Microsoft Remote Desktop Services Reviews

I use Remote Desktop to do a credential swap where it goes from being the explicit user accessing the endpoint to a privileged credential.

What I do is, in the connection process with RDP, the user logs into the PAM tool as first name.last name, which is his normal domain account. However, BeyondTrust, with the remote desktop connection, substitutes the user's first name.last name with a privileged credential that looks like his name. It would be like A-first.last. This is so that we can also perform session recording and keystroke logging, as well as keep a detailed log of who is connected to which desktop and which account.

The most valuable suite feature for us is that it's light. It's built into the operating system and has a command line interface capability to insert credentials, IDs, a password, et cetera.

If anybody who's going to be using this, I’d warn that some of the dependencies that are very helpful when the window servers are running it would be best if they have network-level access enabled. It can speed up authentication. However, it really it also works well with TLS security as well as others on the certificate level. That said, I really don't know if I would start swinging in the dark after that.

Usually, during a privileged session, you don't want the privileged credential password being visible, nor maybe would you want keystrokes or screen scrapes to take place.

One of our first problems was the only time RDP ever gave me a problem was when an organization would build a new server. They would automatically build it. They would name it. They would put the connection settings on it. And then they would also put a certificate on it. Then the engineering team that ordered the server would then rename the server, which would nullify the certificate. That's the only time that RDP or remote desktop ever gave me a problem. And that was not the remote desktop's problem. It was a process flaw.

The only problems that you're going to have with the remote desktop are going to be firewall ports, security, and NLA, which is a net network level access control, or TLS transfer layer security or some other SSL-type of security. Those are the only times you get into any issues. And that's only due to the fact that the originating site is not compatible with the target site. However, that's rare. That said, even then, that's more on the rare side. I'm a PAM architect, a privileged access management architect. I usually knock down those problems before we get to them since I ran it all a hundred times.

I’ve used the solution for 20 to 25 years.

The solution is rock solid. It’s stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn’t crash or freeze.

The sky is the limit in terms of scalability. It’s not a problem at all if you need to expand. The only limiting factor is the budget. Obviously, the more you grow, the more you pay.

Tens of thousands of people use the solution. The primary use is to segregate a user from a direct login to a desktop.

The solution is actually built into the larger product. We pretty much just have to secure the connection.

It's actually maintained as part of the standard windows update tools and also could be updated manually with specific patches that might be something more specific to your organization. I've only experienced that once and that was years ago.

I’m implementing the remote desktop for customers.

It’s built-in. It’s free. It doesn’t cost extra.

We are Microsoft partners.

The deployment is both on-prem and cloud. If I was working with an organization that is a monster and they're distributed or maybe even a multinational or multi-state, I would use Azure Cloud and do use the Azure remote desktop solution.

There are so many different types of uses. In my use case, it is so painfully specific for connection brokering. We use it as part of the built-in connection process with our PAM tool. You can actually just sit down at your desktop and then do a start run, and then run MSTSC, which means micro soft terminal services client, which is a remote desktop. You can connect to one of your own computers at home, or you could connect to a server. However, you have to know the ID and password to connect. I circumvent that by doing a command line connection where I insert the credentials and the users connect, not even knowing what ID or password they're using to connect with.

I’d rate the solution ten out of ten. It’s a meat and potatoes product.

We are a solution integrator and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is one of the products that we have been implementing for our clients. This software provides a Windows 10 desktop on a virtual machine.

It's a multi-session VDI solution that allows people to work from home. It allows users to access company resources and applications, which is important because we don't want them using their personal home networks to access corporate devices. This helps prevent problems such as the introduction of a computer virus from home to office.

The most valuable feature is the remote application access. You can update applications and assign them to different groups of users. For example, one user might require Microsoft Visio, whereas another user does not require it. Access can be granted by segmenting users into different groups.

There are problems with using Microsoft Teams within a virtual desktop on a mobile device. Specifically, if you are using Teams and conferencing, then there is no microphone capability. To be clear, if you install Teams directly on your mobile device then it will work. However, if you use it as an application within the virtual desktop that is running on the mobile device, it does not work. This is something that needs to be fixed.

I have been working with RDS for about three years.

Generally, this solution is stable.

Scalability-wise, it is very good. There is auto-scaling, so if there are more users required then Azure will help you to automatically manage it. In addition, it is HA, so I think that the overall scalability is pretty good.

I have not been in contact with technical support. There is a good community of people who write about Microsoft solutions in blogs, which is helpful.

Setting up the basic service is quite simple. It's more of managing your Windows image, such as a Windows 10 image, which probably requires some expertise. It is very fast to deploy and you can have everything ready within a day.

The setup is quite clear and you don't need a team to do it. All of the instructions are available on the internet and because it's a Microsoft solution, there are many blogs available with the steps for you to follow.

It will probably cost about $500 USD to get the resources set up in the cloud.

My advice to anybody who is implementing this solution is to first ensure that the network is set up properly. The applications need to be set up properly because if the applications are being used on-premises, but the virtual machines are stored in the cloud, then you will incur additional charges for accessing them.

