FreeRDP

FreeRDP is, as the name implies, a free and open-source client for the RDP protocol. NoTouch includes FreeRDP and uses it as primary RDP client for connections to Windows desktops, Microsoft terminal servers and Hyper-V VDI. The alternative, legacy RDP client rdesktop is still part of NoTouch but its use is discouraged in favor of FreeRDP.

Basic configuration

To create a FreeRDP session only a few steps are to be done:

1. Create a connection
2. Set the "Connection mode" parameter to "RDP/FreeRDP"
3. Enter the host name to connect to into the parameter "Connection target" (if using RD gateway, please see below)
4. Save changes
5. Set the FreeRDP version to 1.2 (see below), if you don't have reasons to do otherwise
6. If desired, navigate to the FreeRDP subgroup and edit values there; don't forget to save changes then

Choosing the FreeRDP version

NoTouch ships different versions of FreeRDP - this is because the FreeRDP client is changing at a fast pace and we want to ensure both availability of latest features, but also greatest stability. We suggest to begin with FreeRDP 1.2, the latest, and only move back if you encounter problems.

1. Select your FreeRDP connection
2. Descend into the "FreeRDP" options.
3. Set the parameter "FreeRDP version" to 1.2

Note: The setting of "default" relates to 1.0.3. This version is very stable but lacks features like RDWeb/RD Gateway support.

Remote Desktop Gateway support

The following parameters are most important with Remote Desktop gateway support:

• Gateway hostname. The host name or IP address of the Remote Desktop gateway.
• Load balancing info. This is where you put the RDWeb tsv URL into. For instance, an example value would look like tsv://VMResource.1.Win8x64-POC
• Gateway usage method. This corresponds to the Microsoft strategies of "Detect" and "Direct". Most people will be fine with the default of "No setting".

We suggest to leave the Gateway username, Gateway password and Gateway domain parameters blank. If you do so, NoTouch will use the user credentials that the end user types in for both gateway and actual RDP connection. Thus, entering something into these parameters only makes sense if you have different user accounts for the gateway that you want to preset.

For Remote Desktop gateway support, FreeRDP version 1.2 must be selected! Gateways are not supported with 1.0 or 1.1.

FreeRDP configuration

FreeRDP offers a vast variety of parameters. These relate to RDP protocol behaviour as well as FreeRDP behavior. Most of these parameters are self-explanatory and the defaults are reasonable. Please refer to FreeRDP and RDP documentation for further explanation.