When using Omnissa Horizon (formerly VMware Horizon), you may note that NVENC offload is disabled when using RDSH with NVIDIA vGPU. This may also affect other VDI and Application Delivery platforms that use RDSH (Remote Desktop Session Hosts) and NVIDIA vGPU (Virtual GPU).
One of the key benefits of deploying NVIDIA vGPU with Omnissa Horizon, is being able to use the NVIDIA NvENC (NVIDIA Encoder) to hardware encode your VDI session. This is also known as H264/H265/HEVC/AV1 offload.
This means that the encoding and compression of the remoted video session is handled by the GPU, instead of the CPU, freeing up resources on the VM guest and host, reducing latency with encoding, and also providing a much better user experience.
The Observation
When deploying NVIDIA vGPU with vApps and Horizon Apps, you’ll note the following in the VMware Horizon Performance Tracker:
You can see above that the “Encoder Name” is using “h264 4:2:0”. This means that the CPU Software Based encoder is handing the encoding of the H264 BLAST Session. While the environment is 3D accelerated, the remoting protocol encoding is not hardware offloaded.
You’ll also note the following:
VMware Horizon Agent High CPU Usage
“nvidia-smi” on the host and VM does not report the encoder being used
This behavior is as expected due to the inability of RDS session hosts to be able to utilize NvENC. RDSH hosts utilize a software framebuffer for user environment and desktop delivery which cannot be used with NVENC.
Solution and/or Workaround
To work around this limitation, you have the option of using VDI desktops (in this case it would be preferable to use non-persistent Instant Clones) to deploy an “Application Pool” with vGPU enabled VMs.
Note that this is a major change to your solution architecture because pushing applications (and desktops) from Windows 10 or Windows 11 Guest VMs is a 1 to 1 relation, versus RDSH which supports many users to one VM.
Using Horizon, you could then push applications (not desktops) from these vGPU enabled Instant Clones, which would support NVENC and hardware offload, as shown in the example below:
In the image above, you’ll note that the “Encoder Name” is “NVIDIA NvEnc HEVC 4:2:0” showing us that NvEnc hardware offload and encoding is functioning and being used.
Note, that using this method to deploy Horizon Apps will result in more framebuffer being required, however may be offset since a smaller framebuffer can be used with individual VMs versus a large framebuffer being assigned and attached to an RDSH host.
By deploying a Group Policy Objects to configure Office 365, you’ll be able to configure Office 365 for first time use, activate the product, roll out pre-defined configuration, and even automatically configure Outlook mail profiles.
Following these steps will help you provide a zero-configuration experience for your end users so that everything is up and running for them when they connect the first time. I will also provide a number of GPO settings which will enhance the user experience.
What’s Required
To Configure Microsoft Office 365 on a Remote Desktop Services Server, you’ll need:
A Remote Desktop Services Server (Configured and Running)
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (formerly named as Office 365 ProPlus)
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise ADMX GPO Administrative Templates (Download here)
Shared Computer Activation
In order to properly configure and activate Office 365 in a Remote Desktop Services Environment, you will need to Install Office 365 with Shared Computer Activation. You can read my guide by clicking on the link.
Configure Office 365
Once you’re ready to go, you can begin configuration.
To make things as simple as possible and centrally manage every aspect of your O365 deployment, we want to configure everything via GPO (Group Policy Objects). This will allow us to configure everything including “first run configuration” and roll out a standardized configuration to users.
You’ll probably want to create an OU (Organizational Unit) inside of Active Directory for your RDS farm, and then create a new Group Policy Object and apply it to that OU. In that new GPO, we’ll be configuring the following:
We’ll be configuring the following “Computer Configuration” items:
Since we’re using SCA (Shared Computer Activation) for licensing, we need to specify where to store the users activation tokens. You may have configured a special location for these, or may just store them with your user profiles.
First we need to activate Shared Computer Activation. Navigate to:
And set “Use shared computer activation” to Enabled.
Next we’ll set “Specify the location to save the licensing token used by shared computer activation” to the location where you’d like to store the activation tokens. As an example, to store to the User Profile share, I’d use the following:
\\PROFILE-SERVER\UserProfiles$\%USERNAME%
Microsoft Office – Update Configuration
Because this is a Remote Desktop Services server, we want automatic updating disabled since IT will manage the updates.
We’ll also set “Hide option to enable or disable updates” to Enabled to hide it from the users.
Microsoft OneDrive – Known Folders, Use OneDrive Files On-Demand
There’s some basic configuration for OneDrive that we’ll want to configure as we don’t want our users profile folders being copied or redirected to OneDrive, and we also want OneDrive to be used with Files On-Demand so that users OneDrive contents aren’t cached/copied to the RDS Server.
“Prevent users from moving their Windows known folders to OneDrive” to Enabled
“Prevent users from redirecting their Windows known folders to their PC” to Enabled
“Prompt users to move Windows known folders to OneDrive” to Disabled
“Use OneDrive Files On-Demand” to Enabled
We’ve new configured OneDrive for RDS Users.
Windows – Group Policy Loopback Processing Mode
Since we’ll be applying the above “Computer Configuration” GPO settings to users when they log on to the RDS Server, we’ll need to activate Loopback Processing of Group Policy (click the link for more information). This will allow use to have the “Computer Configuration” applied during User Logon and have higher precedence over their existing User Settings.
We’ll navigate to the following:
Computer Configuration -> Policies -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Group Policy
And set “Configure user Group Policy loopback processing mode” to Enabled, and “Mode” to Merge.
Microsoft Office – First Run Configuration
As most of you know, when running Microsoft Office 365 for the first time, there are numerous windows, movies, and wizards for the first time run. We want to disable all of this so it appears that Office is pre-configured to the user, this will allow them to just log on and start working.
We’ll head over to:
User Configuration -> Policies -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2016 -> First Run
And set the following items:
“Disable First Run Movie” to Enabled
“Disable Office First Run on application boot” to Enabled
Microsoft Office – Block Personal Microsoft Account Sign-in
Since we’re paying for and want the user to use their Microsoft 365 account and not their personal, we’ll stop them from being able to add personal Microsoft Accounts to Office 365.
Head over to:
User Configuration -> Policies -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2016 -> Miscellaneous
And set “Block signing into Office” to Enabled, and then set the additional option to “Organization ID only”
Microsoft Office – Subscription/Licensing Activation
Earlier in the post we configured Office 365 to use SCA, now we’ll need to configure how it’s activated. We don’t want the activation window being shown to the user, nor the requirement for it to be configured, so we’ll configure Office 365 to automatically active using SSO (Single Sign On).
Navigate to:
User Configuration -> Policies -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Office 2016 -> Subscription Activation
And then set “Automatically activate Office with federated organization credentials” to Enabled.
Microsoft Outlook – Disable E-Mail Account Configuration
We’ll be configuring the e-mail profiles for the users so that no initial configuration will be needed. Again, just another step to let them log in and get to work right away.
Inside of:
User Configuration -> Policies -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Outlook 2016 -> Account Settings -> E-mail
And we’ll set the following:
“Prevent Office 365 E-mail accounts from being configured within a simplified Interface” to Disabled
“Prevent Outlook from interacting with the account settings detection service” to Enabled
Microsoft Outlook – Exchange account profile configuration
We’ll want your users Outlook Profile to be auto-configured for their Exchange account so we’ll need to configure the following setting.
Navigate to:
User Configuration -> Policies -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Outlook 2016 -> Account Settings -> Exchange
And set “Automatically configure profile based on Active Directory Primary SMTP address” to Enabled.
After setting this, it will automatically add the Exchange Account when they open Outlook and they’ll be ready to go! Note, that there is an additional setting with a similar name appended with “One time Only”. Using the One time Only will not try to apply the configuration on all subsequent Outlook runs.
Microsoft Outlook – Disable Cached Exchange Mode
Since we’ll have numerous users using the RDS server or servers, we don’t want users cached Outlook mailboxes (OST files) stored on the RDS server. We can stop this by disabling Exchange caching.
