• Control the sessions of your users
• Customize the RDS web access

If you want to manage your RDS infrastructure remotely, simply install the RSAT tools compatible with your client version of Windows (7, 8, 8.1, ...).

To learn how to download and install these RSAT tools, follow our tutorial : Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT)

1. Installation of RSAT tools
2. Server Manager
3. Remote management of user access licenses (CALs)
4. Remote management of the RD gateway

1. Installation of RSAT tools

Once these tools are installed, go to : Control Panel -> Programs -> Programs and Features.
Then, click "Turn Windows Features on or off" and locate the "Remote Server Administration Tools" feature.

Deploy this node and check only these boxes :

• Server Manager : to manage RDS deployment, collections, RemoteApp programs, ...
• Role Administration Tools -> Remote Desktop Services Tools : to Manage CAL licenses and your RD Gateway

Once these features are enabled, go to Control Panel -> System and Security -> Administrative Tools.
In this folder, you will find the "Server Manager".

And tools specific to RDS in the "Remote Desktop Services" folder :

• RD Licensing Diagnoser
• RD Licensing Manager
• RD Gateway Manager

2. Server Manager

To manage your RDS infrastructure through the server manager, you will need to add the desired servers first.
To do this, click : Add other servers to manage.

In the "Active Directory" tab, click "Search Now", then select your RDS servers and your RDS gateway servers (if you have them) and click on the arrow in the center.

The "Remote Desktop Services" tab will appear in the server manager and the list of your RDS servers will appear in the "Servers" section.

Please wait a bit and you will be able to access the overview of your RDS deployment as if you were on your RDS server.

3. Remote management of user access licenses (CALs)

To get started, start the RD Licensing Manager.
Once started, this license manager will warn you that it could not connect to the license server.

This is normal because it attempts to connect to the local PC by default and not to your RDS server.

To solve this problem, go to : Action -> Connection.

Enter the name of your RDS server and click : Connect.

Your license server appears.

If you select it on the left, you will see your user access licenses.

For the "RD Licensing Diagnoser" program, you will also receive a warning (for the same reason as the License Manager) :

The Remote Desktop Session Host role service is not installed on this computer. Licensing Diagnosis will not be run.

Click on "Connect to the server" at the top right.

Select "Another computer" and enter the name of your RDS server.

The program shows you the configuration details of your RD Session Host server.
Note that the warning displayed on the image below is simply due to the fact that we are currently using the grace period.

4. Remote management of the RD gateway

For the RD Gateway Manager, it will appear empty by default.
Click on "Connect to the server" at the top right.

Provide the name of your RDS gateway server.

Ignore the warning about the certificate name.

Now, you have remote access to managing your RDS gateway.