Mar 25, 2019 The RDS/WVD client still connects to the Azure Windows Virtual Desktop Gateway Service over port 443, but then using “black box magic” via agent software on the target session host: 1.) The Windows Virtual Desktop Gateway and Broker Services contact the session host in the host pool that should receive the new client connection, and 2.). This vendor offers a wide range of thin client devices that organizations can choose from, but the vendor has devices that are built to work with certain virtualization platforms, including Windows Virtual Desktop and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. The RX420 thin client model and one other model in NComputing's RX line, the RX-RDP+ support WVD. Jun 19, 2020 A lot of things around Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) are improved since the release of the ARM-based version as part of the announcements in this blog. The complete implementation process has been simplified (read more here) and a lot of extra management capabilities are added. One important component of a virtual desktop environment is user experience. To ensure every user is happy, it is. Use the Microsoft Remote Desktop app to connect to a remote PC or virtual apps and desktops made available by your admin. The app helps you be productive no matter where you are. Getting Started Configure your PC for remote access first.
-->Applies to: Windows 10, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, and Windows 7
You can use the Remote Desktop client for Windows Desktop to access Windows apps and desktops remotely from a different Windows device.
Note
- This documentation is not for the Remote Desktop Connection (MSTSC) client that ships with Windows. It's for the new Remote Desktop (MSRDC) client.
- This client currently only supports accessing remote apps and desktops from Windows Virtual Desktop.
- Curious about the new releases for the Windows Desktop client? Check out What's new in the Windows Desktop client
Install the client
Choose the client that matches the version of Windows. The new Remote Desktop client (MSRDC) supports Windows 10, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, and Windows 7 client devices.
You can install the client for the current user, which doesn't require admin rights, or your admin can install and configure the client so that all users on the device can access it.
Once you've installed the client, you can launch it from the Start menu by searching for Remote Desktop.
Update the client
You'll be notified whenever a new version of the client is available as long as your admin hasn't disabled notifications. The notification will appear in either the Connection Center or the Windows Action Center. To update your client, just select the notification.
You can also manually search for new updates for the client:
- From the Connection Center, tap the overflow menu (...) on the command bar at the top of the client.
- Select About from the drop-down menu.
- The client automatically searches for updates.
- If there's an update available, tap Install update to update the client.
Workspaces
Get the list of managed resources you can access, such as apps and desktops, by subscribing to the Workspace your admin provided you. When you subscribe, the resources become available on your local PC. The Windows Desktop client currently supports resources published from Windows Virtual Desktop.
Subscribe to a Workspace
There are two ways you can subscribe to a Workspace. The client can try to discover the resources available to you from your work or school account or you can directly specify the URL where your resources are for cases where the client is unable to find them. Once you've subscribed to a Workspace, you can launch resources with one of the following methods:
- Go to the Connection Center and double-click a resource to launch it.
- You can also go to the Start menu and look for a folder with the Workspace name or enter the resource name in the search bar.
Subscribe with a user account
- From the main page of the client, tap Subscribe.
- Sign in with your user account when prompted.
- The resources will appear in the Connection Center grouped by Workspace.
Subscribe with URL
- From the main page of the client, tap Subscribe with URL.
- Enter the Workspace URL or your email address:
- If you use the Workspace URL, use the one your admin gave you. If accessing resources from Windows Virtual Desktop, you can use one of the following URLs:
- Windows Virtual Desktop (classic):
https://rdweb.wvd.microsoft.com/api/feeddiscovery/webfeeddiscovery.aspx
- Windows Virtual Desktop:
https://rdweb.wvd.microsoft.com/api/arm/feeddiscovery
- Windows Virtual Desktop (classic):
- To use email, enter your email address. This tells the client to search for a URL associated with your email address if your admin has setup email discovery.
- If you use the Workspace URL, use the one your admin gave you. If accessing resources from Windows Virtual Desktop, you can use one of the following URLs:
- Tap Next.
- Sign in with your user account when prompted.
- The resources will appear in the Connection Center grouped by Workspace.
Workspace details
After subscribing, you can view additional information about a Workspace on the Details panel:
- The name of the Workspace
- The URL and username used to subscribe
- The number of apps and desktops
- The date/time of the last refresh
- The status of the last refresh
Accessing the Details panel:
- From the Connection Center, tap the overflow menu (...) next to the Workspace.
- Select Details from the drop-down menu.
- The Details panel appears on the right side of the client.
After you've subscribed, the Workspace will refresh automatically on a regular basis. Resources may be added, changed, or removed based on changes made by your admin.
You can also manually look for updates to the resources when needed by selecting Refresh from the Details panel.
Refreshing a Workspace
You can manually refresh a Workspace by selecting Refresh from the overflow menu (...) next to the Workspace.
Unsubscribe from a Workspace
This section will teach you how to unsubscribe from a Workspace. You can unsubscribe to either subscribe again with a different account or remove your resources from the system.
- From the Connection Center, tap the overflow menu (...) next to the Workspace.
- Select Unsubscribe from the drop-down menu.
- Review the dialog box and select Continue.
