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IT Services Group D-PHYS

Windows Remote Desktop Server Login

We operate a Windows 2022 Remote Desktop Server for D-PHYS and D-BAUG IGP users. It allows also to login from a non-Windows computer and use Windows operating system with the remote desktop application.

The intention of this Remote Desktop Server is to offer native Windows applications for users who are working on a non-Windows system.

General Notes

  • Printers have to be configured once according to the readme document.
  • There is the possibility to change your keyboard layout in the systray area.
  • We have installed a basic set of applications:
    • MS Office
    • MS Visio
    • MS Project
    • Adobe Applications (Acrobat Pro...)
    • FileMaker
    • Firefox
    • Thunderbird
    • VLC Player
    • 7-ZIP
    • Putty
    • WinSCP
    • The Gimp
    • Chrome
    • Edge
    • Element
    • Citrix Workspace App
    • Mathtype
    • Corel Draw
    • MsysGIT/TortoiseGIT
    • Inkscape
    • TightVNCViewer
    • VS Code Editor
    • and some more
    • please contact us if you think you're missing an application of general interest.

Using Windows RemoteApp

We support Windows RemoteApp for Windows and Mac clients. You can launch virtual applications from the server that appears on your computer as if it were installed locally, but in reality, they are running on the remote server.

See here for instructions about how to use it.

RDS login from Windows

To connect to the RDS server, just follow these simple steps:

  • Run mstsc.exe
  • Enter Computername: winlogin.phys.ethz.ch
  • Enter the D-PHYS username ad\your_dphys_username

If needed, you will find here more details.

RDS Login from macOS

First, you have to install the Microsoft Remote Desktop Client from App Store.

After starting the program, you can connect to "winlogin.phys.ethz.ch". Make sure to use ad\your_dphys_username as user name. See configuring Microsoft Remote Desktop on Mac for more details.

Login from Linux/Unix

  • You can also access the Windows Remote Desktop Server from any regular Linux computer using xfreerdp. Just run this command:
xfreerdp /cert-ignore /sound:sys:alsa /microphone:sys:alsa /rfx /compression /f /bpp:24 /d:ad /v:winlogin.phys.ethz.ch /u:$USER +fonts

Please consult the manpage of xfreerdp for different commandline options.

man xfreerdp

Login from outside of the D-PHYS network...

The Windows RDS Server is only reachable from inside the D-PHYS network but you can tunnel your Remote Desktop session with SSLVPN or SSH.

Connect by VPN

The recommended and easiest method is to start VPN before connecting to our RDS Server.

Alternative method using ssh client:

...from a Linux Computer

If you come from outside of the D-PHYS network, you need to open an appropriate SSH tunnel beforehand, e.g. run

ssh -l yourloginname -C -f -L 3389:winlogin.phys.ethz.ch:3389 login.phys.ethz.ch sleep 60
rdesktop -d AD -x l -z -k en-us -x 0x80 -g 1280x1024 localhost

replacing yourloginname with your D-PHYS user name.

...from a Mac Computer

Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app and paste the following command to open an SSH tunnel

ssh -l yourloginname -C -f -L 3389:winlogin.phys.ethz.ch:3389 login.phys.ethz.ch sleep 60

replacing yourloginname with your D-PHYS user name. Then open the Remote Desktop Connection application and connect to 127.0.0.1. Make sure to use ad\your_dphys_username as user name.

...from a Windows Computer

Open cmd by typing in the start menu and paste the following command to open an SSH tunnel.

ssh -l yourloginname -C -L 3390:winlogin.phys.ethz.ch:3389 login.phys.ethz.ch sleep 60

replacing yourloginname with your D-PHYS user name. Let the command prompt window open. Then open the Remote Desktop Connection application and connect to 127.0.0.1:3390. Make sure to use ad\your_dphys_username as user name.

You can also use Putty instead the openssh client, see here.