Friday, October 26, 2012

Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 on Windows 7 SP1

Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 are shipping with support for RDP 8.0 out of the box, and now Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 just got an update for it.

Remote Desktop Services Blog
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2012/10/23/rdp-8-0-update-for-windows-7-sp1-released-to-web.aspx

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Update 13 Nov 2013 - also see:

Remote Desktop Protocol 8.1 Update for Windows 7 SP1 released to web
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Just followed the instructions to enable RDP 8.0 on a remote Windows 7 SP1 machine.

1. Install hotfix 2574819 and restart

An update is available that adds support for DTLS in Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2574819

If you are unable to download the hotfix due to Windows Genuine Advantage complaining with:
This version of the Windows Genuine Advantage validation tool is no longer supported. Please download the newest version and ensure that your system clock is accurate
see this Microsoft Forums thread for a solution – opening this address in Internet Explorer will install a newer Genuine Advantage ActiveX instead of the downloadable exe that fails with above message.

2. Install update 2592687 and restart

Description of the Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2592687

The KB goes in detail through features and known issues, as well as the steps on how to enable RDP 8.0 on a Windows 7 SP1 machine.

3. Enable RDP 8.0 on the remote computer (Windows 7 SP1)

Open Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) and
a) Enable Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Remote Session Environment > Enable Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 = Enabled

b) Enable UDP transport (optional) 
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Connections > Select RDP transport protocols = Enabled, Use Both UDP and TCP 

Connecting from an updated Windows 7 SP1 machine (or a Windows 8), you will notice the change in the remote desktop client title bar (in full screen).


Before, with RDP 7.1 I noticed when moving up and down over the Start menu the highlighting was lagging behind (every few items), where now with RDP 8.0 it is much faster - probably due to improvements in the protocol as well as I assume the use of UDP packets.

6 comments :

  1. I am trying to enable RDP 8.0 on my server 2008 r2 sp1 installation, but I can not find any of these settings. Has something changed? I have both updates installed.

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  2. @Walt
    Just tried it on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Standard, and I think you might be right. On the server edition, it seems the update just gives RDP 8.0 for the client, rather than the server side.

    The instructions here only talk about Windows 7:
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2592687

    and this blog post clarifies even further:
    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

    "Are the RemoteFX and RDP 8.0 enhancements available for Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Session Host? No, the RemoteFX and RDP 8.0 enhancements are not available for Windows Server 2008 R2 Session Host. However, a Windows Server 2008 R2 computer acting as a client access device will still get the Remote Desktop Connection 8.0 client and thereby get the benefits listed in the ‘client access devices’ section earlier."

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  3. It is worth mentioning I think:

    If you install the updates in the wrong order, you will not have RDP 8.0.

    In my case, KB2592687 was installed but KB2574819 was not. I installed KB2574819 rebooted when promted, but RDP 8.0 was not in use.

    I uninstalled KB2592687, was NOT prompted to reboot, then reinstalled KB2592687 and WAS prompted to reboot as i would have expected.

    On next startup, RDP 8.0 working fine and all settings in local GP were present.

    This article was essential in identifying the pre-req KB2574819 however, no mention of that on the MS page! Typical half a job Microsoft......

    Thanks DanDar3!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Mikhail,

    In fairness, it's noted on the blog entry as well as in the pre-requisite section of the KB, but I agree, it's quite easy to miss and install in the wrong order and will take you some head scratching to fix it.

    ReplyDelete