Managed desktops
Workspaces can contain multiple managed resources, including desktops. When accessing a managed desktop, you have access to all the apps installed by your admin.
Desktop settings
You can configure some of the settings for desktop resources to ensure the experience meets your needs. To access the list of available settings right-click on the desktop resource and select Settings.
The client will use the settings configured by your admin unless you turn off the Use default settings option. Doing so allows you to configure the following options:
- Display configuration selects which displays to use for the desktop session and impacts which additional settings are available.
- All displays ensures the session always uses all your local displays even when some of them are added or removed later.
- Single display ensures the session always uses a single display and allows you to configure its properties.
- Select displays allows you to choose which displays to use for the session and provides an option to dynamically change the list of displays during the session.
- Select the displays to use for the session specifies which local displays to use for the session. All selected displays must be adjacent to each other. This setting is only available in Select display mode.
- Maximize to current displays determines which displays the sessions will use when going full screen. When enabled, the session goes full screen on the displays touched by the session window. This allows you to change displays during the session. When disabled, the session goes full screen on the same displays it was on the last time it was full screen. This setting is only available in Select display mode and is disabled otherwise.
- Single display when windowed determines which displays are available in the session when exiting full screen. When enabled, the session switches to a single display in windowed mode. When disabled, the session retains the same displays in windowed mode as in full screen. This setting is only available in All displays and Select display modes and is disabled otherwise.
- Start in full screen determines whether the session will launch in full-screen or windowed mode. This setting is only available in Single display mode and is enabled otherwise.
- Fit session to window determines how the session is displayed when the resolution of the remote desktop differs from the size of the local window. When enabled, the session content will be resized to fit inside the window while preserving the aspect ratio of the session. When disabled, scrollbars or black areas will be shown when the resolution and window size don't match. This setting is available in all modes.
- Update the resolution on resize makes the remote desktop resolution automatically update when you resize the session in windowed mode. When disabled, the session always remains at whichever resolution you specify in Resolution. This setting is only available in Single display mode and is enabled otherwise.
- Resolution lets you specify the resolution of the remote desktop. The session will retain this resolution for its entire duration. This setting is only available in Single display mode and when Update the resolution on resize is disabled.
- Change the size of the text and apps specifies the size of the content of the session. This setting only applies when connecting to Windows 8.1 and later or Windows Server 2012 R2 and later. This setting is only available in Single display mode and when Update the resolution on resize is disabled.
Give us feedback
Have a feature suggestion or want to report a problem? Tell us with the Feedback Hub.
You can also give us feedback by selecting the button that looks like a smiley face emoticon in the client app, as shown in the following image:
Note
To best help you, we need you to give us as detailed information about the issue as possible. For example, you can include screenshots or a recording of the actions you took leading up to the issue. For more tips about how to provide helpful feedback, see Feedback.
Access client logs
You might need the client logs when investigating a problem.
To retrieve the client logs:
- Ensure no sessions are active and the client process isn't running in the background by right-clicking on the Remote Desktop icon in the system tray and selecting Disconnect all sessions.
- Open File Explorer.
- Navigate to the %temp%DiagOutputDirRdClientAutoTrace folder.
With Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) now in wide use, I've put together a list of the most frequently asked questions we receive, such as: What is WVD? How does it work? How much does it cost? How is it licensed? How do you access WVD and what are the tech requirements?
Read on for these answers and more information.
1. What is Windows Virtual Desktop?
Windows Virtual Desktop or WVD (also sometimes incorrectly referred to online as Microsoft Virtual Desktop or MVD) is a set of technologies from Microsoft Azure that enables IT professionals and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to create Windows 10 virtual desktops in Azure. WVD was launched in 2019 and is the evolution of Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Services (RDS) technology. Windows Virtual Desktop consists of 4 primary innovations:
- Windows 10 multi-user operating system, which allows multiple concurrent users to use a single Azure virtual machine as a desktop. Prior to WVD, this was only possible with the Windows Server operating system.
- User profiles are handled independently of the virtual machine that serves are the user’s desktop. These profiles are placed in containers and the containers are stored separately from the desktop VM in Azure. This is enabled by FSLogix technology that Microsoft purchased in 2018.
- Microsoft Azure has a new Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering that contains the management and connection broker functionality for WVD. It is the service that determines which users end upon which Azure virtual machine when they connect. Before Windows Virtual Desktop, this was handled by RDS server roles such as RD Gateway, RD WebAccess, RD Connection Broker, and RD License Server.
- Licensing for WVD has been drastically simplified from prior virtual desktop technologies like RDS. WVD rights are included at no additional charge with multiple Windows 10 subscriptions including Microsoft 365 and Windows 10 Enterprise.
2. How much does Windows Virtual Desktop cost? How is WVD licensed?
There are two cost components to WVD: License and Azure infrastructure.
Microsoft License – Windows Virtual Desktop is an entitlement of a Windows 10 subscription license. This license can be purchased as part of Microsoft 365 Business/E3/E5/A3/A5 or as a standalone subscription (e.g. Windows 10 Enterprise E3). If you already own one of these licenses there is no additional cost to use WVD from a software perspective.
