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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

    VMware Workstation Player

    Score9.9 out of 10
    N/AVMware Workstation 17 Player is a platform for running a single virtual machine on a Windows or Linux PC to deliver managed corporate desktops. Organizations can use Workstation Player to deliver managed corporate desktops, while students and educators use it for learning and training.N/A
    Pricing
    Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Workstation Player
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Workstation Player
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    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 ServicesVMware Workstation Player
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    VMware by Broadcom
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    88%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    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
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Workstation Player
    Remote Administration
    Comparison of Remote Administration features of Remote Desktop Services and VMware Workstation Player
    Feature
    Remote Desktop Services
    4.6
    5 Ratings
    53% below category average
    VMware Workstation Player
    -
    Ratings
    Screen sharing8.25 Ratings00 Ratings
    File transfer4.65 Ratings00 Ratings
    Instant message1.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Secure remote access with Smart Card authentication6.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access to sleeping/powered-off computers1.12 Ratings00 Ratings
    Over-the-Internet remote session6.85 Ratings00 Ratings
    Initiate remote control from mobile3.64 Ratings00 Ratings
    Remote management of servers & workstations8.24 Ratings00 Ratings
    Remote Active Directory® management8.64 Ratings00 Ratings
    Centralized management dashboard2.23 Ratings00 Ratings
    Session record2.23 Ratings00 Ratings
    Monitoring and Alerts3.13 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Workstation Player
    Small Businesses
    N-able Take Control
    Score7.2 out of 10
    VMware Fusion
    Score7.3 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Remote Desktop Manager
    Score9.6 out of 10
    VMware Fusion
    Score7.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Amazon WorkSpaces
    Score8.7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Workstation Player
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.8
    (20 ratings)
    6.9
    (9 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.4
    (5 ratings)
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    3.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Remote Desktop ServicesVMware Workstation Player
    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
    VMware by Broadcom
    VMware will work great for the following test scenarios:
    • Testing windows updates on a system
    • Testing a new software or a new software version
    • Creating a sandbox to test options/features of an OS
    • Creating different VM to test a software on different OS without the need to have physical machines for all of them
    You can also use it as a "player" only where you have that static VM that you run from time to time as with my use for SAS University. Whenever you need to use the software, you simply start that VM.
    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
    VMware by Broadcom
    • VMware Player is easy to use.
    • VMware Player supports a wide variety operating systems.
    • Unity mode makes it easy for the end user to utilize needed legacy applications while maintaining their familiar Host OS desktop. It's seamless to the point where the end user doesn't know they're running applications from a VM.
    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
    VMware by Broadcom
    • Would be nice to use more VMs at once, but this is basically trial software, so it's hard to fault them.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    VMware by Broadcom
    I give a rating of 8 because VMware Player has its use cases, for example it requires the host OS to be logged in, and the VMware Player application to be opened and the Guest VM started. Only one VM can run at a time. I'd give a 9/10 to VMware Workstation because you can run shared VMs at startup without logging in or starting the workstation application. and i'd give ESX a 10/10 because ESX is the leader in enterprise visualization.
    Incentivized
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    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
    VMware by Broadcom
    Great product. Its user-friendly GUI and overall performance are really the biggest strength of this tool. The reason why I don't give a higher note is because of the price. Although it's decent (starting at around $200 for a license), there is a good free alternative in VirtualBox. Not everyone values friendly GUI as something worth paying for. For people that are more tech-savvy, I would recommend looking into VirtualBox as they might actually like the model better (with downloadable add-ons and packages).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Microsoft
    There are some third party tools available that allow you to manage multiple connections.
    Incentivized
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    VMware by Broadcom
    Integration isn't really relevant here but I see this question more as an OS compatibility for the VM. They state that they support over 200 different OS versions. I honestly have never tried anything else other than Ubuntu and Windows myself but nonetheless, this is impressive. I have not hit any limitation in my use of this software in terms of limitation or conflicts with other software.
    Incentivized
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    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    VMware support is very knowledgeable on their products, eveything from AirWatch to ESX clusters. VMware is easy to contact, they stay in touch and see the issue through to the end and a final resolution. They keep you up to date on your issue status and don't leave you waiting for answers.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    VMware by Broadcom
    Installing the application was easily completed on the twenty computers that needed VMware Player. Once those 20 users were configured we copied our virtual machine template to the 20 users and turned on their newly provisioned virtual machines. We then configured unity mode so the user could easily work from within the virtual machine from their host desktop.
    Incentivized
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    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    Both free, VMware supports USB 3.0 while VirtualBox does not. VMware supports nested hardware-assisted virtualization while VirtualBox does not.
    Incentivized
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    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
    VMware by Broadcom
    • A positive impact is that it require little to no funding to use.
    • Negative impact is that because it is free it can be hard to get support.
    Read full review
    ScreenShots