Setting up Remote Desktop Licensing in Windows Server 2022
Posted on 17th June 2023
Overview
In this article, we will go over how to set up Remote Desktop Licensing in Windows Server 2022. This will allow you to connect to Windows Server 2022 machines using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).
Prerequisites
Before you begin, you will need the following:
- A Windows Server 2022 machine that is configured for remote desktop access.
- A valid license for the Windows Server 2022 machine.
Instructions
-
Log into the Windows Server 2022 machine that you want to configure for Remote Desktop Licensing.
-
Open the Server Manager application.
Start > Administrative Tools > Server Manager -
In the left-hand pane of the Server Manager window, expand the Roles section.
-
Click on the Remote Desktop Services role.
-
In the Remote Desktop Services section of the main pane, click on the Overview link.
-
Click on the Edit Deployment Properties link.
-
In the Deployment Properties window, select the Licensing tab.
-
In the Licensing tab, select the Per User radio button.
-
Click on the Apply button.
-
Click on the OK button.
Conclusion
In this article, we showed you how to set up Remote Desktop Licensing in Windows Server 2022. This will allow you to connect to Windows Server 2022 machines using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).
Remote Desktop Licensing (RD Licensing), formerly Terminal Services Licensing (TS Licensing), manages the Remote Desktop Services client access licenses (RDS CALs) used by users and devices to access a Remote Desktop Session Host (RD Session Host) server. RD Licensing is installed with the Remote Desktop Session Host role service.
When an RD Session Host server is connected to a corporate network, an RD Licensing server is usually also installed to issue and manage RDS CALs. When an RD Session Host server is instead connected to the Internet, the RD Session Host server can instead connect to Microsoft’s Cloud Services Provider Licensing (CSPL) to obtain RDS CALs.
Microsoft offers two types of RDS CALs:
· User CALs, which are assigned to users, allow a user to access an RD Session Host server from any device.
· Device CALs, which are assigned to devices, allow an unlimited number of users to access an RD Session Host server from a specific device.
You can use the following steps to install the RD Licensing role service on Windows Server 2022:
1. Log into the server with an account that has administrator privileges.
2. Open the Server Manager dashboard.
3. Click on “Manage” and then select “Add Roles and Features”.
4. Select “Role-based or feature-based installation” and click “Next”.
5. Select the server you want to install RD Licensing on and click “Next”.
6. Select the “Remote Desktop Services installation” option and click “Next”.
7. Select the “Roles-based or feature-based installation” option again and click “Next”.
8. Select the “Remote Desktop Licensing” role service and click “Next”.
9. Review the information on the Confirm installation selections page and click “Install”.
10. Once the installation is complete, click “Close”.
You can now use the Server Manager dashboard to configure your RD Licensing server. For more information, see the Configuring Your RD Licensing Server documentation.
Setting up Remote Desktop Licensing in Windows Server 2022
To set up your server for RDP licensing, you’ll need to first install the Remote Desktop Licensing role. You can do this through the Server Manager GUI, or by using PowerShell.
Once the role is installed, you’ll need to open the Remote Desktop Licensing Manager. This can be found in the Administrative Tools menu.
In the Remote Desktop Licensing Manager, right-click on your server and select Activate Server.
Enter your company information and click Next.
On the next page, you’ll need to select your license program. For most people, the default program will suffice.
Click Next and then Finish to complete the activation process.
Now that your server is activated, you’ll need to add users who will be allowed to connect to it. To do this, open the Remote Desktop Users group from the Server Manager.
Click Add and then enter the names or email addresses of the users you want to add.
Click OK and then Close to finish.
Now that your users are added, they’ll be able to connect to your server using RDP.
Assuming you have already set up your Remote Desktop Licensing server and activated your license server, the next step is to install the Remote Desktop Licensing role service on the license server. To do this, open the Server Manager console and select the “Add Roles and Features” option.
On the “Before you begin” page, click Next.
On the “Select installation type” page, select the “Role-based or feature-based installation” option and click Next.
On the “Select destination server” page, select the server on which you want to install the Remote Desktop Licensing role service and click Next.
On the “Select server roles” page, select the “Remote Desktop Licensing” role service and click Next.
On the “Confirm installation selections” page, click Install.
Once the installation is complete, you will need to configure the Remote Desktop Licensing server. To do this, open the Remote Desktop Licensing Manager console and right-click the name of the server.
From the menu that appears, select the “Activate Server” option.
On the “Welcome to the Activate Server Wizard” page, click Next.
On the “Connection Method” page, select the “I am connecting directly to the Internet” option and click Next.
On the “Specify the Product Key” page, enter the product key for your Remote Desktop Licensing server and click Next.
On the “Confirm Product Key” page, review the product key and click Next.
On the “Phone Activation Options” page, select the “Automatically activate this server online now” option and click Next.
On the “Completing the Activate Server Wizard” page, click Finish.
Your Remote Desktop Licensing server is now configured and activated.
