How to Use a Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop Protocol or RDP provides access to your Windows Server’s operating system from your desktop, workstation machine, mobile device or laptop. The connection to your server will be encrypted and it offers some enhancements that allow you to attach local drives and devices.

Most modern Operating Systems have support for Remote Desktop. A Remote Desktop Client made by Microsoft is available in the Apple App Store, the macOS store, Google Play, the Chrome Web Store for Chrome OS and of course in the Windows Store. On Linux, you may need to download a 3rd party option such as RDesktop or Free RDP which you can get through a repository or it will be pre-installed on some distro’s.

Opening the application from any of those sources should look similar. If you have a Windows computer the RDP application will already be available in most cases. Just click the Start button and type “Remote Desktop” and the icon will be displayed. To start a connection you just need a few basic fields.

• Computer (or ‘Hostname’ depending on the application): This field is for the IP of your server or a resolvable hostname. If your website is already pointed at your server, you can use that instead of an IP. If you have trouble getting the IP please open a ticket with our support.
• Username: Administrator
• Password: The password you set up at the creation stage of your server. This will likely be your Parallels Plesk password as well unless that had been changed. If you have any problems finding this information please open a ticket, and we will be happy to assist.

When all of this information is entered correctly click ‘connect’ and a window will open with the desktop of your Windows Server. You may see a warning that reads “This certificate is not from a trusted certifying authority.” There is nothing to worry about, what this means is that to encrypt your data it is using a ‘self-signed’ SSL. You can disregard that message but if you were interested in removing the error than you can continue reading at our other post.

Now you have access to your server just like you were physically at the machine. A word of caution, however, you are working on the server using an Administrator user. Incorrect changes or settings may result in data loss or your server becoming unavailable. Always keep in mind that we are happy to help answer any questions you have as well as make changes or modification on the server for you.