If you don’t already have a Windows 10 subscription license, then the least expensive option that covers WVD is Windows 10 Enterprise E3 for $7/user/month. WVD license covers the cost of the operating system (Windows 10 single user and multi-session) and the use of the WVD management service that’s hosted by Microsoft in Azure.
This license also replaces the need to pay for Windows Server OS license in Azure and the RDS license, since neither of these technologies is used to deliver Windows Virtual Desktop. It is important to note that WVD covers only Azure virtual machines and cannot be used to license on-premises deployments or other clouds.
Azure Infrastructure – Once the license portion of WVD is covered, what remains is the cost of Azure infrastructure to run the virtual machines that users will connect to and use as their desktop. In addition to the desktop VMs, you will need a place to store users’ profile containers and Active Directory (in addition to Azure AD). Profile containers can be stored in Azure Files or on a Windows File Server VM in Azure, and Active Directory can be Azure AD DS or traditional AD running a Windows Server VM in Azure.
The cost of all these components will include the virtual machines (compute), storage (disks and files), networking (egress bandwidth), etc. The precise cost will depend on the number of users, amount of storage per user, how many and what types of applications the users use and many other factors. The easiest way to calculate the precise cost is to use a tool like Nerdio’sAzure Cost Estimator to have it architect the infrastructure and figure out all the costs. As a rough range, the Azure infrastructure cost component for pooled desktop users (those sharing a VM or set of VMs) would be in the $10-$30/user/month, and for a personal desktop user (those with dedicated desktop VMs) being in the $60-$130/user/month range.
3. Are there different pricing plans for WVD?
There are not. License cost is per-user and is the same no matter what type of desktop you’re using. The cost of Azure infrastructure to run the virtual desktops varies based on what types of desktops you want to deploy. It is very flexible.
4. Can I subscribe to WVD?
WVD is an entitlement of any Windows 10 subscription license such as Microsoft 365 and Windows 10 Enterprise E3/E5, etc.
5. How do I access Windows Virtual Desktop?
WVD can be accessed from any modern, internet-connected device no matter what operating system it uses. It can be accessed using an installed Remote Desktop client app. This app is available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android.
This is not the same app as the one that is used for accessing RDS so be sure to download the latest version. The Remote Desktop client allows a user to run both full session desktops (aka published desktop) and individual published apps (aka RemoteApps). The RemoteApps and session desktops are even added automatically into the local computer’s Start Menu for easier access. WVD can also be accessed via any HTML5 compatible browser. This allows a user to run any session desktop or RemoteApp inside of a browser window or tab.
Click here for Windows Virtual Desktop End-User Experience and Multi-Factor Authentication
6. How does Windows Virtual Desktop work?
WVD allows IT pros and MSPs to create virtual desktops and RemoteApps in Azure and publish them to users who can access them from their own devices.
Click here to read Everything MSPs Need to Know about WVD
7. How do I create a virtual desktop on Windows 10?
Windows 10 is the operating system that’s primarily used to deliver Microsoft's Windows Virtual Desktop desktops to end-users.
8. How do I get started with WVD?
Windows Virtual Desktop can be quickly and easily provisioned automatically with Nerdio for Azure.
Getting started with WVD is easy. In fact, you can deploy a desktop within 60 seconds using Nerdio for Azure.
article: 5 windows virtual desktop prerequisites
9. What are the technical requirements for running Windows Virtual Desktop?
To run WVD, you'll need a Windows 10 subscription license and an Azure environment with all the prerequisites met.
article: 5 windows virtual desktop prerequisites
10. What is Windows Virtual Desktop session virtualization?
Windows Virtual Desktop Remote Desktop Client Linux
Session virtualization is a technology that allows the same Azure virtual machine to be used by multiple users concurrently, each for their own desktop session. This is in contract to VDI or personal desktops where each usergets his or her own dedicated Azure virtual machine to use as the desktop. Session virtualization is a good way to increase “user density” and reduce costs.
11. What operating systems does Windows Virtual Desktop support?
On the Azure side, WVD supports Windows 10 Enterprise (single user), Windows 10 multi-session, and Server 2012/2016/2019. On the client side (end-user device), WVD supports all modern, internet-connected devices such as PCs, Macs, iOS, Android and any device with an HTML5 browser.
12. What hardware supports Windows Virtual Desktop?
WVD is an Azure-only technology and can only be used in the Microsoft cloud. Users of WVD can use any modern, internet-connected hardware device. There are also hardware vendors who produce thin clients designed specifically for WVD.
13. Which remote desktop clients support Windows Virtual Desktop?
WVD supports all Remote Desktop client devices that are internet-connected.
14. What are the limitations of Windows Virtual Desktop?
Microsoft Virtual Desktop Client
WVD can only be used in Azure and not for on-premises or other cloud deployments. It also requires a subscription to Windows 10 Enterprise. This must be a subscription and not a perpetual Windows 10 license.
Windows Virtual Desktop Remote Desktop Client Download
If you'd like to try WVD, schedule your free trial now!