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 Windows OS Hub / Windows 10 / Using RDCMan (Remote Desktop Connection Manager)

November 11, 2019 ToolsWindows 10Windows Server 2016

Using RDCMan (Remote Desktop Connection Manager)

RDCMan (Remote Desktop Connection Manager) is a convenient tool for Windows system administrators that allows to manage multiple RDP connection sessions in a single window, create tree-like structures with the remote Windows hosts (you are constantly using or managing), use different RDP connection settings for separate servers or groups and save administrator (or user) credentials to automatically authenticate on RDP/RDS servers.

Contents:
  • How to Download and Install RDCMan?
  • How to Configure RDP Host Groups in RDCMan?
  • Configuring RDP Connection Settings in RDCMan
  • How to Import Servers to RDCMan?
  • Accessing Hyper-V Virtual Machine Console in RDCMan

How to Download and Install RDCMan?

RDCMan is free tool and you can download it from Microsoft website. The up-to-date version is 2.7.1406.0. Download rdcman.msi (1.1 MB) following this link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=44989

All Windows versions are supported, including Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are also supported, but first you will have to install the RDP client version 6 or newer.

RDCMan installation is standard, there are no tricks. Run it, click next-next-next and it’s done. The icon on your desktop is not created, so find the program in the Start menu.

How to Configure RDP Host Groups in RDCMan?

When we start RDCMan.exe we see an empty console. First of all, you must create a configuration file to store your settings by pressing Ctrl+N or in the menu: File –> New. Enter the file name *.rdg (actually, it is a text XML file that you can edit manually). In a single configuration file you can save any number of RDP connections for your remote servers. The tool allows to structure RDP connections by any criteria you choose: use this feature to create groups.

For example, you can create a group of Hyper-V servers or your AD domain controllers group. You can group your remote servers by their location, role or customer.

rdcman - add RDP server's group

You can save your RDP credentials to connect to the servers in a group. In the Group Properties, go to the Logon Credentials tab and specify your credentials. All servers in this group inherit the group settings. To change any server option different from the specified group settings, uncheck “Inherit from parent” and configure it individually.

RDCMan - save RDP access credentials

Don’t forget to click the Save button.

Warning! RDP connection credentials are stored encrypted in the RDG configuration file instead of Windows Credential Manager (it does not depend on domain policy settings that prevent saving of RDP credentials). However, the encryption algorithm is not stable and there are many tools that can decrypt an RDG file and get a plain text RDP connection passwords. It is recommended to encrypt the RDCMan configuration file using third-party tools, for example, using BitLocker or TrueCrypt.

Configuring RDP Connection Settings in RDCMan

Go to RDP connection properties in the “Connection Settings” tab. By default, the standard port 3389 is used for RDP connection. You can change the port, if your RDP server listens on non-standard port. Uncheck the option “Inherit from parent” and change the RDP port number.

If you check the “Connect to console” option, you will be connect to your server’s console. The console mode simulates direct connection to the local monitor of your server and is used to connect to the RDS server without using client CAL license or if the licensing server is not available or the RDSH licensing mode is not configured.

rdcman - change RDP connection port

Configure the screen resolution to be used in the RDP session in the “Remote Desktop Settings” tab (I recommend to set it to “Full screen”) and local resources in the corresponding tab to be redirected to the RDP session (for example, you can redirect to your RDP session clipboard, local printers, use a local drives sharing, etc.).

In order you don’t need to scroll and the RDP window fits your screen, do check the option “Scale docked remote desktop to fit window”.

RDCMan change display settings

Right-click the group and add a server:

  • Server Name – specify host name or its IP address;
  • Display Name – server name displayed in the RDCMan console.

add RDP server to the rdcman

Finally, you will get this kind of console with remote server tiles updated in real time.

rdcman - managing multiple RDP server connections

When you double-click a server, you will access a server using RDP with a saved password.

You can use the “Connect Group” option, thus, RDP consoles will be opened for all servers in a group.

You can do standard things with your server, they are intuitive.

rds server - send keys

  • Reconnect server – reconnect if a remote session is disconnected;
  • Send keys – send standard keyboard shortcuts to a server;
  • Disconnect server – disconnects from a server;
  • Log off server – logs off a server;
  • List sessions – view server active sessions;
  • Undock – brings a server to a separate RDP window;
  • Dock – returns a server to the console.

The main thing: don’t forget to save the configuration file.

save rdp connection rdg file

The next time you start RDCMan, you will see the following window where you will need to select servers or groups you would like to reconnect.

How to Import Servers to RDCMan?

Unfortunately, you cannot import your server directly from Active Directory. It looks quite strange since RDCMan is a tool developed by Microsoft.

However, you can import servers from a text or a CSV file (you can export the lists of computers or servers from AD using the Get-ADComputer cmdlet).

To import server list, select “Import Servers” in the Edit menu. In the next window, specify the path to the text file containing the list of servers and click Import.

import rdp server list to the rdcman

To break the imported list of servers into groups, use Edit -> Add smart group. Type the group name and set the rules, according to which the servers will get into it (e. g., the common part of the name or IP addresses).

rdcman - smart server groups

Accessing Hyper-V Virtual Machine Console in RDCMan

In RDCMan 2.7 you can configure direct connection to the console of virtual machine  running on Hyper-V host (when Enhanced Session Mode is used). To do it, you have to get the virtual machine ID on your Hyper-V host. Use this PowerShell command:

Get-VM -Name WS2016 | select ID

get-vm id - hyper-v

After you have got the VM ID, you can use it to configure a connection in RDCMan. When adding a new server in the RDCMan, specify the name of your Hyper-V host, check “VM console connect” and paste the VMID into the ID field. You will be connected under an account with Hyper-V administrator privileges over VMBus (it means that you don’t need the network access to the FQDN or IP address of a guest OS – the access is provided through the Hyper-V host bus using Port 2701).

rdcman connect hyper-v vm console via vmbus

RDCMan has a simple user interface and is very easy to use. There is also a Linux version of the tool. If you just need an RDP connection manager, this is an excellent and easy-to-use everyday tool for a Windows administrator.

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4 comments

dunca November 12, 2019 - 12:39 pm

Great job and very good article,
But RDC-MAN does not allow to add the machines under HYPER-V automatically, and also does not allow them to start or stop them or save them, it also does not allow to manage network connections and change them on machines, I suggest you to use my HV-MAN tool which is being validated by Microsoft and which is super simple and allows to do all that on Hyper-v VMs, I am waiting for your return.

Reply
Dustin Graybill January 16, 2020 - 2:42 pm

HV-MAN works if you only are managing hyper-v console sessions. We use RDC Man or Remote Desktop Manager and other management applications because it allows us to connect to multiple different types of sessions at one time in one window. I suggest you remember that not everyone’s situation is exactly the same as yours.

Reply
Mike March 25, 2020 - 8:04 am

DL Link is dead

Reply
admin March 31, 2020 - 8:39 am

Microsoft has closed the development of the Remote Desktop Connection Manager (RDCMan) app after it discovered the CVE-2020-0765 vulnerability. This vulnerability allows attackers to get user data from a computer if a user opens a special RDG with XML data.
Users are advised to stop using RDCMan as soon as possible.
For RDP connections, it is recommended to use Windows MSTSC, as well as the official Remote Desktop UWP app from the Microsoft Store.

Reply

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