Overview of Remote Desktop Web Access (RD Web Access)
Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2
Remote Desktop Web Access (RD Web Access), formerly Terminal Services Web Access (TS Web Access), enables users to access RemoteApp and Desktop Connection through the Start menu on a computer that is running Windows 7 or through a Web browser. RemoteApp and Desktop Connection provides a customized view of RemoteApp programs and virtual desktops to users.
Additionally, RD Web Access includes Remote Desktop Web Connection, which enables users to connect remotely from a Web browser to the desktop of any computer where they have Remote Desktop access.
When a user starts a RemoteApp program, a Remote Desktop Services session is started on the Remote Desktop Session Host (RD Session Host) server that hosts the RemoteApp program. If a user connects to a virtual desktop, a remote desktop connection is made to a virtual machine that is running on a Remote Desktop Virtualization Host (RD Virtualization Host) server.
To provide users access to RemoteApp and Desktop Connection, you must configure RD Web Access to specify the source that provides the RemoteApp programs and virtual desktops that are displayed to users. You can configure RD Web Access to use either of the following:
Remote Desktop Connection Broker (RD Connection Broker) server
RemoteApp source
An RD Connection Broker server provides users access to virtual desktops hosted on RD Virtualization Host servers and to RemoteApp programs hosted on RD Session Host servers. To configure the RD Connection Broker server, use the Remote Desktop Connection Manager tool. For more information, see the Remote Desktop Connection Manager Help in Windows Server 2008 R2. For more information about RemoteApp and Desktop Connection, see the Remote Desktop Services page on the Windows Server 2008 R2 TechCenter (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=143108).
A RemoteApp source is an individual RD Session Host server or a farm of identically configured RD Session Host servers on which RemoteApp programs have been configured. You can specify multiple RemoteApp sources. To configure RemoteApp programs on an RD Session Host server, use RemoteApp Manager. For more information, see RemoteApp Manager.
Deploying RD Web Access
You must install the RD Web Access role service on the server that you want users to connect to over the Web to access RemoteApp programs. When you install RD Web Access, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) is also installed as a required component.
After you install RD Web Access, you must specify whether to use an RD Connection Broker server or a RemoteApp source as the source that provides the RemoteApp programs and virtual desktops that are displayed to users through RemoteApp and Desktop Connection. For more information, see Configure the RD Web Access Server for RemoteApp and Desktop Connection.
If you want users to access the Web page from the Internet, you can use RD Gateway to help secure remote connections. For more information, see Checklist: Make RemoteApp Programs Available from the Internet.
For more information about RD Web Access, see the Remote Desktop Services page on the Windows Server 2008 R2 TechCenter (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=140437).