Remote Desktop Protocol 8.1 update for Windows 7 SP1 is now available !

The Microsoft RDV team has announced that the Remote Desktop 8.1 update for Windows 7 SP1 is now available !

“…With this update, users who use Windows 7 SP1 client devices will be able to connect to Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1 remote computers and experience all the new features that the latest versions of these operating systems introduce, such as:

· Support for faster reconnection times

· RemoteApp experience improvements

· Remote Desktop Gateway pluggable authentication and authorization

This knowledge base article has more information on new features, setup instructions, and download locations. Head over there to download and install the update. Following are answers to some of the questions you might have about the update…”

Source & more info: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2013/11/12/remote-desktop-protocol-8-1-update-for-windows-7-sp1-released-to-web.aspx

Microsoft RDV Team: Get the best RDP 8.0 experience when connecting to Windows 7: What you need to know

The Microsoft Remote Desktop Virtualization team created a new blog post that discusses the way to get the best RDP 8.0 experience when connecting to Windows 7. Very useful information when you’re setting up a VDI environment en need to connect to a Windows 7 client!

“…The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) 8.0 update for Windows 7 provides many advantages for the remote work experience; for all the details, see KB2592687.

However, to benefit from the experience enhancements in RDP 8.0, you must configure your client and server correctly, as instructed in KB2592687. So if you want the best RDP 8.0/Windows 7 remote work experience, make sure you do the following three things:

1. Install updates KB2574819 and KB2592687 on the Windows 7 (not Windows Server 2008 R2) system you’ll be connecting to. If you’ll be connecting to this system from a Windows 7 PC, install these updates on that system as well. (If you’re running Windows 8 on your client PC, you’re all set. Sorry, there’s no RDP 8.0 support for Windows Vista or Windows XP.) After the installation, restart your computer.

2. RDP 8.0 is disabled by default, so you must enable the following Group Policy settings on the Windows 7 system you’ll be connecting to:

• “Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Remote Desktop Services\Remote Desktop Session Host\Remote Session Environment\Enable Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0” should be set to “Enabled”
• “Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Remote Desktop Services\Remote Desktop Session Host\Connections\Select RDP Transport Protocols” should be set to “Use both UDP and TCP”

Important: After these policy settings have been configured, restart your computer.

3. Allow port traffic: If you’re connecting directly to the Windows 7 system, make sure that traffic is allowed on TCP and UDP for port 3389. If you’re connecting via Remote Desktop Gateway, make sure you use RD Gateway in Windows Server 2012 and allow TCP port 443 and UDP port 3391 traffic to the gateway.

When you connect, look for the connection quality indicator on the Connection bar. If you click it, you should see a message saying that UDP is enabled. If you don’t see either of these two items, you’re not getting the full RDP 8.0 experience and you should check your configuration. If you see both of these, congratulations, you’re on RDP 8.0!

Please do note that while RDP 8.0 for Windows 7 provides many advantages, it has some limitations as well. For more information about these particulars, see KB2592687…”

Source and more info: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2013/04/09/get-the-best-rdp-8-0-experience-when-connecting-to-windows-7-what-you-need-to-know.aspx

KB: The "New" option in the shortcut menu is missing for the root folder of a redirected drive in Windows Server 2008 R2 (2796764)

A new hotfix has been released (2796764) to fix the issue where the “new” option is missing in the context menu on a redirected drive using a Remote Desktop Session. Have been running into this issue too, glad that it’s fixed.

Root of a redirected drive:

Subfolder:

“…Consider the following scenario:

• On a client computer, you open Remote Desktop Connection and enable drive redirection.
• You create a Remote Desktop session to a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.
• You browse to the root folder of the redirected drive in the Remote Desktop session.
• You right-click an active region to display the shortcut menu.

In this scenario, the New option is missing on the shortcut menu…”

Source and download: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2796764/en-us?sd=rss&spid=14134

KB2798286: RemoteApp disconnects from a client running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2

A new KB article (KB2798286) was released today related to Remote Apps being disconnected with a protocol error when the Remote App supports Remote Applications Integrated Locally (RAIL). It seems like a similar update as KB2696020 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2696020/en-us?sd=rss&spid=14134. Only this time the fix is also applicable for Windows 7.

“…Consider the following scenario:

• You install the Remote Desktop Session Host role service on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2.
• You publish a RemoteApp application that supports the Remote Applications Integrated Locally (RAIL) feature on the computer.
• You use the Remote Desktop Web Access (RD Web Access) service on a client computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 to access the RemoteApp application.
• You open the RemoteApp application and perform several operations.

In this scenario, the Remote Desktop session disconnects. Additionally, you receive an error message that resembles the following:

Because of a protocol error, this session will be disconnected. Please try connecting to the remote computer again..”

