How to enable the 2 concurrent (+1 console) sessions on Windows Server 2012
- by Dai
I have a Windows Server 2012 VM running on Windows Azure.
I want to enable the ability for 2 simultaneous administrative sessions over Remote Desktop. This is permitted under the EULA for Windows Server 2012. This is NOT the same thing as the fully-blown Terminal Services / RDS feature.
In Windows Server 2000 and 2003, multiple concurrent sessions (up to a limit of 2, plus the root /console session) were enabled by default (such that logging-in via RDP without logging-out first would create a new session rather than reconnecting to the old session). In Server 2008 and later it uses single-sessions by default, as this simplifies administration (as most people want to connect to old sessions).
In Windows Server 2008 R2, you can add the MMC snap-ins for Remote Desktop Host Configuration which allows you to re-enable concurrent sessions.
However, in Server 2012, after adding the Remote Administration snap-ins from Server Manager it seems the Remote Desktop Host Configuration snap-in has been removed.
How can I re-enable the multiple concurrent sessions for Remote Desktop for Administration in Windows Server 2012?