I'm trying to transition from Citrix to Remote Desktop Gateway with HTML5 for a small group of power users who need to connect to their physical in-office PCs. Previously, we relied on Citrix for remote access, but with costs rising and limitations on licenses, we're looking for alternatives. I've been exploring RDGateway, and while it seems to work for terminal server sessions, I'm having trouble finding clear guidance on connecting directly to physical desktops. I've seen mentions of options like 'Connect to a Remote PC', but am uncertain if that's applicable. Is my only choice to set up an additional passthrough using mstsc as a RemoteApp, or is there a simpler solution? Should I consider paid remote access tools or maybe something like Apache Guacamole? Moving users to laptops with VPN is an option, but it could complicate things for these specific users. I'd love to hear thoughts on this!
7 Answers
If these users are power users, look into Parsec with multi-factor authentication. It might provide the performance and security you need for your specific use cases.
Consider checking out Apache Guacamole. It has some nice capabilities, plus there's a plugin for securing it. It could be a great fit for your requirements!
A workaround could be creating a collection with a computer in it without assigning apps. This way, users can have direct RDP access to their designated desktops. Alternatively, you can tweak the RD Gateway settings in the mstsc client for internal access, but you may need to train users on how to do that.
Honestly, for just 12 users, the infrastructure might not be worth the hassle. It could be easier to get laptops and set up VPN access instead. Simplifying things might save you some headaches in the long run!
Have you thought about using Cloudflare Tunnels? It’s free for up to 50 users and could provide a solid solution for your remote access needs.
You can definitely set up mstsc on the remote machine, just go to the advanced tab and find the option for connecting from anywhere. That should help you streamline things a bit!
Just a heads-up—the HTML5 client doesn't support the 'Connect to PC' feature, so you're stuck with the extra hop from the session host to the PC if you go that route. Using RDweb to download RDP files might be your best bet for direct connections.
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