This is a good solution, although it is still new compared to some other remote desktop services that have been out there for a very long time. It still has room for improvement such as accessing the microphone for Android remote access. Because of this, using it on an Android device may not be the best choice.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

We are using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for small-scale virtual desktop applications. It is utilized for normal desktop usage.

This solution saves us time and money because running applications directly on the server means that we can use lower-priced, entry-level computers for the users.

The most valuable feature is performance. We run all of our applications on the server and access them using this product, which is must faster than upgrading all of the desktops.

It could be made simpler from a management perspective.

It should be easier to set it up for desktop printing.

We have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for about five years. When we started using this product, it was called Terminal Services.

This product is quite stable and we have never had any problems with it.

Given our usage, we have not had to deal with scaling this product.

I've worked with VMware Horizon and Citrix before.

VMware Horizon is easier to manage, although the Microsoft product is easier to install than other solutions.

The initial setup is relatively easy. In that regard, Microsoft is easier to install than the VMware ones that I've worked with, as well as Citrix.

We set everything up ourselves and I haven't had the need to consult anybody else for technical support.

The pricing could always be improved.

Overall, this product works well, it is fine for the purpose that we use it, and I recommend it.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Our use case is two-fold. We use it for securing workplaces in our on-premise environment for remote users. We also use it for management. We manage most of our environments from a secure remote desktop in our data center. We connect through a remote desktop gateway with a two-factor application installed there.

The most valuable feature of this solution at the moment is the HTML5 web client. You get a browser experience, not just the terminal sort of client, and the integration with Azure multi-factor application.

Its look and feel could be updated.

In Azure Remote Desktop Services (RDS), which is a VDI solution, we would like to see linked clones. It is a Hyper-V solution, and it doesn't support linked clones and uses a lot of storage. That's why we don't use it. VMware has a similar solution that supports linked clones for the master image.

I have been using this solution for eight years.

It is very reliable.

It is very scalable. At the moment, we have around 2,000 users.

We have a Premier support contract, and it works great.

Its initial setup was straightforward. Because of COVID-19, we had to deploy workspaces for our users. It was fairly simple to deploy our RDS farm so that our users could work safely from home.

Its licensing is on a yearly basis. We're on the educational or academic license, and our terms are good. We're very happy with the pricing.

I would recommend this solution. I would rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services an eight out of ten.

There are times I get disconnected from the service and when one or two attempts to establish a remote connection. Microsoft should show where the problem is, I have to find it by myself.

I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for approximately 20 years.

I have found Microsoft Remote Desktop Services to be stable.

I have not used technical support.

The installation is straightforward.

The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows.

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a nine out of ten.

I am using this product to do my PowerPoint presentations, keep my records, and perform my database queries.

I also use it for integration.

Everything is really good and it works well.

It has all of the features, for example, Microsoft Office, and PowerPoint. It integrates well between Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel, where you can edit the PowerPoint presentation in Excel. It's a feature of integration.

The user interface needs improvement.

I have been using this solution for ten years.

This solution is stable. It works well.

We have approximately 5,000 users in our organization.

I have not used technical support yet.

Previously, I did not use another product. I have only used Microsoft.

The initial setup was easy, I did it from scratch. 

It took 15 minutes to deploy.

We have technical people to maintain this product and we contact Microsoft whenever we need to.

I implemented this solution myself.

It's not an expensive product.

I plan to use this product in the future. It's something that is important in my life.

Most of my friends use this product and I recommend it.

I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

We use the latest update. 

The solution should have better security. 

It is overpriced.

The solution lacks stability.

We have scaled the solution and find this easy to do.

While the Microsoft support is good, it would be nice if they would have faster response time. 

The initial setup is difficult and there is a lack of adequate documentation. The process should be simplified.

The solution is overly expensive. 

Overall, the solution is good.

I would recommend it to others.

I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services as a nine out of ten.

The most valuable features of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services are unification, central management, and accessibility.

I have been using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for approximately 15 years.

The stability of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is scalable if you have reasonably good hardware. Overall the reliability is good.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is scalable. You can add nodes, remove nodes, and there is load balancing embedded into the solution too.

We have approximately 30 to 50 users using this solution in my organization.

I am in contact with support from Microsoft Remote Desktop Services approximately twice or three times a year for a particular topic. They typically have been able to resolve our issues, but it is sometimes difficult to be passed over to someone who understands the issue we are facing through the different levels of support.

I rate the support from Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a four out of five.

Positive

We are using a mixture of Remote Desktop Services and Citrix solutions. Citrix is more prevalent based on this solution category.

The initial setup of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is not the easiest. You need to have a certain understanding of how Microsoft is provisioning the solution to be able to set it up and use it.

I rate the price of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services a three out of five.

I would recommend Microsoft Remote Desktop Services for somebody who needs to have centralized control applications, users, or the setup of applications.

I rate Microsoft Remote Desktop Services an eight out of ten.