Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Your question
Solved

Remote Network Setup - Please Help

Tags:
  • Business Computing
  • Servers
Last response: in Business Computing
Share
April 30, 2014 12:05:36 PM

Hello Guys,

Just wondering if someone might be able to shed some light on something that I am trying to accomplish.

I have an office where I work and they asked if I knew how to get this done.

What we need is some sort of server based ability to connect from any computer via a website (similar to Remote Desktop) to a server where there will only be 4-5 applications that we use.

Similar to a teamviewer / remotedesktop type environment but for these applications to be installed on a server and for us to be able to connect. It needs to have the ability to have about 20-30 people logged in at the same time accessing these applications. Each of the users logging in, will use their own ID and Password that we can create. But not sure how all of this would work. I know Remote Desktop uses windows logins, so we can do that if need be, but if anyone can shed some light on ideas, that would be great.

Thanks in advance guys

More about : remote network setup

April 30, 2014 12:15:58 PM

Something like a Citrix farm would work for that (log into a web portal and launch an application, it runs on the server and displays on the remote computer), but the cost may be to high for you to do that.
m
0
l
April 30, 2014 12:25:50 PM

Clarify some details - are the applications web-based or stand-alone programs? If a stand-alone program, does it support multi-user simultaneous access, or does it run as a client (as in server/client apps) in a tiered approach?
m
0
l
Related resources
April 30, 2014 12:41:03 PM

Well the applications are standalone desktop applications.
We currently do this with Remote Dekstop, but I know there is a limited amount of users that can log in at a time, so therefore we would need a different approach and an easier one as well.
m
0
l
April 30, 2014 1:04:21 PM

What about making it a terminal server?
m
0
l
April 30, 2014 1:17:30 PM

elite-fusion said:
Well the applications are standalone desktop applications.
We currently do this with Remote Dekstop, but I know there is a limited amount of users that can log in at a time, so therefore we would need a different approach and an easier one as well.


Sometimes it's best to go with what you're familiar with using. You can set up Windows Server as a Remote Desktop Session Host. You will need to purchase Remote Desktop Services client access licenses (RDS CALs) as well, so see Technet for licensing details. Then you will install the programs on the Remote Desktop Session host. Make sure that these programs that you need everyone to access allow this type of connection (a "Terminal Server" type of connection) under its licensing agreement.
m
0
l
May 1, 2014 8:54:19 AM

I am not much of a networking guy, so not quite sure on all of this. We do have a synology NAS for small business with 32tb. I know that it is VMWare Ready, Citrix Ready, and HyperV Ready.

So not sure what I would need now...
m
0
l
May 1, 2014 9:18:34 AM

elite-fusion said:
I am not much of a networking guy, so not quite sure on all of this. We do have a synology NAS for small business with 32tb. I know that it is VMWare Ready, Citrix Ready, and HyperV Ready.

So not sure what I would need now...


Your Synology NAS is only "Ready" in the sense that it can act as storage for those virtualization solutions. It doesn't address your virtual Desktop needs.

Citrix, VMware, and Microsoft can all provide a VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) solution. You can roll your own with Windows Server, if you wish, or you can pursue each vendor's specific VDI solution by talking with each one.

I would definitely advise that you first try to see if your apps work in a Remote Desktop Session. You can test by setting up a server as a Remote Desktop Session Host, and then adding your programs to it. Then simply connect to it through Remote Desktop Connection, and see if the programs work. If so, do the same thing but with 2-3 people accessing it simultaneously. From there, you should be able to determine if you are a candidate for virtual desktops.

Edit: I would also add that you bring in a local IT company if you're still not comfortable with the above test setup. They could test the small setup before recommending further steps. Also, regular remote access to machines is indeed limited to 1 or 2 connections; however, a Remote Desktop Session Host (AKA terminal server) can support many connections, as many as the server's hardware & network connection can handle.
m
0
l
May 1, 2014 9:58:24 AM

Well that is the way we have it now, but there is a per-user licenses if we need more than 2 people to access it simultaneously, at least thats the way it is set up now.
m
0
l
May 1, 2014 10:03:32 AM

elite-fusion said:
Well that is the way we have it now, but there is a per-user licenses if we need more than 2 people to access it simultaneously, at least thats the way it is set up now.


Correct - those are the CALs (Client Access License) mentioned previously.

Were you looking for a free solution instead?
m
0
l
May 1, 2014 10:08:00 AM

Similar solution as that, but yes, free would be my main reason for looking for a solution.
m
0
l
May 1, 2014 11:06:43 AM

elite-fusion said:
Similar solution as that, but yes, free would be my main reason for looking for a solution.


Well, if this is a business, then surely ~$1100 in CALs isn't a great cost to bear. You would also need to factor in the server specs - likely it would need more memory, perhaps more/faster storage, and possibly even a faster processor to support up to 30 clients simultaneously. That might even necessitate a new server.

I'm really not sure there is a free solution to do the above, especially if you want the solution to be supported as well (instead of, say, a forum on the Internet).
m
0
l
May 1, 2014 11:40:42 AM

Well we are looking to buy a new server either way, so a one time expense is not that bad vs a yearly payment for CALs, so lets say I have a server already, what free solution would there be for this scenario?

m
0
l
May 1, 2014 12:08:37 PM

elite-fusion said:
Well we are looking to buy a new server either way, so a one time expense is not that bad vs a yearly payment for CALs, so lets say I have a server already, what free solution would there be for this scenario?



I don't think there really is a free solution to do this.
m
0
l
May 1, 2014 8:24:57 PM

I don't know really of any free solution to setting up a terminal server. There will be costs involved with licensing and hardware to accomplish this. Running an application for up to thirty simultaneous users is going to require a pretty decent performance server, and I know many places would instead recommend you looking at setting up the proper infrastructure to facilitate and support this sort of workload, which means probably two or three physical host servers plus shared storage. All this means lots of cost.

That I know of, remote desktop session host user CALs are not annual fees. They can be purchased as a one-time cost the same as any user/device CALs for a server. Perhaps that is just with a Technet subscription that they are annual fees, I don't know for sure there.
m
0
l

Best solution

May 2, 2014 6:28:44 AM

choucove said:
I don't know really of any free solution to setting up a terminal server. There will be costs involved with licensing and hardware to accomplish this. Running an application for up to thirty simultaneous users is going to require a pretty decent performance server, and I know many places would instead recommend you looking at setting up the proper infrastructure to facilitate and support this sort of workload, which means probably two or three physical host servers plus shared storage. All this means lots of cost.

That I know of, remote desktop session host user CALs are not annual fees. They can be purchased as a one-time cost the same as any user/device CALs for a server. Perhaps that is just with a Technet subscription that they are annual fees, I don't know for sure there.


Correct - you can purchase the CALs for a single up-front charge. However, if you make them part of a Volume Licensing agreement or you add SA (Software Assurance) to them, then you would have an ongoing cost as part of a 2 or 3-year licensing agreement. If you opt for that ongoing cost, usually it's because you want the benefit of being able to upgrade those licenses to the level of the next version of Windows Server Remote Desktop Session Host at no cost. But if you just want to increase the amount of concurrent users on a Remote host, then purchasing just the desired amount of CALs can be the way to go.
Share
!