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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Remote Desktop Services

    Score7.7 out of 10
    N/ARemote Desktop Services from Microsoft is virtual desktop and remote user session technology.N/A

    mRemoteNG

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AmRemoteNG is a fork of mRemote, an open source, tabbed, multi-protocol, remote connections manager.N/A
    Pricing
    Remote Desktop ServicesmRemoteNG
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Remote Desktop ServicesmRemoteNG
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Remote Desktop ServicesmRemoteNG
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Open Source
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    88%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    88%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    Features
    Remote Desktop ServicesmRemoteNG
    Remote Administration
    Comparison of Remote Administration features of Remote Desktop Services and mRemoteNG
    Feature
    Remote Desktop Services
    4.6
    5 Ratings
    53% below category average
    mRemoteNG
    8.6
    6 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Screen sharing8.25 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    File transfer4.65 Ratings5.13 Ratings
    Instant message1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication6.02 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Access to sleeping/powered-off computers1.12 Ratings00 Ratings
    Over-the-Internet remote session6.75 Ratings9.63 Ratings
    Initiate remote control from mobile3.64 Ratings00 Ratings
    Remote management of servers & workstations8.24 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Remote Active Directory® management8.54 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Centralized management dashboard2.23 Ratings9.23 Ratings
    Session record2.23 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Monitoring and Alerts3.13 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Annotations00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Multi-platform remote control00 Ratings7.46 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Remote Desktop ServicesmRemoteNG
    Small Businesses
    N-able Take Control
    Score7.2 out of 10
    N-able Take Control
    Score7.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Remote Desktop Manager
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Remote Desktop Manager
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
    Score9.1 out of 10
    BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
    Score9.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Remote Desktop ServicesmRemoteNG
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.8
    (20 ratings)
    9.1
    (6 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.3
    (5 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    Performance
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    3.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Remote Desktop ServicesmRemoteNG
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    This is well-suited if you need to log in to a remote machine on occasion to make updates or change configurations. It is also good for a production environment or for environments where people need to log in to use common applications, so you don't need to install the application on each individual client.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Open Source
    Well suited to environments where IT staff need to access multiple servers/systems at the same time, cutting down on time wasted opening multiple windows. Not so useful for users that only need to access one system remotely, as most of its functions are largely unused in that case.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Microsoft
    • When you connect with RDS, everything looks and feels (and is) exactly like you're sitting at that desktop. This is great for us and for users.
    • You can sign in with RDS and the desktop will be the same as when you left it (if you choose to set it up that way).
    • Although they take some setup, RemoteApps are a very handy way to let users access a program without requiring them to actually connect to a remote desktop on the server.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Open Source
    • Easy to organize and group servers.
    • Many different protocols for remote access.
    • The ability to make use of external applications for non-directly supported protocols.
    • Servers can inherit settings from nodes above so you can set up properties once making adding new servers/devices very quick.
    • Easy to export and share config with new team members (be mindful of what you do with passwords though).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • Remote Desktop Services currently does not support multiple monitors on the terminal server. Unlike other applications such as Teamviewer, there's no feature to toggle between multiple screens even if they were connected to the terminal server.
    • Remote Desktop Services should provide an option to scale up or down the screen size after a connection is established. Currently you can only adjust the screen size prior to a connection is established. So you'll have to take a best guess at what display screen resolution will fit best on your screen.
    • Remote Desktop Services should offer some kind of menu to send special key strokes like Ctrl+Alt+Del to the terminal server. Currently the substitute for that particular combination is Ctrl+Alt+End. But I have yet to discover a replacement for other combination keystrokes such as Alt+PrintScrn.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Open Source
    • The user interface for configuration is a little basic, and not obvious for a new user to set up connections. It could be a bit clearer how to do that.
    • It does not seem to automatically update itself to new versions - though older ones work fine, you can miss out on some new functions if you don't check for updates manually.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Microsoft
    The initial setup for Remote Desktop Services is complex, and licensing is costly. Each user connects to their virtual desktop hosted by a single server or group of servers, so a change or issue with servers quickly impacts every single user at the same time. Aside from that, users appreciate seeing their same personal desktop from any device or geographical location.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Open Source
    Because it is easy to use once installing. The interface is very intuitive and there are help files available for anyone needing further set up assistance. For someone who is currently overwhelmed with managing too many things in too many places, mRemote simplifies this and puts the power back in the administrators hands with their intuitive interface.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Microsoft
    There are some third party tools available that allow you to manage multiple connections.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Open Source
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    As with any Microsoft Server product, support for Remote Desktop Services requires a paid support package. These are license-based and very costly, on top of the already costly product licensing. Microsoft's licensing is complicated to begin with, so setting up licensing alone essentially requires a licensing expert's counsel. There is community documentation and support available on Microsoft websites, as well as community websites.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Open Source
    Never actually needed to use support so have no idea - honestly it's simple enough to use I'd be surprised if anyone really needs support with it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    We selected Remote Desktop Services based upon price alone. Other solutions on the market are significantly more expensive, but if your company can foot the bill you should seriously consider products that have been on the market for longer. The lack of an ability to easily upgrade farm servers has been a challenge for us - although it is still faster than updating an application on 2000+ machines. The lack of a centralized management console in 2008 R2 is also challenging, but you get by with the tools available to you. If you don't have the money to spend on Citrix or VMWare Horizon, Remote Desktop Services is a decent replacement.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Open Source
    Every now and then I do look to see if there is any other software that can bring together multiple remote access protocols in a single interface that can contain multiple connections to remote devices with image scaling to mage use of a windowed interface and have yet to find an alternative that does all that but doesn't cost a huge amount. Don't get me wrong I would happily pay for an alternative that could provide an overall better, more convenient experience, but I have yet to find one that has made me think it's worth jumping ship from mRemoteNG.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • Allowed remote users access from home
    • Shared file access for multipolar users from a centralized location
    • Cost to add additional users when maxed out
    • Purchase multiple licenses for programs to run in virtual machines. Or unable to run on a virtual machine
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Open Source
    • Very easy to hand over connections to new starters.
    • Having multiple remote protocols in one place is a massive time saver.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots