Desktops

The Desktops pages (routes /desktop-overview and /desktop-new) manage remote desktop resources exposed through Agilicus AnyX as a remote desktop gateway. Users connect to the desktop with a remote desktop client through the launcher, over protocols such as RDP and VNC. See Resources (concepts) for where desktops fit in the platform.

Purpose

A desktop is an interactive graphical remote machine, accessed over a protocol such as RDP or VNC through the identity-aware proxy. The Desktops overview lists every desktop, its address, connector, session type and status, and lets you create, edit and delete desktops. The New Desktop wizard steps through the desktop type, connector, name, address and the protocol-specific configuration (remote desktop configuration for RDP, server configuration for VNC).

Why use it

Give users access to a Windows desktop or virtual desktop infrastructure without a virtual private network and without exposing the machine to the internet. See Zero trust architecture.
Publish a single application from a remote Windows server instead of the whole desktop, using the remote application options.
Support VNC servers with separate read-write and read-only passwords and usernames.
Apply per-desktop configuration overrides (for example clipboard redirection or audio settings) to match how the machine is used.

When to use it

When users need a full interactive desktop that lives inside your private network.
When a legacy application only runs on a specific Windows machine, and you want users to reach just that application (remote application mode).
Whenever you add, change or remove a desktop, or change how users authenticate to it.

Prerequisite: permission to administer desktops (an owner or administrator role). Without it, the page shows a no permissions message.

How to use it

Desktops overview

Open Resources > Desktops > Overview from the left navigation.

The table lists every desktop with its name, address, port, connector, session type, status and assigned policies. The name, address and port cells are editable inline. Expand a row (the chevron at the end of the row) to reveal the VNC connection detail: read-write and read-only usernames and passwords.

Use the toolbar buttons to ADD DESKTOP or delete selected rows, and the search box to filter the table.

Open the more menu on a desktop row for the row actions:

Search in Audits: jumps to the audit subsystem filtered to this desktop.
Download Configuration File: downloads the remote desktop connection file for this desktop.
Manage Configuration Overrides: opens the desktop extra configuration dialog, where you add or remove RDP configuration overrides (see Dialogs and popups).
Configure Policies: attaches policies to the desktop.

Creating a desktop with the wizard

Open Resources > Desktops > New. The wizard starts with a Start step that asks which kind of desktop you will configure:

a new microsoft (RDP) remote desktop: the standard Windows remote desktop protocol.
a new VNC remote desktop: for servers that speak the virtual network computing protocol.

The steps that follow depend on this choice. For RDP the wizard has seven steps: Start, Select connector, Desktop name, Address, Remote desktop configuration, Apply, Done. For VNC, the Remote desktop configuration step is replaced by a Server Configuration step.

#### Step 2: Select connector

Choose the connector that fronts the desktop. If you have not created one, use Resources > Connectors > New first, then return and select it.

#### Step 3: Desktop name

Enter the desktop name. The tooltip explains that this name uniquely identifies the desktop within this organisation. It must be a valid hostname, because it becomes part of the address users connect to.

#### Step 4: Address

Enter the address of the desktop in your remote network (hostname or IP) and the port. A desktop gateway proxies requests from the client through to this address via the connector. The port defaults to 3389 for RDP.

#### Step 5: Remote desktop configuration (RDP)

For RDP desktops, answer three questions:

I have machines who are not on my domain (Network Level Association) that will use this desktop: whether to allow desktops that are not joined to your domain.
My remote desktop is restricted to a single application: whether to publish one application rather than the full desktop. Choosing Yes reveals the command path, command arguments and working directory for the application.
My remote desktop has configuration overrides: whether to add RDP configuration overrides. Choosing Yes reveals the overrides table, where each override has a Name, a Type (chosen from the standard RDP option list, such as redirectclipboard, audiomode or desktopwidth) and a Value. Use ADD CONFIGURATION OVERRIDE to add rows and DELETE CONFIGURATION OVERRIDES to remove selected rows.

#### Step 5 (VNC): Server Configuration

For VNC desktops the configuration step instead asks for the read-write password (enables a connection that allows the user to edit data), the read-only password (a connection with no user control), and whether the VNC server expects a username. Choosing Yes reveals the read-write and read-only usernames.

#### Step 6: Apply

Review the summary, which restates the connector, desktop name, desktop type, address, port and any configuration overrides. Select APPLY to create the desktop. Creation runs asynchronously; the wizard advances to Done automatically when it succeeds.

#### Step 7: Done

The Done step confirms the desktop was created and offers to add it to resource groups, assign permissions, and add it to policies.

If you configured a remote application, the Done step also offers a CONFIG FILE download: a pre-built registry file to run on the remote Windows server, which sets up the remote application for the launcher.

Fields and controls reference

Control	Purpose	Required	Default	Valid values	Notes
Desktop type	RDP or VNC	Yes	RDP	microsoft (RDP), VNC	Chosen on the Start step
Name	The desktop’s unique name	Yes	n/a	A valid hostname, no spaces	Becomes part of the connection address
Address	Hostname or IP of the desktop	Yes	n/a	Hostname or IP	Proxied through the connector
Port	Port the desktop listens on	Yes	3389 (RDP)	A port number	VNC commonly uses 5900
Allow non-domain-joined users	Allow machines outside your domain	No	No	Yes, No	RDP network level association
Remote application	Restrict the desktop to one application	No	No	Yes, No	Reveals command path, arguments, working directory
Configuration overrides	Extra RDP settings	No	None	Named RDP options with values	For example redirectclipboard, audiomode
Read-write password	VNC password that allows editing	When VNC	n/a	Any text
Read-only password	VNC password with no user control	When VNC	n/a	Any text
Session type	The desktop session’s display mode	Read-only	user	user and others	Shown on the overview

Dialogs and popups

Desktop extra configuration dialog: opened from the row menu’s Manage Configuration Overrides. It shows the same Name, Type and Value override table as the wizard, with SAVE and CANCEL. The override type list is the standard set of RDP options.
Confirmation dialog: deleting a desktop confirms before acting.
Configure Policies dialog: the two-pane policy assignment dialog shared by all resources. See Policies.

Configuration versus diagnostics versus confirmation

Configuration: the wizard, inline edits on the overview, configuration overrides, and VNC credentials are persistent configuration.
Diagnostics: the status column on the overview reflects the current state; use Search in Audits from the row menu to see access attempts.
Confirmation: deleting a desktop is permanent and removes the connection users rely on. Confirm before proceeding.

Pagination and async behaviour

The Desktops overview pages at 25 rows per page; the paginator shows the current page and totals. The demo organisation had 17 desktops when captured, all on one page.
Desktop creation runs asynchronously. After selecting APPLY, wait a few seconds; the wizard advances to Done automatically. New desktops appear on the overview shortly after creation.
Inline cell edits save when you blur the field; wait a few seconds and reload to confirm the change.
A newly created desktop’s connection may take a short time to become available while the gateway initialises.

Troubleshooting

The desktop will not create: check the name is a valid hostname, the address and port are present, and all required protocol configuration is answered. Validation errors appear on the relevant step.
Users cannot connect: check the connector status on the Connectors overview, confirm the desktop address and port are reachable from the connector’s network, and confirm the desktop’s admin state.
The session shows a different type than expected: the session type column on the overview reflects what the remote desktop gateway negotiated; confirm the desktop type chosen in the wizard matches the target machine.
Remote application does not launch: ensure the command path points at the application on the remote Windows server, and run the downloaded CONFIG FILE registry file on that server.