Does F5 APM support Microsoft RDP "RemoteApp" mode, or just full remote desktops

You should be able to configure rdweb as portal, then launch remoteapp thru APM RDP gateway. remoteapp on webtop is currently not supported.

you can do it via an app tunnel also. and then run the native rdp client.

would be nice if it would be support through webtop. but seeing how microsoft is also working with app-v i doubt it will get much attention.

Actually, a colleague finally found F5 documentation that answers my question. Apparently this functionality is in the product and works fine with the webtop, and it's been in the product for a really long time. I confirmed it exists in at least as far back 11.2.1; I haven't checked any further back than that.

Documentation is in the Remote Desktop Services deployment guide, and it's scenario 5 that talks about RemoteApp. https://www.f5.com/pdf/deployment-guides/f5-microsoft-remote-desktop-services-dg.pdf

Here's is an example of how to get this working using an Oracle project management app as a sample (you could do this with notepad or any app really): If you go into Access Policy -> Remote Desktops -> Remote Desktop List (this exact location varies based on version of code) and create a new remote desktop object, you will see a dropdown at the top of the screen that lets you pick which type. Citrix is the default; change it to RDP.

Once you change it to RDP, a lot of new options will appear. The “Application Properties” area will be among the new options:

You need to fill out both of those items to get a RemoteApp working. Again, here is the example using a sample Oracle app that I tested:

• Application to Start: C:\Program Files (x86)\Oracle\Primavera P6\Project Management\PM.exe

   

• Working Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Oracle\Primavera P6\Project Management

   

Of course, all this assumes you have everything set up correctly on the Windows Remote Desktop Services side. The deployment guide scenario 5 lists a few things that have to be set up as pre-requisites. But assuming all that is done, then the above is all that is needed on the APM side. Here are those Microsoft pre-reqs just for reference in case the document ever moves:

If you are publishing programs to an APM Webtop, you must have either:

• Configured each program as a RemoteApp program in Remote Desktop Services,

   

• Modified the following Windows Group Policy setting: Computer Configuration>Administrative Templates>Windows Components>Remote Desktop Services>Remote Desktop Session Host>Connections>Allow remote start of unlisted programs>Enabled

   

I wonder if you got any further with your RemoteApp deployment at all?

Thanks,

Matt

Has anyone found a way to resize the Remote (App/Desktop)? On the APM, you can set size parameters (under Screen Properties), but when launched, the size is set (it can be minimized). OTOH, a native RDS remote app can be resized as needed and is not nested inside another window.

So what the user sees is a container window named as the APM Remote Desktop object and within that is the application (launched via RDP). So it closely mimics what you get w/ MS RDS remote apps, but not quite as featureful. I can live w/ the cosmetic difference, but it would be great if you could resize the APM container window! If anyone has a way to do that, please share.

Cheers, Mike

This is unfortunately a limitation of both APM RDP clients, whether ActiveX or Java. You can't resize them. The Active X client is better than Java, but it's aging and starting to look fairly bad compared to the real Microsoft client. With Microsoft's new Edge browser on Windows 10 dropping support for ActiveX and eliminating that option, I really hope F5 puts some investment into this area soon, assuming there's any way to improve upon it in these days of the NPAPI (Netscape Plugin API) being removed by browser makers.

What works for some applications (though it has its own set of drawbacks) is opening something like an RDP app tunnel after APM authentication, and allowing users to use the real Microsoft client to access the backend resource. You aren't really proxying the connection in the same way, more like passing it through by tunneling that port back to that resource, but it can be a good solution in some cases because it allows use of the Microsoft client, but denies use until APM policies have been fully met.

some enhancements would be nice indeed, always amuses me to see the RDP client mentioning firepass.

Apparently there is to be a new update released around Feb 2016 which should provide better RDS functionality...such as remote app.

This Is the answer i got from f5 support:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting F5 Support,I will be working with you on this case.The RemoteApp feature is currently not Supported.This feature is being tracked with bug id BZ437343 and is targeted to be fixed on the next major software release,this is however is subject to change.

Please let me know if you have any more questions.

Regards,

This Is the answer i got from f5 support:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting F5 Support,I will be working with you on this case.The RemoteApp feature is currently not Supported.This feature is being tracked with bug id BZ437343 and is targeted to be fixed on the next major software release,this is however is subject to change.

Please let me know if you have any more questions.

Regards,