Navigate to:
User Configuration -> Policies -> Administrative Templates -> Microsoft Outlook 2016 -> Account Settings -> Exchange -> Cached Exchange Mode
And we’ll set the two following settings:
“Cached Exchange Mode (File | Cached Exchange Mode)” to Disabled
“Use Cached Exchange Mode for new and existing Outlook profiles” to Disabled
When you’re looking for additional or enhanced options to secure you’re business and enterprise IT systems, MFA/2FA can help you achieve this. Get away from the traditional single password, and implement additional means of authentication! MFA provides a great compliment to your cyber-security policies.
MFA is short for Multi Factor authentication, additionally 2FA is short for Two Factor Authentication. While they are somewhat the same, multi means many, and 2 means two. Additional security is provided with both, since it provides more means of authentication.
Traditionally, users authenticate with 1 (one) level of authentication: their password. In simple terms MFA/2FA in addition to a password, provides a 2nd method of authentication and identity validation. By requiring users to authentication with a 2nd mechanism, this provides enhanced security.
Why use MFA/2FA
In a large portion of security breaches, we see users passwords become compromised. This can happen during a phishing attack, virus, keylogger, or other ways. Once a malicious user or bot has a users credentials (username and password), they can access resources available to that user.
By implementing a 2nd level of authentication, even if a users password becomes compromised, the real (or malicious user) must pass a 2nd authentication check. While this is easy for the real user, in most cases it’s nearly impossible for a malicious user. If a password get’s compromised, nothing can be accessed as it requires a 2nd level of authentication. If this 2nd method is a cell phone or hardware token, a malicious user won’t be ale to access the users resources unless they steal the cell phone, or hardware token.
How does MFA/2FA work
When deploying MFA or 2FA you have the option of using an app, hardware token (fob), or phone verification to perform the additional authentication check.
After a user attempts to logs on to a computer or service with their username and password, the 2nd level of authentication will be presented, and must pass in order for the login request to succeed.
Please see below for an example of 2FA selection screen after a successful username and password:
Duo Security Windows Login MFA 2FA Prompt
After selecting an authentication method for MFA or 2FA, you can use the following
2FA with App (Duo Push)
Duo Push sends an authentication challenge to your mobile device which a user can then approve or deny.
Please see below for an example of Duo Push:
Duo Push to Mobile App on Android
Once the user selects to approve or deny the login request, the original login will either be approved or denied. We often see this as being the preferred MFA/2FA method.
2FA with phone verification (Call Me)
Duo phone verification (Call Me) will call you on your phone number (pre-configured by your IT staff) and challenge you to either hangup to deny the login request, or press a button on the keypad to accept the login request.
While we rarely use this option, it is handy to have as a backup method.
2FA with Hardware Token (Passcode)
Duo Passcode challenges are handled using a hardware token (or you can generate a passcode using the Duo App). Once you select this method, you will be prompted to enter the passcode to complete the 2FA authentication challenge. If you enter the correct passcode, the login will be accepted.
Here is a Duo D-100 Token that uses HOTP (HMAC-based One Time Password):
Duo D-100 HOTP Hardware Token
When you press the green button, a passcode will be temporarily displayed on the LCD display which you can use to complete the passcode challenge.
You can purchase Hardware Token’s directly from Digitally Accurate Inc by contacting us, your existing Duo Partner, or from Duo directly. Duo is also compatible with other 3rd party hardware tokens that use HOTP and TOTP.
2FA with U2F
While you can’t visibly see the option for U2F, you can use U2F as an MFA or 2FA authentication challenge. This includes devices like a Yubikey from Yubico, which plugs in to the USB port of your computer. You can attach a Yubikey to your key chain, and bring it around with you. The Yubikey simply plugs in to your USB port and has a button that you press when you want to authenticate.
When the 2FA window pops up, simply hit the button and your Yubikey will complete the MFA/2FA challange.
What can MFA/2FA protect
Duo MFA supports numerous cloud and on-premise applications, services, protocols, and technologies. While the list is very large (full list available at https://duo.com/product/every-application), we regularly deploy and use Duo Security for the following configurations.
