Make Remote Desktop for Windows 10 Scalable

Your business is going to grow, and we are a solution that can grow with you. If you use remote desktop for Windows, having the right tools in place could make all of the difference. Let’s explore the fastest way to make Microsoft RDS scalable and redundant in minutes. To understand how simple our virtual desktop solution truly is, let’s look at how IT professionals traditionally tackle the Windows Remote Desktop scaling challenge. 

If you already know how difficult this Windows RDP challenge can be, scroll down and see how it can alternatively be done in minutes.

The Traditional (Difficult) Way to Scale RDS:

Here’s Microsoft overview diagram of how to implement Remote Desktop. It highlights all of the moving parts required to deploy an RDP / RDS solution. Microsoft has written several articles on how to scale RDS and make RDS redundant. A summary of the traditional steps is outlined below.

The steps outlined below could take an entire week or longer and typically requires integrating third-party products.

1. Load Balancer Appliances:

• Research suitable Load Balancer appliance for your deployment
• Install and configure two Load Balancer appliances in high-availability

2. The RDS Web:

• Install Remote Desktop Web Access (RD Web Access) on two or more servers. The actual number will depend on the total number of concurrent sessions expected to access the RD Web at any given time
• Configure SSL Certificate on all RD Web Access servers
• Use Load Balancer to load-balance RD Web servers

3. The RDS Connection Broker

• Install SQL Database to be used by RD Connection Broker
• Install Remote Desktop Connection Broker (RD Connection Broker) roles on two or more servers. The actual number will depend on the total number of concurrent sessions expected to access the RD Broker at any given time
• Configure Remote Desktop Connection Broker for SQL Server Database

4. The RDS Gateway Role:

• Install Remote Desktop Gateway (RD Gateway) on two or more servers. The actual number will depend on the total number of concurrent sessions expected to access the RD Broker at any given time
• Add the RD Gateway servers to the Farm
• Use Load Balancer to load-balance RD Gateway

5. Multi-Location Redundancy: Repeat the above steps at another datacenter if multi-location redundancy is required

6. Server Patching and Rotation: Determine methods for regularly patching all servers in your scalability deployment in order to maintain maximum uptime.

7. Scalability Tests: Conduct scalability tests of your environment to determine and shore up areas of weaknesses

The TruGrid (Simple) Way to Scale and Secure RDS:

TruGrid is the simplest and most effective way to scale and secure Microsoft RDS, make it redundant, and ensure a reliable desktop connection for Windows 10. TruGrid is cloud-based and already contains several of the systems that are traditionally required to be deployed and maintained onsite. With TruGrid Secure RDP solution, you only need to support and maintain the desktops that your end users need to connect to. TruGrid handles everything else in the Microsoft Azure Cloud and scales to millions of connections and sessions on demand to provide users with Windows remote access.

Below are the basic steps for scaling and securing RDS with TruGrid:

1. Install and activate the TruGrid Sentry software on one or more servers in your datacenter (3 minutes per server): The TruGrid Sentry software protects and hides your datacenter from direct Internet access and connects it to TruGrid cloud without any firewall modification
2. Repeat above step at your secondary datacenter. That’s it.

Please Note: TruGrid does not require any of the below components to scale an RDS Farm. The TruGrid Cloud protective layer contains all of these components hosted and maintained by us in the cloud:

• TruGrid can be added to any network with any number of Windows RDS desktops in minutes.

   

• TruGrid does not require deployment of any load balancer anywhere. TruGrid cloud layer is the load balancer.

   

• TruGrid does not need Microsoft RD Web, RD Broker, or RD Gateway. It does not require any third-party VPN or MFA solutions. It has MFA and push authentication baked in.

   

• TruGrid creates a cloud protective layer with integrated MFA and push authentication. The TruGrid cloud is protected from denial-of-service attacks. The TruGrid MFA does not send passwords to Active Directory until MFA is validated – thereby making it impossible for passwords to be compromised.

   

• TruGrid can link Windows RDS systems in multiple datacenters for effortless business continuity and disaster recovery.

   

• TruGrid provides mobile connectors so you can connect from mobile or tablet devices to your remote endpoints.

   

An Architectural Overview of TruGrid

Ready to test our Remote Desktop solution for yourself? We offer a 15-day free trial. Click here to get started.