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Tom-irp's avatar
Tom-irp
Brass Contributor
Apr 11, 2024

Entra ID only accounts with Entra Domain Services, and RDS - what CAL?

I need a Server 2022 computer set up with RDS - a small system, can do all on one computer methinks.  There is no Active Directory, only Entra ID (Azure AD).  I deployed the Enterprise sku of Entra Domain Services and have a Windows 2022 server joined to AADDS.Contoso.com.  (assume contoso is our domain).

 

Details suggest from https://www.beckmann.ch/blog/2024/02/01/azure-virtual-desktop-windows-server-2022-and-microsoft-entra-id-only/?lang=en that RDS user CAL not supported by RDS due to no two way trust.  But, this page https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/remote/remote-desktop-services/clients/remote-desktop-web-client-admin says the web client needs user cal only

 

Are there any good write-ups on RDS with an Entra ID env? Do I instead need to create a vpn with access to the server?

 

Active Directory
windows server

2 Replies

  • SPatkar_Blogs's avatar
    SPatkar_Blogs
    Copper Contributor
    Jul 08, 2024
    Setting up RDS in a scenario where you only have Entra ID (Azure AD) and not a traditional Active Directory can indeed be challenging due to the limitations around user CALs and trust relationships.

    You can try this method and check if this works for your scenario:

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-desktop/azure-ad-joined-session-hosts
    • Tom-irp's avatar
      Tom-irp
      Brass Contributor
      Jul 08, 2024

      SPatkar_Blogs 

      Thank you. We really needed the terminal server feature for the application as it is a legacy app that was originally released years ago to be run in terminal server mode. We changed our approach and made a domain with a primary/secondary domain controller, and then a server running RDS. Ultimately though, we bailed on it and let the existing vendor host it.   Thx for the reply.