Quick Start Update: Deploy Remote Desktop Gateway on the AWS Cloud

Posted on: Jun 1, 2017

AWS is pleased to release a major update to the Remote Desktop Gateway (RD Gateway) Quick Start. This release supports the deployment of up to four RD Gateway instances in an Auto Scaling group on the AWS Cloud. The update also includes portability enhancements to make it easier to customize the Quick Start for your specific scenario. 

AWS provides a comprehensive set of services and tools for deploying Microsoft Windows-based workloads on its highly reliable and secure cloud infrastructure. RD Gateway uses Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) over HTTPS to establish a secure, encrypted connection between remote users on the Internet and Windows-based EC2 instances, without needing to configure a virtual private network (VPN) connection. This helps reduce the attack surface on your Windows-based instances while providing a remote administration solution for administrators. 

This Quick Start automatically deploys and configures an RD Gateway infrastructure in the AWS Cloud from scratch, so you can securely administer your Windows-based, Amazon EC2 fleet using RDP over HTTPS. You can use the AWS CloudFormation templates included with the Quick Start to deploy RD Gateway into a new virtual private cloud (VPC), or deploy standalone or domain-joined RD Gateway instances into your existing AWS infrastructure. You can also use the templates as a starting point for your own implementation. 

The Quick Start also includes a deployment guide, which describes the RD Gateway architecture on AWS, provides step-by-step instructions for deploying and configuring the software, and discusses best practices when implementing remote administration. 

The Quick Start takes about 30 minutes to deploy. You pay only for the AWS compute and storage resources you use—there is no additional cost for running the Quick Start. 

To try out the updated RD Gateway Quick Start, use the following resources:

    -  View the architecture and details
    -  View the deployment guide
    -  Browse and launch other AWS Quick Start reference deployments

About Quick Starts
Quick Starts are automated reference deployments for key workloads on the AWS Cloud. Each Quick Start launches, configures, and runs the AWS compute, network, storage, and other services required to deploy a specific workload on AWS, using AWS best practices for security and availability.