Remote desktop hosting and Windows virtual desktops on an RDP VPS

With the RDS Session Host role, as many people as the plan carries, each in their own session. The two administrator sessions are for managing the server. For light office work, allow 2 to 3 GB of RAM per person on top of about 2 GB for Windows: 8 vCPU with 16 GB suits 3 to 5 people, 8 vCPU with 32 GB suits up to 8, and 16 vCPU with 32 GB suits up to 12. For more than 12 people, or for heavy applications, add a second Session Host behind the same gateway.

Not to buy. Raff supplies the RDS user licence monthly through Microsoft SPLA at $8.00 per user, so there are no CAL packs to purchase and no licence server to run. Add or remove users and the count follows on the next statement. Microsoft allows a 120-day grace period on every new Session Host, which covers setup and migration. If you already own RDS CALs with active Software Assurance, ask a Microsoft licensing specialist whether they qualify under the Flexible Virtualization Benefit first.

Open port 3389 on the public internet is. It is one of the most scanned ports there is, and password guessing against it never stops. On Raff the Session Host has no public RDP port at all. Your team signs in through a Remote Desktop Gateway over HTTPS with multi-factor authentication, both firewalls are default-deny, and failed logins are logged with lockout on the host. Used that way, Remote Desktop is a normal, well-understood way to reach a Windows server.

RDS CALs are customer licensing rights for users or devices accessing Remote Desktop Services. RDS SALs are monthly Subscriber Access Licenses used by service providers under SPLA. Raff-hosted RDS uses the SAL model rather than ordinary customer CALs.

Not a real one. Free RDP offers are shared or short-lived machines with no guarantee, and many ask for a card anyway. A Raff remote desktop VPS starts at $45.99 a month for one person: $37.99 for the server with Windows included, plus $8.00 for that person's Remote Desktop licence. An unattended machine that nobody signs in to, such as a scheduled bot or a trading terminal, is the server cost alone. Both come with a 14-day money-back guarantee and a 99.9% uptime SLA.

You pay for one server plus $8.00 a month for each person who works on it. One person on 2 vCPU with 4 GB is $45.99 a month. Five people on 8 vCPU with 16 GB is $131.99. Twelve people on 16 vCPU with 32 GB is $285.99. Every total includes the $15.00 Windows Server licence. A server that nobody works on, such as one that runs a scheduled job, costs the server price only.

Anything that runs on a Windows Server desktop. Microsoft 365 Apps install with shared computer activation, so each user signs in with their own licence. QuickBooks Desktop, Sage 50 and similar accounting packages run in multi-user mode with the company file on the same server. Practice management, ERP clients and the Windows-only line-of-business app install once for everyone. Printers, scanners, the clipboard and local drives redirect through each session. Hardware dongles and heavy 3D graphics are the exceptions, so ask us before you order.

Neither in the strict sense, and that is the point. Raff gives you hosted virtual desktops on a Remote Desktop Services Session Host: one Windows server your team shares, where each person signs in to their own session, profile and documents. True VDI gives every user a separate virtual machine, and DaaS platforms add a broker and a management layer. Those matter for separate operating systems, GPU workstations or thousands of seats. For an office of two to fifteen people, a Session Host does the same job from $45.99 a month for one person and $131.99 for five, which is about $26 per person, against $20 to $53 per seat. If you genuinely need one VM per user, we will size separate VMs instead.