Installing the RDP Role on a Windows Server

RDP (English Remote Desktop Protocol - Remote Desktop Protocol) is a proprietary application-level protocol used to organize remote user work with a server running the terminal connection service. Clients exist for almost all versions of Windows (including Windows CE, Phone, and Mobile), Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, iOS, Android, and Symbian. Installing the RDP role on a Windows server takes place in two stages: first, the Remote Desktop Service is installed, and then we determine the licensing server.

1. Install Remote Desktop Services

Launch Server Manager. It can be launched from a shortcut on the taskbar, or by running the servermanager.exe command: to do this, press the key combination Win + R, in the window that appears in the “Open” field, write the name of the command and click “OK”:

In the menu, in the upper right corner, select “Manage” (Manage) → “Add Roles and Features” (Add Roles and Features):

The Add Roles and Features Wizard will launch. Click "Next" on the start page:

Leave the switch on “Role-based or feature-based installation” and click “Next” again:

Select the server from the server pool on which Terminal Services will be installed. In my example, this is the given local server. Click "Next" (Next):

Select the role "Remote Desktop Services" in the list of roles and click "Next" (Next):

Leave the components as they are. Without marking anything, click "Next" (Next):

We read the description of the Remote Desktop Service and click "Next" (Next):

Now you need to select the role services to install. At a minimum, we will need Remote Desktop Licensing. We agree to the installation of additional components by clicking on "Add Features" in the wizard that appears:

We also need a "Remote Desktop Session Host" - again we agree to install additional components by clicking on "Add Features" in the window that opens. Having marked the necessary role services, click "Next" (Next):

All role installation options are defined. On the last page, set the flag "Automatically restart the destination server if required" (Restart the destination server automatically if required), confirm the choice by clicking "Yes" (Yes) in the window that appears, and click "Install" (Install) to start the installation of the service:

If everything went well, after the reboot, we will see a message about the successful installation of all selected services and components. Click "Close" (Close) to complete the wizard:

2. Determine the license server for Remote Desktop Services

Now let's run the Remote Desktop Licensing Diagnostic Tool (RD Licensing Diagnoser). You can do this from the Server Manager by selecting "Tools" (Tools) → "Terminal Services" → "RD Licensing Diagnoser" in the upper right menu:

Here we can see that there are no licenses available yet because the licensing mode for the RD Session Host server is not set:

The licensing server is now specified in local group policies. To launch the editor, run the gpedit.msc command:

The Local Group Policy Editor opens. In the tree on the left, expand the tabs:

• Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Remote Desktop Services → (Remote Desktop Session Host) → "Licensing" (Licensing). Open the "Use the specified Remote Desktop license servers" settings by double-clicking on the appropriate line:

In the policy settings editing window, move the switch to the Enabled position. Next, you must define a license server for Remote Desktop Services. In my example, the license server is located on the same physical server. Specify the network name or IP address of the license server and click "OK":

Next, change the policy settings "Set the Remote licensing mode". We also set the switch to the Enabled position and specify the licensing mode for the Remote Desktop Session Host server. There are 2 options:

• «Per User»
• «Per Device»

To understand how these modes differ, consider a simple example. Let's say you have 5 licenses. In Per Device mode, you can create an unlimited number of users on the server who can only connect via Remote Desktop from up to five computers that have these licenses installed. If you select the "Per user" mode, then only five selected users will be able to access the server, regardless of which device they connect from.

Select the mode that best suits your needs, and click "OK":

After changing the above policies, close the editor:

We return to the RD Licensing Diagnoser snap-in and see a new error indicating that the license server is specified, but not enabled:

To start the licensing server, go to the "Remote Desktop Licensing Manager" (RD Licensing Manager). You can find it in Server Manager, Tools tab → Terminal Services → Remote Desktop Licensing Manager:

Here we find our license server with the status "Not activated" (Not Activated). To activate it, right-click on it and select "Activate Server" in the context menu:

The Server Activation Wizard will start. Click "Next" on the first page of the wizard:

Then select the connection method (“Auto” (Automatic connection) - by default) and click “Next” (Next):

Enter information about the organization (these fields are required) and then click "Next" (Next):

Enter additional information about the organization (optional) and click "Next" again:

The license server is activated. Now the licenses should be installed. To do this, click "Next" (Next), leaving a mark in the checkbox "Run the license installation wizard":

3. Install licenses on the Remote Desktop license server

Click "Next" on the initial page of the License Installation Wizard:

Then select the licensing program you need. In our example, this is the “Enterprise Agreement”. Click "Next" (Next):

Enter the agreement number and click "Next" (Next):

Specify the product version, license type and number of licenses in accordance with your licensing program. Click "Next" (Next):

We are waiting for the license installation wizard to complete with a message that the requested licenses have been successfully installed:

In the Licensing Manager, we make sure that the server is running, and we also see the total and available number of installed licenses:

Finally, we return to the RD Licensing Diagnoser and see that there are no errors, and the number of licenses available to clients matches what we entered in the previous step:

This completes the installation of Terminal Server on Windows Server 2012.

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