Short answer: RDP, the Remote Desktop Protocol, is Microsoft’s protocol for using a Windows computer over the network as if you sat in front of it. The computer you connect to — an RDP server — sends its screen, and your client sends back keyboard and mouse input. It listens on port 3389, TCP and UDP. Every Windows Server and every Pro, Enterprise or Education edition of Windows can be an RDP server; a Windows VPS is one you rent, reached as Administrator.
What is RDP?
Remote Desktop Protocol is the network protocol behind Windows’ built-in Remote Desktop. A session on the remote machine runs as usual — programs, files, the desktop — and only the picture and the input travel across the connection. That is why RDP stays usable on an ordinary internet line: what moves is screen updates, not the programs or their data.
- Port: 3389. RDP uses TCP, and since RDP 8 also UDP on the same port for a smoother picture; it falls back to TCP alone when UDP is blocked.
- Encryption: the session runs inside TLS. Network Level Authentication (NLA) asks for your credentials before a session is created on the server, which keeps unauthenticated visitors away from the login screen.
- Redirection: clipboard, local drives, printers, audio and several monitors can be passed through the session.
- Sessions, not screen sharing: every user who logs in over RDP gets a session of their own. That is the main difference to VNC, which mirrors the one screen that is already there.
What is an RDP server?
Any Windows machine with Remote Desktop switched on and port 3389 reachable. In practice the word means one of three things:
| Kind | What it is | Concurrent users |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Server with Remote Desktop | Windows Server 2019, 2022 or later with Remote Desktop enabled — what a Windows VPS is | Two administrative sessions plus the console, without extra licences |
| Windows 10 or 11 Pro as host | A workstation that allows Remote Desktop connections (the Home editions cannot be a host) | One — a remote login locks the screen at the PC or disconnects whoever was using it |
| Remote Desktop Services (RDS) | Windows Server with the RD Session Host role, for many users at once | As many as you have RDS CALs for |
Terminal server is the old name for the third kind: Microsoft called the role Terminal Services until Windows Server 2008, and renamed it Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2008 R2. An RDS server or remote desktop server in a job advert usually means that role, with a licence server and client access licences (CALs) behind it. For one person, or two admins, plain Remote Desktop is all you need. Our guide to multiple RDP sessions explains where the line runs.
Admin RDP vs shared RDP
Hosting offers use the word in two ways. A shared RDP is a user account on a Windows server that other customers use at the same time: no admin rights, the operator’s software, a shared IP address. An admin RDP is a whole Windows machine — a VPS with its own Windows installation, where you log in as Administrator, install anything and decide who else gets an account. Every Windows plan on our Windows RDP page is the second kind, and Windows VPS covers sizing and licensing.
How do you get an RDP server?
Either you turn on Remote Desktop on a Windows machine you already have, or you rent a Windows VPS. A VPS has two advantages for anything that has to run around the clock: it has a public IP address and stays on when your computer is off.
# allow Remote Desktop connections, with Network Level Authentication
Set-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server' -Name fDenyTSConnections -Value 0
Set-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp' -Name UserAuthentication -Value 1
Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup 'Remote Desktop'On a Windows VPS, Remote Desktop is usually on from the first boot. The longer version, with the Settings app and sconfig, is in how to enable RDP on Windows Server. A fresh installation often runs on a time-limited evaluation licence until you activate a key of your own. The evaluation licence guide covers the limits.
Which RDP client do you need?
| Your device | Client | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 / 11 | Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc.exe), or Windows App | mstsc is built in; Windows App from the Microsoft Store |
| macOS | Windows App by Microsoft | Mac App Store |
| iPhone, iPad | Windows App by Microsoft | App Store |
| Android, ChromeOS | Windows App by Microsoft | Google Play |
| Linux | Remmina or FreeRDP | Distribution packages |
Enter the server’s IP address — with :port after it if RDP listens on another port than 3389 — and log in. Step by step for every device: how to connect to RDP. On a Mac: RDP from a Mac.
Is RDP secure?
The protocol is encrypted and, with NLA, reasonably hard to attack. The weak point is exposure: port 3389 is scanned around the clock, and a server that accepts a guessable password on it will be broken into. What makes the difference:
- Long, unique passwords, an account lockout policy and NLA left on. The rest is in the checklist for securing a Windows RDP server.
- Fewer people knocking: move RDP to another port with our port guide, and allow only your own address in the firewall. How: opening and limiting a port in Windows Firewall.
- Nobody knocking at all: keep 3389 closed and reach the server through an SSH tunnel or a VPN.
Not sure whether your server’s RDP port is open to everyone? Enter its IP address and port 3389 in the open port checker: it tries the port from our server, a stranger’s point of view. If you allowed only your own address, it should get no answer.
RDP, VNC or a VPS?
RDP is a protocol; a VPS is a server you rent; VNC is a different remote-desktop protocol. People compare them anyway, because “buy RDP” offers often sell a user account on someone else’s VPS. The differences in detail: RDP vs VPS and RDP vs VNC.
Every RDP guide on this blog
Grouped by what you are doing. New guides appear here on the day they are published.
Set up and connect
Secure it
Fix it
Compare and use
Frequently asked
What is RDP used for?
To work on a Windows computer from somewhere else: administering a Windows Server, running programs that have to stay on around the clock, such as trading terminals, or reaching an office PC from home. The remote machine does the work; only its screen and your input travel over the network.
What port does RDP use?
TCP port 3389, and since RDP 8 UDP 3389 as well, for a smoother picture. The port can be changed on the server; the client then connects to address:port.
What is the difference between RDP and RDS?
RDP is the protocol. Remote Desktop Services (RDS, called Terminal Services until Windows Server 2008) is the Windows Server role that lets many users work on one server at once, licensed with RDS CALs per user or device. Without it, Windows Server allows two administrative RDP sessions plus the console.
Is RDP secure?
The protocol is encrypted, and Network Level Authentication checks credentials before a session starts. The risk is exposure: port 3389 is scanned all the time, so use long, unique passwords and an account lockout policy, and limit who can reach the port with the firewall, a VPN or an SSH tunnel.