How to connect to a Windows server via RDP Print

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) gives you access to a Windows server through its graphical desktop. This guide applies to Windows servers with Remote Desktop enabled.

Before you start

You need:

• the server's host name — vm00000.sayob.com, where vm00000 is your server's identifier — or its IP address;
• the RDP port, if it differs from the default 3389;
• the user name and password from your server details.

Connecting from Windows

1. Press Win + R, type mstsc and click OK. The Remote Desktop Connection window opens.
2. In the Computer field, enter the server's host name or IP address. If a custom RDP port is in use, add it after a colon:

   vm00000.sayob.com:3390

3. Click Connect.
4. Enter the user name and password from your server details, and click OK.

Connecting from macOS, Linux, iOS or Android

Microsoft publishes a Windows App (formerly Remote Desktop) for macOS, iOS and Android; install it from the relevant app store. On Linux, Remmina and FreeRDP both work well. In each case the details are the same: host name, port, user name and password.

The certificate warning

On the first connection Windows warns that it cannot verify the identity of the remote computer. Before continuing, check that the name or address shown matches your server, then click Yes.

Do not tick the option to stop showing this warning unless you are certain you are connecting to the right server — that warning is the only thing that would tell you if you were being redirected somewhere else.

After connecting

The server's desktop opens in a window and you can work as if you were sitting at the machine.

Two habits worth adopting:

• Log off rather than closing the window. Closing it leaves your session running on the server, consuming memory. Use Start → the user icon → Sign out.
• Change the password on first login if you were sent a generated one, and use a long, unique password. RDP exposed to the internet is subject to continuous automated guessing.

If you cannot connect

• Check the network you are on. Some corporate and public networks block outgoing connections on port 3389. Try another network before assuming the server is at fault.
• Check the user name format. For a local account, some clients need it as \\username or servername\username.
• Too many sessions. Without additional licences, Windows Server allows only two simultaneous administrative connections. If both are occupied by sessions that were closed rather than logged off, new connections are refused — see Additional Remote Desktop (RDS) licences for Windows Server.
• Locked out entirely. If a firewall rule or a configuration change has cut off RDP, the console gives you access independently of the network: see Managing your CloudVM virtual server in the client area for virtual servers or What is IPMI (IP-KVM) and how do I connect to it? for dedicated ones.

If none of this helps, open a ticket from your client area describing what happens when you try to connect — a timeout, a refused connection and an authentication failure each point to a different cause.