Windows Logins (Server and Workstation Logon)
Duo MFA can be deployed to not only protect your Windows Servers and Workstations, but also your remote access system as well.
When logging on to a Windows Server or Windows Workstation, a user will be presented with the following screen for 2FA authentication:
Duo Security Windows Login MFA 2FA Prompt
Below you can see a video demonstration of DUO on Windows Login.
DUO works with both Windows Logins and RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) Logins.
VMWare Horizon View Clients (VMWare VDI Logon)
Duo MFA can be deployed to protect your VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) by requiring MFA or 2FA when users log in to access their desktops.
When logging on to the VMware Horizon Client, a user will be presented with the following screen for 2FA authentication:
Duo Security VMWare Horizon Client Login MFA 2FA Prompt
Below you can see a video demonstration of DUO on VMware Horizon View (VDI) Login.
Sophos UTM (Admin and User Portal Logon)
Duo MFA can be deployed to protect your Sophos UTM firewall. You can protect the admin account, as well as user accounts when accessing the user portal.
If you’re using the VPN functionality on the Sophos UTM, you can also protect VPN logins with Duo MFA.
Unix and Linux (Server and Workstation Logon)
Duo MFA can be deployed to protect your Unix and Linux Servers. You can protect all user accounts, including the root user.
We regularly deploy this with Fedora and CentOS (even FreePBX) and you can protect both SSH and/or console logins.
When logging on to a Unix or Linux server, a user will be presented with the following screen for 2FA authentication:
Duo Security CentOS Linux login MFA 2FA Prompt
Below you can see a video demonstration of DUO on Linux.
WordPress Logon
Duo MFA can be deployed to protect your WordPress blog. You can protect your admin and other user accounts.
If you have a popular blog, you know how often bots are attempting to hack and brute force your passwords. If by chance your admin password becomes compromised, using MFA or 2FA can protect your site.
When logging on to a WordPress blog admin interface, a user will be presented with the following screen for 2FA authentication:
Duo Security WordPress Login MFA 2FA Prompt
Below you can see a video demonstration of DUO on a WordPress blog.
How easy is it to implement
Implementing Duo MFA is very easy and works with your existing IT Infrastructure. It can easily be setup, configured, and maintained on your existing servers, workstations, and network devices.
Duo offers numerous plugins (for windows), as well as options for RADIUS type authentication mechanisms, and other types of authentication.
How easy is it to manage
Duo is managed through the Duo Security web portal. Your IT admins can manage users, MFA devices, tokens, and secured applications via the web interface. You can also deploy appliances that allow users to manage, provision, and add their MFA devices and settings.
Duo also integrates with Active Directory to make managing and maintaining users easy and fairly automated.
One of the most widely used applications suite is Microsoft Office, particularly Microsoft Office 365.
In order to deploy Microsoft Office 365 in a Remote Desktop Services environment, a number of requirements must be met. There is also special instructions which must be followed to properly deploy it.
After reading and completing the steps in this blog post and deploying Office 365, you can head over to my guide on how to Configure Office 365 in a Remote Desktop Services Environment using GPOs to pre-configure Microsoft Office and it’s applications for when your users log in.
What’s required
To deploy Microsoft Office 365 on a Remote Desktop Services Server, you’ll need:
A Remote Desktop Services Server (Configured and Running)
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (formerly named as Office 365 ProPlus)
Licensing
Special attention must be paid to licensing. In order to properly license and activate Office 365, you’ll need one of the following products that supports Shared Computer Activation:
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (formerly known as Office 365 ProPlus)
Microsoft 365 Standard, Office 365 Business, Office 365 Business Premium, and Office 365 Business Essentials cannot be used as they do not include or support Shared Computer Activation.
An exception is made for Microsoft 365 Business Premium which actually includes Microsoft 365 Apps for Business, but doesn’t support enabling “Shared Computer Activation” via Group Policy Objects and must be done using the XML configuration file method.
Installing Office 365
Once you have the proper licensing and you’re ready to proceed, you can start!
