We use Remote Desktop Services for a few things. My experience started with Microsoft Remote Desktop when I tried to reuse really low power desktop machines to turn them from these desktop machines into class remote desktop terminals. That is my initial experience with Microsoft Remote Desktop. My most current experience with Microsoft Remote Desktop is using a specific Microsoft product on the servers where you don't have any chance to administer them using the web browser. SCCM, active directory administration and other Wintel server roles are most handy and the most secure to administer from the Microsoft Management Console. Therefore, you need to do it at least from some instance of the Microsoft windows server.
Product Owner IT Services at Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG)
It's predictable but they need to develop better support for remote desktops for alternative platforms
Pros and Cons
- "I like that it works. In most cases, it's predictable. You know what you get."
- "Microsoft still has some really bad remote desktop appliance for Mac."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I like that it works. In most cases, it's predictable. You know what you get.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft still has some really bad remote desktop appliances for Mac. This is really frustrating because if I'm on windows I can remove the Microsoft remote desktop applied for Windows, but I'm already using windows, I always have an option B. I can still plug directly with Microsoft management console from the windows station and still do something remotely. But on a Mac, I have to rely purely on the Microsoft Remote Desktop.
If I need to pass second-factor authentication, not a one-time password thing, if I do a Microsoft remote desktop session, I have to reach the first server, which is my best one. From that server, you're actually going inside your protective network. Then on the second spot, you are not able to pass a YubiKey and go any farther. That creates the problem. We have had many support tickets.
For how long have I used the solution?
With this new company, I have been using this solution for two and a half years, but overall I have 15 years of experience.
It is being used mainly on a Mac platform.
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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services
November 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would say it's stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In the last setup, we had 3,000 users. It wasn't the nicest experience.
How are customer service and support?
My experience with support is varied. It really depends. It varies depending on which support line you get. If you say you're a particular engineer then they won't really bother to support you. But if you say you have an enterprise contract and that you're a big company and you have a contract then they offer better support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Citrix. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is a more developed version of Citrix.
I would recommend going for VMware.
How was the initial setup?
Microsoft programs are never easy to install but the installation wasn't something we didn't expect.
What about the implementation team?
We deployed it on our own.
We use enterprise orchestration so it doesn't take too long to deploy. Microsoft products do not really play along with the open-source orchestration platforms. Once you overcome this, it becomes easier.
What other advice do I have?
I would not recommend going with this solution because I wouldn't recommend going for a big enterprise setup.
I would rate it a four out of ten.
In the next release, they should develop better support for remote desktops for alternative platforms. It's really lacking consistency. If I have to support terminal server clusters and I have to do change management on the big cluster, then I actually run into a lot of issues both on the Microsoft Remote Desktop as well as Citrix. They should provide a consistent user experience. It's a pain to roll out changes into a different mode of the cluster and to propagate them over multiple modes. I end up in a situation where a portion of my users get the changes and the other portion doesn't.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT consultant at Secoptrial
Stable, easy to set up, and lets you control your computer
Pros and Cons
- "What I found most valuable in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is accessibility because the solution lets you take control of your computer remotely."
- "I want to connect easily from an external network even when I'm not in my enterprise or company. It should be easy to connect or integrate Microsoft Teams, for example, with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services."
What is our primary use case?
I was exploring a different feature, particularly trying to deploy active directory domain services. Hence, as an IT administrator, I needed to enable a Remote Desktop Service feature that allows me to connect remotely to the server in just a matter of seconds, so that was my use case for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.
I was trying to install Microsoft Office on the computer remotely, which means connecting to the server through Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to see if the server has access to the internet or whenever an update needs to be installed.
What is most valuable?
What I found most valuable in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is accessibility because the solution lets you take control of your computer remotely, and that's a good feature.
What needs improvement?
What needs improvement in Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is the connection when I'm outside the network. It should be more accessible. For example, if I use a public network, I want to connect remotely more effortlessly, from my internal network, without much requirement.
I want to connect easily from an external network even when I'm not in my enterprise or company. It should be easy to connect or integrate Microsoft Teams, for example, with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used Microsoft Remote Desktop Services twice, and if it's an emergency, I can use it immediately. From time to time, I use the solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I found Microsoft Remote Desktop Services stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
For me, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services doesn't require scaling compared to other services. It works fine, so you won't need to scale it.
How are customer service and support?
