Replacing an RDS or terminal server with Azure Virtual Desktop: how to go about it

You replace an RDS or terminal server with Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) in six steps: inventory your applications, map your printers and peripherals, choose your profile approach, sort out identity and licences, test with a small group and move everyone else outside working hours. Before that, you decide where the session hosts run: in Azure or on your own hardware. Your staff keep a Windows desktop with their own programs. What disappears is the work on the gateway, broker and web access. Microsoft delivers that part as a service.

Windows Server 2016 receives no more security updates after 12 January 2027, and Microsoft has not supported Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows Server 2016 and 2019 since 14 October 2025. Below you can read how to approach the switch, and when you can simply keep RDS.

Why do SMEs want to get rid of their terminal server?

The end dates are getting close

Every version of Windows Server has a fixed end date. For Office on that server, the cut-off often comes earlier.

On 2016, 2019 and 2022 the Office apps then still receive security updates until 10 October 2028, but no new features. If Office runs on a server version without support, Microsoft itself recommends moving to Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop.

RDS CALs belong to one server version

Every user or device that connects to a session host running Windows Server needs an RDS CAL. Those CALs are tied to the server version: CALs for Windows Server 2019 will not get you onto a server running 2022 or 2025. A new terminal server therefore often means a new round of licences as well.

You manage the gateway, broker and web access yourself

If you make RDS available online, so also outside the office, you need an RD Gateway, RD Web Access, a Connection Broker and a licence server alongside the session hosts. Microsoft says so itself: for external users you always need a server facing the internet. Someone has to patch those roles and update them in the right order at every upgrade.

Open RDP is still a well-known way in

There are still remote desktop servers with port 3389 open directly to the internet. In its own ransomware investigation, Microsoft describes exactly that scenario: a device with RDP open to the internet, a brute-force attack on the password and then spread through the network.

Teams meetings work poorly on RDS

Microsoft supports Teams on a terminal server only for chat and collaboration. Calls and meetings are not passed through to the user's device, so the server processes the video and audio itself. Microsoft advises turning off calling and meetings on RDS.

What does AVD do differently from RDS?

AVD uses the same Remote Desktop Protocol, but the infrastructure around it is set up differently.

• The management layer runs at Microsoft. Broker, gateway and web access are a service. You only manage the session hosts and the image.
• No open ports. Session hosts make their own outbound connection to the AVD service (reverse connect). You do not open any inbound port.
• Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session. A Windows 11 desktop that several people use at the same time. That edition exists only within AVD. The usage right comes from a licence such as Microsoft 365 Business Premium or E3, so you do not need RDS CALs for it.
• FSLogix profiles. The user profile sits in a container on a file share and is attached at sign-in. Nothing is copied back and forth any more, so signing in is faster.
• Windows App as the client. Your staff open their workspace with the Windows App on Windows, Mac, iPad, Android or in the browser. The classic Remote Desktop Connection program (mstsc) does not work with AVD, and the old Remote Desktop client for Windows has not been supported since 27 March 2026.
• Teams via your own device. With the Windows App, calls and meetings run through the local device. Video and audio therefore no longer pass through the server.

Two routes: fully in Azure or on your own hardware

The AVD service itself always runs in Azure. The choice is about where the session hosts are.

Route 1: everything in Azure

The session hosts are virtual machines in Azure. You pay per hour for compute, plus storage, data traffic, backup and management. You can scale up and down automatically and use Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session. This suits strongly fluctuating user numbers or offices in several countries. How such a bill is built up is explained in what Azure Virtual Desktop costs.

Route 2: session hosts on your own or a partner's hardware

Microsoft also supports session hosts outside Azure: on Azure Local, or on servers with a hypervisor of your choice. The AVD service stays with Microsoft. You or your partner manage the machines, the network and the hosting. On Azure Local, Windows 11 multi-session is possible; on other hardware of your own, shared session hosts run on Windows Server, just like your terminal server today. You then still need RDS CALs with Software Assurance or RDS User Subscription Licences, plus an AVD service licence per user, and automatic scaling is not part of that variant. On the other hand, your data stays in your own data centre or your partner's. There is no consumption bill, so a fixed price per user is possible.

Step-by-step plan: how to approach the switch

1. Make an inventory of your applications. For each program, note the version, the vendor, where the database is and whether the vendor supports the new Windows version. Do not forget small things such as an Excel link or an Outlook add-in.
2. Map your printers and peripherals. Who uses which printers, label printers, scanners and dongles, and from which location?
3. Choose your profile approach. Convert existing profiles into FSLogix containers, or start with a clean profile and only bring documents, favourites and signatures along. A clean start clears out years of clutter. FSLogix also works on RDS, so you can take this step before the switch.
4. Sort out identity and licences. AVD works with Microsoft Entra ID, so your users must exist there, preferably with MFA switched on. Check which licences go with the operating system you choose. You will find current prices at Microsoft 365 licences and prices.
5. Test with a small group. Have a few people from different departments really work in the new environment for a week, including printing, scanning and Teams meetings.
6. Switch over outside working hours. Roll out the Windows App, move profiles and data on an evening or at the weekend, and keep the old server read-only for a while as a safety net.

Pitfalls when moving from RDS to AVD

• Old line-of-business software. Windows 11 multi-session presents itself to programs as a server. As a result, some installers refuse to run. Conversely, not every vendor supports the latest Windows Server. Ask before you choose.
• 16-bit and old drivers. AVD only works with 64-bit Windows, and that does not run 16-bit programs or 32-bit drivers. This mainly affects software from a separate old PC.
• Dongles. Redirecting USB devices to the session only works from a Windows device and is designed for connections with less than 20 milliseconds of latency. Over a home connection that is not guaranteed. Ask the vendor for a network licence or a server-side solution.
• Printing. Printer redirection works, provided the driver is available in the session. Universal Print, the cloud print service included in Business Premium, works from Windows 10 and 11, but not from Windows Server. If your session hosts run on Windows Server, you still need a print server or printer redirection.
• Old shortcuts. Anyone who signs in through an RDP file or mstsc needs to move to the Windows App. Clean up old shortcuts, otherwise people keep going to the old server.

When is RDS still fine?

Not every terminal server has to go tomorrow. RDS remains a reasonable choice if:

• your server runs Windows Server 2025, on which Microsoft 365 Apps is supported until October 2029;
• your staff mainly work in the office and rarely call or meet from within the session;
• your vendor only supports its software on RDS;
• the gateway is well managed: current updates, MFA and no open RDP port.

In that case good system management delivers more than a migration. Do plan ahead, though, because Windows Server 2025 has an end date too.

How we do it

Since 1 September 2026 we deliver every Online Workspace on AVD technology on our own hardware in Eindhoven and Den Bosch. The management layer comes from Microsoft, the session hosts are Windows servers with your programs on them, and every company gets its own environment. Your staff sign in through the Windows App with their Microsoft 365 account and MFA via Microsoft Entra. You pay €38 per user per month, with no consumption bill, and you need Microsoft 365 Business Premium. We plan the switch from your terminal server outside working hours. You can read more about the setup at Azure Virtual Desktop in a Dutch data centre and at our Online Workspace. Management of the laptops your staff sign in from can be added through workplace management.