To download the 32-bit version or enterprise version, use one of the other xml files that are in the directory.
There will be no output and it will take a while so be patient.
Now we want to open the xml file we previously used (in our case “configuration-Office365-x64.xml”) and add the following lines to the file right above the final line (right above </Configuration>):
Office 365 should now install silently, and then afterwards you should be good to go!
When a user logs in for the first time it will ask them to activate on their account. The user must have a license attached to their Office 365 account.
In the last few
months, the crisis with COVID19 has put organizations in a panic to enable employees
to be able to work from home, to continue business productivity, keep employees
safe, and keep employees on the payroll. It’s good for business, and it’s good
for employees to avoid layoffs so everyone keeps their jobs.
This has put IT departments and IT professionals in a hectic position where they must roll out and deploy remote access technologies on the fly, often with little or no notice.
I’ve heard horror stories where organization leadership has made decisions without consulting IT which resulted in the inability to work, also where organizations didn’t involve their IT teams in strategizing and planning moving forward.
In this post I’m going to outline the most efficient way to rapidly deploy Remote Desktop Services (RDS) for employee remote access.
Remote Access Technologies
There’s a number of different remote access technologies and software packages available today. Some are designed to allow you to work fully remotely (providing a remote desktop to office resources), and some are designed to provide access to specific resources remotely (such as documents, files, etc).
The main technologies typically used for remote access include:
Miscellaneous 3rd party packages providing remote access to desktops
The main software packages that enable a remote workforce include:
Microsoft Office 365
Microsoft 365
Skype for Business
Microsoft Teams
Zoom
Numerous other applications and cloud suites
Every technology or application has it’s purpose and is deployed depending on the business requirements, however in this specific situation we need a solution that is easy and fast to deploy.
For most small to medium sized businesses, Remote Desktop Services would be the easiest solution to roll out on such short notice.
Remote Desktop Services (RDS)
Remote Desktop Services is a server/client technology that allows the client to connect to the server, and have access to a full Windows desktop that’s actually running on the server itself.
These sessions are encrypted, secure, and essentially brings the display to the connecting client, and brings back mouse and keyboard feedback.
With Remote Desktop Services, you’re maintaining one Windows Server that provides multiple concurrent sessions for multiple concurrent users. You can install software packages (database applications, Microsoft Office 365, and other line of business applications), and make them available to the connecting users.
Even users who are accessing large files have a beautiful experience since the data never leaves your IT environment, only the sessions display is transmitted.
This works great for home users who have slow internet connections, users who are travelling, or using their cell networks LTE connection to connect.
For administrators, it provides an easy way to manage a desktop experience for multiple users by maintain a single server. There are also many additional controls you can implement to limit access and optimize the experience.
What’s required
When deploying RDS, you’ll need the following:
A dedicated Server or dedicated Virtual Machine running Microsoft Windows Server to be configured as a Remote Desktop Services server.
Remote Desktop Services CALs (Client Access Licenses – One CAL is required for each user or device)
A high speed internet connection (that can handle multiple RDS sessions)
A firewall to protect the RDS Server and preferably 2FA/MFA logins
A Static IP and DNS entries to make the server available to the internet and your users
You’ll want the RDS server to be dedicated strictly to Remote Desktop Services sessions. You will not want to run any other servers or services on this server or virtual machine.
You will need to purchase RDS CALs. A Remote Desktop Services Client access license, is required for every device or user you have connected to your RDS server. During your initial purchase of RDS CALs, you must choose between user count based licensing, or device count based licensing. If you need help with licensing Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, please feel free to reach out to me.
The connections between the server and client consist of an encrypted presentation of the display, as well as mouse/keyboard feedback, and other peripherals. For a single session it’s not much, which means your users don’t ultra fast internet connections. However, on the server side if you are running multiple sessions, the bandwidth requirements add up.
Remote Desktop Services servers are often under attack on the internet. You’ll find that the servers are subjected to scans, brute force attempts, and exploit execution. You’ll want to make sure that you have both a firewall (with intrusion prevention) and a security technology like DUO Security Two Factor Authentication configured to protect your server.