Source and download: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2798286/en-us?sd=rss&spid=14134

Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 update for Windows 7 (kb2592687)

The update to Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 has been released last week.
The update package is available here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2592687

“…New features for client computers that are running Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

The RDP 8.0 update contains the following new features for client computers that are running Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1:

Remote Desktop Connection 8.0 client
Dynamic In-Session USB Redirection
Reconnect for RemoteApp and Desktop Connections
Improved single sign-on experience for Remote Desktop Web Access
Support for RemoteFX Media Redirection APIs for VoIP applications
Support for Nested Sessions

New features for remote computers that are running Windows 7 SP1

The RDP 8.0 update lets remote computers that are running Windows 7 SP1 use RDP 8.0. The update contains the following features for remote computers that are running Windows 7 SP1: 

RemoteFX for WAN
RemoteFX Network Auto Detect
RemoteFX Adaptive Graphics
RemoteFX USB Redirection for non-RemoteFX vGPU virtual desktops
Support for Nested Sessions
Performance counters for monitoring the user experience…”

RDP 8.0 update will be released later this month

The Microsoft Remote Desktop Virtualization Team released a new blog post containing a lot of details on the update for the Remote Desktop Client for Windows 7 updating it to the Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 !

It also refers to a blog post by Karri Alexion-Tiernan did announcing the update later this month.

“…For businesses that have decided on VDI as the ideal solution, we have some exciting news regarding the Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 Update for Windows 7. Once the RDP 8.0 Update is released later this month, it will apply to all Windows 7 SP1 instances; this includes your laptop or desktop device, as well as a Windows 7 SP1 virtual machines hosted in the datacenter and accessed through Microsoft VDI with Windows Server 2012. The RDP 8.0 Update will allow both the access device and the virtual machine being accessed to benefit from the same great enhancements in RemoteFX with Windows Server 2012. Additional detail about Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 Update is available here…”

MS RDV Team blog post: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2012/10/09/remote-desktop-protocol-8-0-update-for-windows-7-sp1-enabling-a-great-wan-user-experience-for-windows-7-sp1-virtual-desktops.aspx

Karri Alexion-Tiernan blog post: http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/business/archive/2012/10/09/virtualization-beyond-vdi.aspx

Protocol 8.0 update for Windows 7 in Q4 2012

Microsoft announced via windowsteamblog.com that a update will be available in Q4 of 2012 to update the Remote Desktop Client (RDC) in Windows to Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) version 8.0 allowing it to benefit from enhancements in regards to RemoteFX!

“…I frequently get asked if the enhancements we've made for Windows 8 access devices will also work on Windows 7 access devices. I am happy to share that the answer is yes, they will. In late Q4, we will deliver, via download, the Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 Update for Windows 7, which can be applied to Windows 7 SP1 access devices, allowing them to benefit from the same great enhancements in RemoteFX with Windows Server 2012….”

Source: http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/business/archive/2012/09/06/microsoft-desktop-virtualization-taking-another-step-forward-with-ue-v-and-vdi.aspx

You cannot change an expired user account password in a remote desktop session that connects to a Windows Server 2008 R2-based RD Session Host server in a VDI environment

Two new hotfixes (one client, one server) were released today regarding the ability to change a expired password in a VDI environment based on Windows Server 2008 R2.

Client hotfix:
Article ID: 2648397 - Last Review: January 11, 2012 - Revision: 1.0

You cannot change an expired user account password in a Remote Desktop session from a client computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2

Consider the following scenario:

• A Remote Desktop Session Host (RD Session Host) server that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 is deployed in a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environment.
• The Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication option is enabled on the RD Session Host server.
• You establish a Remote Desktop session to the server from a client computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 by using a user account that is granted Remote Desktop access.
  
  Note The client computer could be a computer inside the VDI environment, or a stand-alone computer outside the VDI environment.
• The password of the user account is expired.
• You receive the following message:
  You must change your password before logging on the first time. For assistance, contact your system administrator or technical support.

In this scenario, a dialog box that prompts you to change the password is not displayed. Therefore, you cannot change the password of the user account.

Note This issue also occurs in RDP environments that have Network Level Authentication (NLA) and Credential Security Support Provider (CredSSP) enabled.

After you install this hotfix, you will receive an error message that states your password is expired. However, the hotfix does not provide a dialog box that prompts you to change your password.
Source and hotfix: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2648397/en-us?sd=rss&spid=14134

Server hotfix:
Article ID: 2648402 - Last Review: January 11, 2012 - Revision: 1.0
You cannot change an expired user account password in a remote desktop session that connects to a Windows Server 2008 R2-based RD Session Host server in a VDI environment

Consider the following scenario:

• You have a Remote Desktop Session Host (RD Session Host) server that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 in a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environment.
• You enable the Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication option in the RDP-Tcp Properties dialog box by using the Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration tool (Tsconfig.msc).
• You establish a remote desktop session to the server from a client computer by using a user account that is granted Remote Desktop access.
• The password of the user account is expired.
• You receive the following message:
  You must change your password before logging on the first time. For assistance, contact your system administrator or technical support.

In this scenario, a prompt to change the password is not displayed. Therefore, you cannot change the password of the user account.

Note This issue also occurs in any RDP environment where Network Level Authentication (NLA) and the Credential Security Support Provider (CredSSP) are enabled.

Source and hotfix: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2648402/en-us?sd=rss&spid=14134