Syracuse University's Remote Desktop Services (RDS) is a virtual desktop environment for students, faculty, and staff to remotely access a university desktop from any personal computer with a stable broadband internet connection.

Who has access? The RDS solution is available to active SU students, faculty, and staff as well as ESF students.

Before you Connect

Before you connect, please note the following important considerations for using the RDS solutions.

• Save your work to a network location

  • Just like physical labs, any files saved to the local C: drive will be removed permanently.

  • Save to G: or H: network drives, or cloud-based Onedrive

• Save your work often

  • Although we consider the RDS platform to be stable, working remotely brings many factors into play, such as unexpected network outages, ISP issues or problems with your home network or personal devices. Saving often will help avoid losing your hard work and valuable time.

• Only one session can be active per user. Logging into another session will disconnect from the previous and reconnect on the new session.
• Google Chrome, Firefox, and Edge are the recommended browsers for connecting through the Web user interface.
• Please be aware: Users are required to have their Microsoft Two-Factor Authentication setup before using RDS.
• Idle sessions will automatically be logged out after 4 hours.
  

Configuring and Connecting to RDS

Users are encouraged to access RDS using a web browser, but can also do so using the remote desktop client (RDP). 

Remote Desktop Services via Browser

Remote Desktop Services via RDP Client

Available Software on RDS SULabs resource

The following programs and applications are available when connected. 

Requesting Software

Students

If you are a student and require a particular software for academic purposes, reach out to your professor or instructor to determine the need for a program.

Faculty & Staff

If you are a faculty or staff member and require a particular software for administrative or academic purposes, please contact your academic or administrative support personnel to determine how best to deploy the software.

Need Help?

If at any time you require additional assistance, please contact the ITS Help Desk by voice at 315.443.2677 or by email at help@syr.edu.