Remote Desktop (RDP) is a mechanism invented by Microsoft that saw the light of day in 1998; its core idea is a remote client-server connection. The user sees on their display everything that is happening on a separate PC and works with it just as if they were sitting right in front of it. Today there are quite a lot of utilities for remote RDP management, some of them are developing very rapidly, and new versions are released regularly. And yet, even though the protocol has not undergone any major functional changes in 20 years, it has a number of advantages:
- RDP is built into every version of Windows (no third-party server component needed);
- It performs fast even over very slow connections;
- It is present in server editions, which allows many users to work simultaneously.
How to connect to Windows via RDP
First you need to grant permission to the corresponding system service: right-click the My Computer icon – Properties, then under Remote RDP access tick Allow remote connections and untick Disable remote connection, then click OK.
The Remote Desktop connection program itself lives in different menu sections depending on the Windows version (but it is always reachable through the main Start menu).
The main details you need to enter are:
- The remote host (the Computer field), where you enter a name or IP address.
- The username.
When you click Connect, the utility starts the connection and asks for a password. Settings can be saved with the Save (Save As) button, and you can configure color schemes, sounds, the clipboard, and so on – all of which affects performance.
How to launch an RDP connection from the command line
If for some reason you need to connect from the command line, press Win+R, enter the command cmd, click OK, then type mstsc, and the system will launch the client.
Which ports need to be open for an RDP connection
The default RDP connection port is 3389, but the server administrator may change it. In that case, on the client side it is specified right after a colon.
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