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Remote Desktop

Aim How to connect to a Remote Desktop

Prerequisites

If you want to access a specific desktop computer or server at Nikhef be aware of the following:

  • You must use the remote desktop gateway if you are outside of Nikhef.
  • You must be added to the group: Remote Desktop Users on the computer you wish to connect to, an administrator can turn this on for you, contact the Nikhef Helpdesk about this.
  • The computer you wish to connect to must be turned on.
  • The first time you connect remotely to a computer from a remote location you may be prompted to accept a certificate.

The Nikhef desktop.ad terminal servers are always turned on, available for all users and you should not be prompted for a certificate.

Instructions

We offer several ways to connect remotely to windows computers at Nikhef. This page gives information on how to set this up.

Terminal Servers

Nikhef has Windows Terminal Servers available for users who need access to Windows software. These servers are installed with Windows Server 2019 which gives the user the same experience as Windows 10. We have installed a number of commonly used software on these servers including Office 2019 and Adobe software. These servers use a different system for profiles so your settings may not all be transferred between these servers and a Nikhef Windows desktop machine.

Configure your Remote Desktop Client

To connect to a specific Windows desktop or server from outside Nikhef please use EduVPN in combination with a Remote Desktop application. Follow the specific instructions for your operating system

Installation

Remote Desktop Share USB Devices via RemoteFX

If you need to use special USB hardware like a 3D mouse, you can enable RemoteFX by following the following steps.

  1. Plugin USB device
  2. Install drivers needed by USB device
  3. Open the start menu and search for "group policy editor"
  4. Open the "group policy editor"
  5. Open Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Remote Desktop Services -> Remote Desktop Connection Client -> RemoteFX USB Device Redirection
  6. Edit Allow RDP redirection of other supported RemoteFX
  7. Click on "Allow RDP redirection of other supported RemoteFX USB devices from this computer"
  8. Select "Enabled"
  9. Select for RemoteFX USB Redirection Access Rights: "Administrator and Users"
  10. Open start menu and type cmd
  11. Select Run as administrator
  12. In the command prompt type "GPUpdate /Force"
  13. Restart Computer
  14. Open Remote Desktop
  15. Click Show Options
  16. Open Tab Local Resources
  17. Select More at Local devices and resources
  18. You can now select the device you need to use via RDP
  19. For some devices some extra steps are needed like start/stop drivers