Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 on Windows 7 SP1

Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 on Windows 7 SP1

Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 are shipping with support for RDP 8.0 out of the box, and now Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 just got an update for it.

Remote Desktop Services Blog
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2012/10/23/rdp-8-0-update-for-windows-7-sp1-released-to-web.aspx

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Just followed the instructions to enable RDP 8.0 on a remote Windows 7 SP1 machine.

1. Install hotfix 2574819 and restart

An update is available that adds support for DTLS in Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2574819

If you are unable to download the hotfix due to Windows Genuine Advantage complaining with:

This version of the Windows Genuine Advantage validation tool is no longer supported. Please download the newest version and ensure that your system clock is accurate

see this Microsoft Forums thread for a solution – opening this address in Internet Explorer will install a newer Genuine Advantage ActiveX instead of the downloadable exe that fails with above message.

2. Install update 2592687 and restart

Description of the Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2592687

The KB goes in detail through features and known issues, as well as the steps on how to enable RDP 8.0 on a Windows 7 SP1 machine.

3. Enable RDP 8.0 on the remote computer (Windows 7 SP1)

Open Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) and

a) Enable Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Remote Session Environment > Enable Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 = Enabled

b) Enable UDP transport (optional) 

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Connections > Select RDP transport protocols = Enabled, Use Both UDP and TCP 

Connecting from an updated Windows 7 SP1 machine (or a Windows 8), you will notice the change in the remote desktop client title bar (in full screen).

Before, with RDP 7.1 I noticed when moving up and down over the Start menu the highlighting was lagging behind (every few items), where now with RDP 8.0 it is much faster - probably due to improvements in the protocol as well as I assume the use of UDP packets.