Is it possible to set up Microsoft Remote Desktop Access using Azure without port forwarding or 3rd party software? I'm looking for an easy way to log in to my clients' PCs to fix their technical problems. Ideally, I'd like to access all of my clients from the Azure portal. What steps do I need to take to set this up? Thank you.

Hi @ronh , Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Platform! Thank you for asking your question here. Yes, you can configure Microsoft Remote Desktop Access with Azure without needing port forwarding or additional third-party software by utilizing Azure Bastion. Azure Bastion enables secure connections to your virtual machines (VMs) through the Azure portal via a web browser, eliminating the need to expose the VMs to the public internet. Please ensure that the NSG associated with your VMs allows inbound RDP traffic from the Azure Bastion subnet. By creating an inbound security rule that permits traffic from the Bastion subnet to the RDP port. Please refer to this for more information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/tutorial-create-host-portal We also have Azure providing support for remote work through its networking services. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/networking/working-remotely-support#extend-employee-connections-to-access-globally-distributed-resources If you have any further queries, do let us know. If the answer is helpful, please click " Accept Answer " and " Upvote it ."

Setting up Remote Desktop Access to Clients' PCs with Azure

Accepted answer

Nikhil Duserla 2,105 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-09-11T02:30:36.03+00:00

Hi @ronh,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Platform! Thank you for asking your question here.

Yes, you can configure Microsoft Remote Desktop Access with Azure without needing port forwarding or additional third-party software by utilizing Azure Bastion. Azure Bastion enables secure connections to your virtual machines (VMs) through the Azure portal via a web browser, eliminating the need to expose the VMs to the public internet.

Please ensure that the NSG associated with your VMs allows inbound RDP traffic from the Azure Bastion subnet. By creating an inbound security rule that permits traffic from the Bastion subnet to the RDP port.

Please refer to this for more information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/tutorial-create-host-portal

We also have Azure providing support for remote work through its networking services. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/networking/working-remotely-support#extend-employee-connections-to-access-globally-distributed-resources

If you have any further queries, do let us know.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and "Upvote it."
Please sign in to rate this answer.

1 person found this answer helpful.
Nikhil Duserla 2,105 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-09-12T00:58:06.0166667+00:00

Hi @ronh,

Following up to see if the above answer was helpful. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

ronh 20 Reputation points

2024-09-12T19:15:13.1+00:00

Thank you for your response. This works perfectly

ronh 20 Reputation points

2024-09-13T20:37:43.9766667+00:00

Hello, I am now able to remote in to my Azure VM thanks for that. My next question is logging into local PCs that don't have azure installed. For example BOB just has a normal windows PC how do I remote into his (local version of windows)PC (on a different network) using Windows remote desktop without doing a port forward? Should I do this through a virtual network? For example if I have a client in a different city with a local windows install, how can I easily remote into that PC? thanks

Nikhil Duserla 2,105 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-09-16T05:59:00.4033333+00:00

Hi ronh,

Thank you for reaching out us again.

First, you'll need to enable Remote Desktop on the PC you want to connect to. This can be done by going to Settings > System > Remote Desktop and turning on Remote Desktop.

Remote Desktop Connection app on your local PC. Simply open the app, enter the IP address or hostname of the remote PC, and then enter the username and password.

Please refer to this link for more detailed information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/connect-rdp

If you want to connect to the PC from outside its network without doing a port forward, you can consider using a virtual private network (VPN). These services can provide a secure and encrypted connection to the remote PC without exposing it to the public internet. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/networking/working-remotely-support#extend-employee-connections-to-access-globally-distributed-resources

If you have any further queries, do let us know.

ronh 20 Reputation points

2024-09-16T19:07:28.1+00:00

Thank you for your assistance, I have setup my VPN and successfully setup remote desktop on my virtual network. My last question is how does pricing work to keep computers connected and running on my vpn?

Nikhil Duserla 2,105 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-09-18T04:30:33.7366667+00:00

Hi ronh,

The pricing for keeping computers connected and running on your VPN will depend on the specific VPN solution that you are using.

To estimate the cost of running a VPN solution on Azure, you can use the Azure pricing calculator. The pricing calculator allows you to estimate the cost of running virtual machines, storage, and other resources on Azure based on your specific needs. You can also use the Azure pricing calculator to estimate the cost of data transfer between your VPN solution and other resources- https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/pricing/details/vpn-gateway/
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