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Enhanced Session Mode in Windows Server 2012 R2
Learn what the new Enhanced Session Mode is in 2012 R2.
John Savill
September 1, 2013
1 Min Read
Q: What is Enhanced Session Mode in Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V?
A: One change in Windows Server 2012 R2 for virtual machines (VMs) is that the Remote Desktop Connection can now integrate with the VMBus, which is used between a VM and the parent partition. This enables VM connections (via Hyper-V Manager or via VMConnect.exe) to leverage functionality traditionally associated with RDP connections, including:
Rich display
Audio
Printers
Clipboard
USB devices
Drives
Plug and play devices
Smart cards
The requirements that need to be met are as follows:
Guest OS in the VM supports remote desktop services (e.g., Windows 8.1 Pro/Enterprise/Windows Server 2012 R2)
The server policy in Hyper-V Manager server settings for Enhanced Session Mode is enabled (Enhanced Session Mode Policy, Allow enhanced session mode.) It's disabled by default.
Remote Desktop Services service is running in the guest (but the Allow remote connections to this computer in System configuration doesn't need to be enabled).
User logging on is as a member of local administrators or remote desktop users in the guest.
Out Of Box Experience (OOBE) has been completed.
When you connect to a VM that supports ESM, an initial dialog allows configuration of display and local resources redirected in addition to letting you save the configuration. Any saved configurations are written to %APPDATA%RoamingMicrosoftWindowsHyper-VClient1.0 with a name format of vmconnect.rdp..config.
Note that this is considered an administrative connection, so the RDS CAL isn't required.
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