Finally, you’ll need a static IP on the internet and a friendly DNS hostname for your employees to connect to using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) Client, such as “remote.companyname.com”.
Deploying RDS
Deploying RDS is easy. Here is a brief summary of the steps to rapidly deploy a Remote Desktop Services server for remote access.
Install Windows Server on the server or virtual machine that will host RDS.
Configure networking (static IP) and join to domain.
Configure Remote Desktop Services and Remote Desktop Web Access
Configure an SSL Certificate
Configure user session settings
Install user software on the RDS Server (Including Office 365, Line of Business applications, and others)
Configure ACLs (Access Control) to secure user access.
Test the environment
Move to production
Even with limited to no experience with Remote Desktop Services, an IT professional will be able to deploy the first server within hours. A focus must be paid to securing the environment, performance enhancements can be made later after deployment.
As mentioned above, your RDS server will be subject to ongoing attacks. These attacks include vulnerability scans, bruteforce attempts, and targeted exploitation attempts.
You’ll want to make sure that you have and enforce strict password policies to stop bruteforce attempts.
A firewall should be implemented that includes an intrusion prevention system to identify and stop intrusion attempts.
You should implement two factor authentication using a product like Duo from Duo Security.
Your new RDS server while enabling a mobile workforce, also substantially increases your security footprint. Considerations must always be made and factored in when deploying internet available services.
Below is a video demo of what Duo Security Two Facter authentication looks like when logging in to an RDP session.
Duo Security Two Factor Authentication on Remote Desktop Services RDS Demo
Optimizations
There’s a fair number of optimizations which can be made in an RDS environment. I’m going to cover a few of the most widely used below.
Please note, you should also configure the RDS Group Policy Objects (GPO) as well.
Folder Redirection
While most data should be stored on network shares, we often find that users will store data and files on their Desktop and My Documents.
If you have available and extra storage, you can enable Desktop and My Documents Folder redirection. This will redirect users Desktop’s and My Document’s folders to a network share. On local computers on your network, the computers will retain a cached copy for performance.
If you deploy an RDS Server and have Folder redirection configured, the users My Documents and Desktop will be available to that user. Additionally since the server is on the same network as the share hosting the data, the RDS server will not retain a local cached copy (saving space).
If you are considering implementing and turning on Folder Redirection, I would recommend doing so before deploying an RDS Server (especially before a user logs in for the first time).
Anti-virus and Endpoint Protection
Careful consideration must be made when choosing the antivirus and endpoint protection software for your RDS environment.
First, you must make sure that your antivirus and/or endpoint protection vendor supports Remote Desktop Services, and then also deploy their recommended settings for that type of environment.
A proper endpoint protection solution should run few processes for all users, and not individual processes for each user.
Service Delivery
For continued service delivery, your IT staff must monitor and maintain the server. This includes monitoring logs, updating it via Windows Update, and updating the various applications your users are using.
As the environment grows, you can deploy additional RDS Servers and create an RDS Farm. If you get to this point you’ll be able to deploy a load balancer and grow as more performance is required, or additional users are brought online.
Software Installation
When installing software on your Remote Desktop Services Server, extra steps must be taken so that the registry is properly handled for the multi-user environment.
Before launching a software installer, open a command prompt (elevated as Administrator) and run the following command:
change user /install
This will change your user session to an install mode. You can now run your software installation.
After the software installation is complete, put the RDS Server back in to execution mode with the following command:
change user /execute
Performing the above will make sure that the registry is properly handled during software installation for proper functioning of software in a multi-user RDS environment. Restarting the server will always automatically bring it back up in execute mode.
Conclusion
Deploying a Remote Desktop Services server is a great way to get a large number of users online and working remotely in a short amount of time. This keeps management happy, employees happy, and maintains a productive workforce.
As I mentioned, there are numerous other technologies so depending on what your company has already implemented or is using, may change what solution would be best for you.
If you have any questions or require help or assistance with deploying Remote Desktop Services for your organization, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!
Leave a comment with some feedback!
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