14 DAY TRIAL // With the imminent availability of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 RTM customers will undoubtedly want to start at least testing the new features that the upgrade introduces.
A new deployment guide from Microsoft focuses on providing IT professionals with the necessary help to set up a personal virtual desktop leveraging RemoteFX, one of the new features of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.
Deploying Microsoft RemoteFX for Personal Virtual Desktops Step-by-Step Guide is available through the Download Center free of charge, just as Service Pack 1 will be tomorrow, February 22nd, 2011.
“RemoteFX is included as part of the RD Virtualization Host role service, and it enables the delivery of a full Windows user experience to a range of client devices including rich clients, thin clients, and ultrathin clients.
“RemoteFX renders content by using graphics processing units (GPUs) that are present on the server and then shared across multiple virtual desktops.
“RemoteFX renders a range of content including DirectX and all types of multimedia, and it is optimized for LAN-based networks,” Microsoft explained.
IT pros can leverage the guide available from Microsoft to build a test environment with RemoteFX, but in this regard, they will need to already have a few components in place.
Among the requirements mentioned by Microsoft are a Remote Desktop Virtualization Host server with RemoteFX, a Connection Broker server, a RD Session Host server in redirection mode, a RD Web Access server as well as a personal virtual desktop which can be a simple virtual machine.
Starting tomorrow, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 RTM will be available for download to all users. Last week, Microsoft allowed access to the bits only to MSDN and TechNet subscribers.
The guidance provided by Microsoft will help IT pros set up the CONTOSO domain, the virtual machine, configure the personal virtual desktop as well as RemoteFX. Microsoft even provides a FAQ list as well as troubleshooting tips.