This page covers connecting to a EECS Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Windows 10 remote desktops.
If you are off campus, you will first need to connect to the UTK VPN before you can connect to your desktop. OIT has a a software download and instructions for setting up the VPN on their website.
On Microsoft Windows systems, VID connections use the built-in Remote Desktop Connection program. Unlike a typical Remote Desktop Connection, you do not open the Remote Desktop Connection app prior to connecting to our VDI.
On MacOS, download the Microsoft Remote Desktop app from the Apple App Store before attempting to connect to the VDI.
NOTE: You must be connected to the UTK VPN if you are off-campus.
You can re-use the downloaded RDP file for future connections to the VDI.
Connections to the EECS Virtual Desktop Infrastructure use the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). A number of RDP implementations exist for Linux. These instructions use FreeRDP which is available on all EECS IT-supported Linux desktops and virtual lab systems. It should also be available for easy install on most common Linux distributions. Check your Linux package manager for more information.
cpub-EECS_VDI_Lab-EECS_VDI_Lab-CmsTempVm.rdp
. Please note that this may be in a “Downloads” directory.xfreerdp
command to connect to the VDI using the downloaded file as the first argument. For ease of connectivity, we recommend adding two command-line options. /log-level:ERROR
or /log-level:OFF
(for minimum feedback)/u:UTK\\netid
(where netid is your UTK NetID. Note the double backslash.)jruser:com1824 ~> xfreerdp Downloads/cpub-EECS_VDI_Lab-EECS_VDI_Lab-CmsTempVm.rdp /log-level:OFF /u:UTK\\jruser Password: Certificate details for 10.46.57.231:3389 (RDP-Redirect): Common Name: VDILAB-1.utk.tennessee.edu Subject: CN = VDILAB-1.utk.tennessee.edu Issuer: CN = VDILAB-1.utk.tennessee.edu Thumbprint: b7:ef:90:5d:70:85:cf:3e:a6:e4:a2:19:21:68:f8:00:36:82:b0:a2:b4:0e:4f:47:13:39:f7:64:f8:9c:9e:40 The above X.509 certificate could not be verified, possibly because you do not have the CA certificate in your certificate store, or the certificate has expired. Please look at the OpenSSL documentation on how to add a private CA to the store. Do you trust the above certificate? (Y/T/N) Y
The RDP connection file contains a number of options, some of which you may want to change (e.g. turning off multi-monitor support). Check the Microsoft documentation on RDP files for more information on the various settings.
FreeRDP has many command-line options to customize your session. Read the manual page or online documentation for all available settings. Some useful options you may want to add:
/size:WIDTHxHEIGHT
or /size:percent%
– Set the screen size for the remote desktop window, for example /szie:75%
. Please note that the remote desktop window may still start in full-screen mode. Hit CTRL-ALT-ENTER to go to a windowed mode./dynamic-resolution
– This option will allow you to resize the RDP window and have the remote system update its resolution accordingly. (May cause video distortions on older systems)/drive:name,/path
– Redirects a local path on your Linux system as a drive on the remote server. Set name
to the name of the drive and /path
to the Linux path. Examples:/drive:scratch,/local_scratch
– redirect the local scratch directory on an EECS Linux desktop to the VDI. File storage is only permitted within your profile (e.g., My Documents, Desktop, etc…), and OneDrive. These VDI connections will revert to a prior state; therefore, anything that was stored elsewhere will be lost. Please note that locally stored data is not backed-up, so be sure to make your own backups. You can connect to Microsoft OneDrive from within the VDI desktops.
Unfortunately, the Microsoft Remote Desktop client for MacOS has a number of bugs. If you receive an error like the one below when connecting to the VDI, there are several troubleshooting steps you can take.
Try deleting the temporary/cache folder created by the Microsoft Remote Desktop application. The folder's system path is: ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.rdc
.
Microsoft publishes a beta version of their Remote Desktop application that often features bug fixes long before they make it into the mainstream version.