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SCHOOL PROJECT

Remote Desktop Services (RDS)

A Windows Server lab that gives students a managed desktop and apps from their own laptops, while keeping every personal computer separate from the school system. Working as a two-person team, we configured, documented, and demonstrated the service from sign-in to web access.

LAB 08 - WINDOWS SERVER SERVICES

Last updated: 26/06/2026

Plain-English view, built for everyone Full technical detail
1
Windows Server running every role
4
roles on one server: AD DS, DNS, Session Host and Web Access
2
ways to connect (Remote Desktop + web)
BYOD
personal PCs, never domain-joined

How a session reaches the user

One server, four roles
What comes in
Student PCs Windows 11 · RDP / HTTPS personal machines on the lab network, signing in with a domain account
One server: RDS-SRV01 · lab8.local
AD DSdomain controller, holds the RDS_Students access group
DNS Serverresolves the lab8.local names
RD Session Hostruns the shared desktop and the published apps
RD Web Accessbrowser portal over a self-signed certificate
What goes out
Desktop session mstsc.exe the full managed Windows desktop
RemoteApps .rdp a single published app in its own window

All four roles are installed on that one machine, not on separate servers. Only members of the RDS_Students security group get a session. RD Web Access is published over a self-signed certificate, and clients resolve the server name through a local hosts-file entry - no client ever joins the domain.

What it actually does

One Windows desktop for everyone

Students open the same managed Windows desktop and apps from their own laptops - nothing to install.

Sign in with your school account

Your domain username and password decide what you can open. No setup is needed on each PC.

Launch it from a browser

A web page (RD Web Access) lets you start the full desktop or a single app with one click.

Your PC stays untouched

Personal computers never join the school domain - everything runs on the server over the local network.

Overview

We built and documented a centralized Remote Desktop Services environment where students sign in to a shared Windows desktop and applications securely from their own devices using domain credentials, without joining the domain.

What Runs On The Server

A single Windows Server 2022 box (RDS-SRV01, domain lab8.local) carries every role: the directory, DNS, the session host, and the web access portal.

Active Directory Domain Services

AD DSlab8.localRDS_StudentsDomain accounts
  • Domain controller for lab8.local: holds the user accounts and the RDS_Students security group that decides who is allowed a remote session.

DNS & Name Resolution

DNS ServerA recordshosts file
  • DNS runs on the same server to resolve the domain. External client PCs reach the host through a hosts-file entry that maps the server name to its LAN IP.

Remote Desktop Services

Session-basedQuick StartRD Session HostConnection Broker
  • Single-server session-based deployment (Quick Start): the RD Session Host serves a shared Windows desktop and published RemoteApps, brokered on the same box.

RD Web Access

RD Web AccessIISself-signed TLS.rdp
  • Browser portal over HTTPS: students sign in and launch .rdp files for a full desktop or individual apps. Served with a self-signed certificate for the lab network.

Clients & Networking

Windows 11bridged LANmstscBYOD
  • Physical Windows 11 PCs on a bridged LAN connect with mstsc using domain credentials - without ever joining the domain.

What I Practiced

Active Directory & groups

Standing up a domain, creating users, and gating access with a security group.

Centralized desktop delivery

Configuring session-based RDS so one server serves desktops and apps to many clients.

Access & certificates

Group-based authorization, a self-signed TLS certificate, and client-side name resolution.

Deliverables & Assets

Scenario description, step-by-step documentation, presentation, and live demonstration.

Documentation

View the full RDS implementation documentation we co-wrote for the lab delivery.

Download Documentation (PDF)

Presentation

View the slides we created together and presented during the graded demonstration.

Download Presentation (PDF)