I have yet to contact Microsoft Remote Desktop Services technical support.
How was the initial setup?
I found it easy to set up Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. It takes a few seconds to enable your options on your computer, particularly for on-premise deployment. However, it takes about two minutes to deploy if you'd like to deploy the solution for a managed server in the cloud.
What about the implementation team?
I deployed Microsoft Remote Desktop Services with the help of a consultant because when I was trying to deploy on the cloud, there was a pop-up telling me to wait ten minutes to complete the setup. Then I could get assistance if I had a question, which I did.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I recall that you don't need to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because that's included in Windows.
What other advice do I have?
The version of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services that I use depends on the environment I'm in. For example, if it's Windows 10, I'll have a different version than Windows Server 2022 or Windows 11. It depends on the system version I want to run the solution on.
Most of the time, the deployment model for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is on-premises. Still, you can also do a hybrid deployment if you want to connect to a server in another region.
The IT team uses Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.
I recommend the service to others.
My rating for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,660 professionals have used our research since 2012.
System Analyst at a security firm with 11-50 employees
Easy to set up, bundled for cost-savings, and easy to expand
Pros and Cons
- "The product is stable."
- "The performance depends on connectivity."
What is most valuable?
The most valuable aspect is it is handy. We just start up the servers, and we can call the remote desktop, and it's connected. And that's it.
The product is stable.
It is easy to set up.
The solution is highly scalable.
What needs improvement?
The performance depends on connectivity. The refreshing screen rate is based on the internet and the bandwidth. It can therefore be unstable.
It would be nice if they had a portable version. This would make it much better. Sometimes we cannot install it on some machines. We just want to use it once and don't need to actually install it anyway, yet we can't.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability depends on the connectivity. If there is terrible connectivity, it will be unstable. In general, if the connectivity is there, I would rate it four out of five in terms of stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability has been very good.
We have about 20 licensed users on the solution right now.
How are customer service and support?
I've never called technical support. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I'm familiar with TeamViewer and Desktop Anywhere. They are good, however, we are concerned they have issues surrounding security. That's why we prefer this product.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is simple. It's not a complex process.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution comes in a bundle, which offers a cost-savings to customers.
I'm not sure of the exact price. I don't deal with that directly.
What other advice do I have?
I'm just an end-user.
It's on-prem and we have a server or a cluster to form a group of servers to provide. We are our access from other countries as we have some colleagues working in Britain.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT consultant at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Easy to use and implement with the ability to scale up
Pros and Cons
- "It's pretty stable."
- "We had some instability during the implementation process. This has since been resolved."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is primarily for remote desktop services. It's used to start up a desktop service, and we can use a password and a user name to work remotely on other servers.
What is most valuable?
The product is very easy to use.
The solution's implementation process is simple.
It's pretty stable.
It can scale well.
What needs improvement?
I can't think of an area that is lacking currently.
We had some instability during the implementation process. This has since been resolved.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've used the product for two years now. It was implemented at the beginning of COVID.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is okay in most cases. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, we had some problems. However, that was due to the implementation of this solution. At this moment it's very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability, as far as I know, is not an issue. We moved all employees to this solution. We started with a few, and now almost a thousand colleagues are using this solution. Therefore, for us, in our experience, the solution looks very good if you need to scale.
How are customer service and support?
I've never been in contact with Microsoft technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before this solution, we used Citrix.
How was the initial setup?
The solution has a straightforward setup. It's not very complex at all.
Its deployment took a few weeks.
The organization, during the start of COVID, had a lot of colleagues started working from home, and it seemed that the Citrix solution was not capable of doing that, so the ICT offices switched to Remote Desktop Services to accommodate people working from home. Our strategy was to have that capability.
The deployment and maintenance are handled by a third party. They aren't necessarily dedicated, however, they are they if something needs to be done.
What about the implementation team?
We had a third-party integrator that assisted with the implementation.
What was our ROI?
I haven't witnessed an ROI.
What other advice do I have?
We use the solution. We're customers.
We're using the latest version of the solution.
We use Microsoft Authenticator to log on, which is straightforward.
I would recommend the solution to others. I suggest they just go for it. It's a very good solution.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Client Technologies Manager at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
The most valuable features are resilience and thin provisioning.
What is most valuable?
- Resilience: Has alllowed our 24/7 acute hospital to run electronic prescribing on the wards with limited downtime or post-setup configuration.
