to DirectAccess?

On the DirectAccess server, in the Server Manager console, in the Dashboard, click Add roles and features.

How to add domain suffix in remote access?

On the DNS Suffix Search List page, the Remote Access server automatically detects domain suffixes in the deployment. Use the Add and Remove buttons to create the list of domain suffixes that you want to use. To add a new domain suffix, in New Suffix, enter the suffix, and then click Add. Click Next.

What is a remote access URL?

A public URL for the Remote Access server to which client computers can connect (the ConnectTo address)

Where is the Configure button in Remote Access Management Console?

In the middle pane of the Remote Access Management console, in the Step 3 Infrastructure Servers area, click Configure.