Applies to: Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2

Managing user profiles can be a big headache in any RDS deployment. Let’s face it, if you are not using a 3^rd party solution to manage user settings, you are more likely to run into problems.  The most common setup we see is the dreaded roaming profile solution. Well, Microsoft finally understands the issues people run into with profiles. So, with Server 2012 they have created their own solution which integrates directly into RDS as well as VDI. This new solution is called User Profile Disks.

User profile disks centrally store user and application data on a single virtual disk that is dedicated to one user’s profile. When the user logs on, their profile disk is attached to their session and detached when the user logs out. With this process, there is no copying of files on logon or logoff. Is this the most ideal solution for capturing user settings? No, but it’s simple, free, and better than using roaming profiles. The following will cover the process of enabling and configuring User Profile Disks for an RDS environment. Read the rest of this entry »