Windows Overview

Kasm Workspaces supports Windows through a variety of methods and includes features that are specifically for Windows environments. Supporting Windows is a complicated topic due to a combination of technical implementations and licensing restrictions within the Microsoft eco-system.

Supported Architectures

  • Fixed Windows Servers - Kasm can provide users access to static individual servers running RDP.

  • Auto-Scaled Windows Servers - Kasm can auto-scale servers in supported cloud providers and manage user sessions to VMs.

  • Microsoft RDS - Kasm can sit in front of a Microsoft RDS deployment and provide users access to desktops and apps managed by RDS.

  • Azure Virtual Desktops - Kasm supports managing access to AVD (Azure Virtual Desktop) deployments.

  • Microsoft Windows365 - Put Kasm in front of your Windows365 deployments to implement DLP and isolation.

Licensing Restrictions

Warning

Any stated or implied licensing restrictions with respect to Microsoft products and services are to the best of our knowledge and may not represent the current state and may not be an accurate summarization of what are complicated licensing restrictions. Ensure to consult with Microsoft to fully understand your rights as a licensee of their products and services.

First, it’s important to note that Microsoft has specific licensing requirements for accessing their software applications through remote desktop services (RDS) and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solutions. These licensing requirements can be complex and may vary depending on the specific scenario and product being used.

In general, if you are using Kasm Workspaces as an RDP connection to an RDP application or RDS Session host, you will need to ensure that you have the appropriate Microsoft licenses for the software being accessed. This may include licenses for Windows Server, Remote Desktop Services (RDS) Client Access Licenses (CALs), and/or Microsoft Office.

Kasm Workspaces provides the ability to connect to RDP applications and RDS Session hosts using the internal Connection Proxy service, which allows for secure remote access to Windows-based applications and desktops from any device or browser.

If the Windows VMs are in the cloud, you have the option to use pay-as-you-go (PAYG) licensing or bring-your-own-licensing (BYOL). When using PAYG licensing, the Windows licensing costs are built into your cloud costs. Some cloud providers charge the Microsoft licensing fee separately, so it may not be included directly in the estimated instance pricing. See your cloud provider for details on Microsoft licensing. If you decide to use the BYOL approach, you will be responsible for either manually licensing your servers or automating the licensing process of Windows servers. Kasm does not provide support or assistance with licensing Microsoft products.

The following Microsoft licensing restrictions should be evaluated when selecting an architecture and/or cloud provider.

  • Microsoft explicitly disallows running versions of Office later than 2019 on a VM in any cloud provider other than Microsoft Azure.

  • Microsoft explicitly does not support Windows 11/10 multi-session images running in any cloud provider other than Microsoft Azure. The result is that running Windows 10/11 in any cloud provider, other than Azure, will require 1 VM per user, which will have profound licensing cost implications.

  • Running of Windows 10/11 in a cloud provider other than Azure is heavily restricted by Microsoft. While you will not find Windows 10/11 images in any cloud provider’s image marketplace, you can still create custom images on your own and handle licensing of the operating system yourself. Kasm does not provide support for licensing of Microsoft products.