2012 R2 Remote Desktop Server - Two Computers share same session? "RDP Session Mirroring"

Question

Is it possible for two RDS clients (in my case 'thick clients' aka full windows) to be connected to the same RDS session simultaneously? I know that multiple sessions per user per server/broker are permissible but that does not help my scenario. In simplest terms I effectively need to mirror one RDS session in multiple locations (2, possibly 3) in real-time.

If not, do you have any ideas for the scenario below?

I have a Windows data collection application to deploy to ~25 work-centers (manufacturing machines) that: track time, unit inputs, unit outputs, and units per hour. This application can only run one session instance per work-center as it is data collecting on the work-center and not the operators. I have some work-centers that are massive (>50 meters long) with one operator on each end of the machine. Operators at the input end and output ends of the machine need ability to input data into the same application session. Having a human move back and forth is really not feasible as these machines are producing >75,000 units per hour.

This (garbage and poorly thought out) piece of software is not a simple installer and has to be deployed manually (including patching). It is much easier to single install and administrate on an RDS server than to maintain it individually at 25 work-centers.

Did I mention I have complained very loudly to the vendor? They've told me that they are in development of a web browser based replacement app that does support multiple sessions but that it's projected release is >18 months from now. For now, I'm told have the input operator just relay stuff to the output operator. :rolleyes:

Answer 1

If I understand correctly, you need to have one session where multiple people can input into the same program?

To answer the actual question, RDS accounts can be viewed by other people but only if the account has the proper permissions. You'd have to grant multiple user this ability on the server, or do it through security groups.

Have you considered something like VNC server instead of RDS for this particular scenario instead? This would be difficult to control if you have 25 people trying to enter data at the same time, but if only a couple are inputting and the rest are viewing, this might be a better solution.