- Thin provisioning: Our core applications mean that our WiFi connected devices can drop-off the network without causing patient record locks.
How has it helped my organization?
It has enabled our clinical staff to get real-time medicine prescribing information at the patients' bedside with a near 100% service uptime.
What needs improvement?
I think that the Single Sign-On (SSO) could be improved.
At release time, there was not a lot of information around. We invested some long hours researching. The documentation from Microsoft was difficult to find. Now there are plenty of step-by-step guides around.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used it for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Initially, the configuration I setup used DNS round-robin. This was changed to a NLB setup on our session hosts.
This has improved the stability of the clients' Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connectivity. It has given us granular control over stopping connections for downtime/maintenance windows.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We did not encounter any scalability issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
We actioned this with a limited budget. We completed it all in-house with no external technical support other than searching on the internet and testing.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We run Citrix alongside this solution for our internet connected clients. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services (RDS) was used primarily over our LAN/WAN.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was a little complex. Like any thin client setup, some applications are trickier than others.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I could not see the benefits of using Citrix as you require RDS CALs regardless. We see this solution as a very good value.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Citrix.
What other advice do I have?
- We have found this to be very stable with a quite straightforward setup. However, Single Sign-On (SSO) certificates are a little fiddly.
- Ensure that the underlying infrastructure is fully tested, robust, and scalable.
- Our early problems stemmed from our hypervisor issues. Because clients only heard it was the RDS farm, I took a lot of heat on issues that were out of my control.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Director at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
Provides support and remote access to servers with easy integration
Pros and Cons
- "We use cloud remote support because we need to assist our customers. It allows them to connect from the web. I"
- "The solution is unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to use it."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for support and remote access to servers.
How has it helped my organization?
We use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for its convenience and remote access capabilities.
What is most valuable?
Using our Active Directory policies, we can connect again and then do remote printing and file copying. We use it on our SAP system.
What needs improvement?
The solution is unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to use it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable.
I rate the solution’s stability a seven or eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
One or two people are using this solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is simple.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We don't need to buy licenses because we are a Microsoft partner.
What other advice do I have?
We use cloud remote support because we need to assist our customers. It allows them to connect from the web. It's designed to be faster but unsuitable for direct external internet connections. You must set up a VPN and password handling to effectively use it. We primarily work behind the firewall.
Integration is straightforward because it integrates well with Windows Server.
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Last updated: Apr 25, 2024
Flag as inappropriateSecurity engineer at ARCEP Togo
Reasonably priced with good functionality and updates often
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft is very reasonable in its approach to cost."
- "It could offer better security for enterprises."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution as a remote desktop. It allows us to access Windows services.
What is most valuable?
The solution offers good access to desktops remotely. It makes work easier.
The user interface is fine.
It offers reasonable pricing. Microsoft is very reasonable in its approach to cost.
The solution is stable.
It can scale well.
The initial setup is simple.
It offers good centralized security features.
The solution offers many updates. Every week we get updates.
It offers very good functionality.
What needs improvement?
The solution is not missing any features.
It could offer better security for enterprises. They are not always on top of security.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable If the network k is very stable, you won't have issues. I'd rate the stability eight out of ten. We haven't had any issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. It extends well. I'd rate it ten out of ten.
We have about five network and system administrators on the solution. If we increase resources, we may increase usage. It's very easy to increase users as necessary.
How are customer service and support?
We have never used Microsoft technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward.
The deployment only takes ten minutes.
We simply need the remote server parameters in order to make the connection and finalize the setup.
We only need one technical person to deploy and maintain the product. A system admin could easily manage it.
What about the implementation team?
As long as I have the remote server parameters, I can handle the setup myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We do have to pay a licensing fee. The pricing is not too expensive. It's very reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. I'd recommend the solution. Microsoft of very reliable, and its remote desktop is great. However, there needs to be more security.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Manager at Macro Systems Limited
Reliable, simple implementation, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable and reliable."
- "Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve by having graphical acceleration."
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services could improve by having graphical acceleration.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for approximately two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is stable and reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is good.
How are customer service and support?
I have not needed to call the support from Microsoft Remote Desktop Services because the solution is easy to use.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previously used other solutions, such as Citrix and VMware. Citrix is the best choice of the ones I have tried.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is very easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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