Overview of Remote Desktop Connection Broker (RD Connection Broker)

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

Remote Desktop Connection Broker (RD Connection Broker), formerly Terminal Services Session Broker (TS Session Broker), is a role service that provides the following functionality:

  • Allows users to reconnect to their existing sessions in a load-balanced RD Session Host server farm. This prevents a user with a disconnected session from being connected to a different RD Session Host server in the farm and starting a new session.

  • Enables you to evenly distribute the session load among RD Session Host servers in a load-balanced RD Session Host server farm.

  • Provides users access to virtual desktops hosted on RD Virtualization Host servers and to RemoteApp programs hosted on RD Session Host servers through RemoteApp and Desktop Connection.

RD Connection Broker keeps track of user sessions in a load-balanced RD Session Host server farm. The RD Connection Broker database stores session information, including the name of the RD Session Host server where each session resides, the session state for each session, the session ID for each session, and the user name associated with each session. RD Connection Broker uses this information to redirect a user who has an existing session to the RD Session Host server where the user’s session resides.

If a user disconnects from a session (whether intentionally or because of a network failure), the applications that the user is running will continue to run. When the user reconnects, RD Connection Broker is queried to determine whether the user has an existing session, and if so, on which RD Session Host server in the farm. If there is an existing session, RD Connection Broker redirects the client to the RD Session Host server where the session exists.

With RD Connection Broker Load Balancing, when a user without an existing session connects to an RD Session Host server in the load-balanced RD Session Host server farm, the user will be redirected to the RD Session Host server with the fewest sessions. If a user with an existing session reconnects, the user is redirected to the RD Session Host server where the user’s existing session resides. To distribute the session load between more powerful and less powerful servers in the farm, you can assign a relative server weight value to a server.

RD Connection Broker is also used to provide users with access to RemoteApp and Desktop Connection. RemoteApp and Desktop Connection provides a customized view of RemoteApp programs and virtual desktops to users. RD Connection Broker supports load balancing and reconnection to existing sessions on virtual desktops accessed by using RemoteApp and Desktop Connection. To configure the RD Connection Broker server to support RemoteApp and Desktop Connection, use the Remote Desktop Connection Manager tool. For more information, see the Remote Desktop Connection Manager Help in Windows Server 2008 R2.

RD Connection Broker components

There are two RD Connection Broker components to consider in a load-balanced RD Session Host server farm.

  • RD Connection Broker server. This is the server that runs the Remote Desktop Connection Broker service and tracks user sessions for one or more load-balanced RD Session Host server farms. RD Connection Broker uses a farm name to determine which servers are in the same RD Session Host server farm.

  • RD Session Host servers that use RD Connection Broker. These are RD Session Host servers that are members of a farm in RD Connection Broker. To participate in RD Connection Broker, a server must meet the following criteria:

    • The server must have the RD Session Host role service installed.

    • The server must be a member of an Active Directory domain.

    • The server must be a member of the Session Broker Computers local group on the RD Connection Broker server.

    • The server must be a member of a load-balanced RD Session Host server farm.

      If you are using the RD Connection Broker Load Balancing feature, you can configure load-balancing settings together with other RD Connection Broker settings. For more information, see Checklist: Create a Load-Balanced RD Session Host Server Farm by Using RD Connection Broker.

Important

To be a member of a farm that uses RD Connection Broker in Windows Server 2008 R2, an RD Session Host server must be running either Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2008.

For more information about RD Connection Broker, see the Remote Desktop Services page on the Windows Server 2008 R2 TechCenter (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=140432).

Additional references