RD Gateway and RemoteApp Error: Remote Desktop can't connect to the remote computer "RDS.Domain.Local" for one of these reasons:

We just finished setting up a Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard RDS server and began testing the RD Gateway, RDWeb, and RemoteApp features and hit this:

RemoteApp Disconnected

Remote Desktop can't connect to the remote computer "RDS.Domain.Local" for one of these reasons:

1) Your user account is not authorized to access the RD Gateway "remote.domain.ca"

2) Your computer is not authorized to access the RD Gateway "remote.domain.ca"

3) You are using an incompatible authentication method (for example, the RD Gateway might be expecting a smart card but you provided a password)

Contact your network administrator for assistance.

The third reason is out while the first two are not applicable since our access policies are set up correctly.

Our search brought us to:

• Network Blog: Remote Desktop Gateway client fails authentication with “Your user account is not authorized to access the RD Gateway”

Following Solution 1 we puzzled about trying to figure out where the NPS thing was!

Click on NAP in Server Manager and then right click on the server name. Choose Network Policy Server in the menu.

Once the NPS console comes up right click on the root node NPS (Local) and click Register server in Active Directory.

Click OK twice and then test again.

Good to go!

Philip Elder
Microsoft MVP
MPECS Inc.
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Chef de partie in the SMBKitchen
Find out more at
Third Tier: Enterprise Solutions for Small Business

SSL Certificates: CSR Decoder to Verify Settings

When it comes to creating a certificate request sometimes we can miss a character or typo something.

If the processing takes longer than expected and the certificate provider does not provide much more than a "Processing" status it may be a good idea to verify the settings in the CSR file.

The CSR Decoder site can do that:

• CSR Decoder – Check CSR to verify its contents

We hit a snag with a CSR that was taking too long and sure enough there was a typo in the common name that caused it to hang up.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Chef de partie in the SMBKitchen
Find out more at
www.thirdtier.net/enterprise-solutions-for-small-business/

Windows Live Writer

Remote Desktop Services Error: One or more RD Licensing certificates has expired. Please re-register.

We have an Remote Desktop Services server that did the following when users tried to log in:

Since this particular system was headless we tried the /admin switch on an MSTSC command line start and fortunately we got into the server. A regular RDP file launch or MSTSC GUI client connection would fail with the above.

From the server’s Event Logs:

Log Name:      System
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-Licensing
Date:          12/21/2012 6:16:51 PM
Event ID:      46
Task Category: None
Level:         Warning
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      RDSServer.DOMAIN.LOCAL
Description:
One or more RD Licensing certificates has expired. Please re-register.

And:

Log Name:      System
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-Licensing
Date:          12/21/2012 5:50:42 PM
Event ID:      4105
Task Category: None
Level:         Warning
Keywords:      Classic
User:          N/A
Computer:      RDSServer.DOMAIN.LOCAL
Description:
The Remote Desktop license server cannot update the license attributes for user "FirstLast" in the Active Directory Domain "DOMAIN.LOCAL". Ensure that the computer account for the license server is a member of Terminal Server License Servers group in Active Directory domain "DOMAIN.LOCAL".
If the license server is installed on a domain controller, the Network Service account also needs to be a member of the Terminal Server License Servers group.
If the license server is installed on a domain controller, after you have added the appropriate accounts to the Terminal Server License Servers group, you must restart the Remote Desktop Licensing service to track or report the usage of RDS Per User CALs.
Win32 error code: 0x80070005

According to our search results we need to do the following:

1. Log onto the RD Licensing Server.
2. Start the RD Licensing Manager (LicMgr.exe).
3. Right click on the ServerName and Advanced –> ReActivate Server.
4. Make the following choices:
• 
5. Click Next
• 
6. We then had a successfully re-activated server.
• 

RemoteApps and RDS Desktop sessions were then available!

• QuickBooks via RemoteApp.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

SBS and RDS – Big Picture How To Set Up RDS On An SBS Network

Original posted to the SBS2K Yahoo Group. This list has been tweaked and updated a bit. :)

A quick overview of how to set up Remote Desktop Services and RD RemoteApps on an SBS network:

1. Win2K8 R2 SP1 OS install
2. Server drivers
3. Updates
1. Windows Server Updates (we group 6-10 at a time).
2. Windows Server Security Updates (again 6-10 at a time).
3. Others.
4. Manufacturer’s Server Management.
• Configure management settings.
5. Enable the RDS Role (RDS + Licensing).
• Leave mode for later.
6. Install Office 2010 with SP1 integrated.
7. RemoteApp deploy needed apps including Office, QB 2011, etc.
8. Create RDP Files in RemoteApp Manager
• We create an internal RDP file set to deploy to local user’s desktops.
• We also create an external RDP file set that includes RD Gateway setting.
• We customize each file name once created.
9. Create folder under SBS RWW/RWA called RDPs.
• C:\Program Files\Windows Small Business Server\Bin\WebApp\RemoteAccess\RDPs
10. Copy RDG enabled RDP files into this folder.
• Must be done from Windows Explorer on SBS.
11. Make MIME changes for .RDP (Charlie's SBS 08 book has this)
12. Edit RWW/RWA Links in SBS Console
• Example RWW/RWA URL: https://remote.domain.com/remote/rdps/winword.rdp
• Description: RemoteApp – Word

When users connect to RDS or RemoteApp they will get a certificate warning. Coach them to tick the "Don't bug me again" box near the bottom left of the window.

Done.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer