Desktop Virtualization | News

Ericom AccessNow Adds Access to Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection Broker

• By Leila Meyer
• 09/29/11

Ericom AccessNow, a pure HTML5 remote desktop (RDP) client that runs within a Web browser without the need to install anything on the client device, has added the ability to access the Remote Desktop (RD) Connection Broker in Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services.

Access to RD Connection Broker through Ericom AccessNow enables organizations to provide secure, centrally managed, on-demand access to Windows applications and virtual desktops through Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services, from any web browser that supports HTML5 and WebSockets, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer (with the Chrome Frame plug-in).

AccessNow is completely device-independent, so it works with Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Chrome OS, Chromebooks, iPads, iPhones, Android, Playbook, or any other HTML5 and WebSockets-enabled equipment, regardless of CPU architecture. For educational institutions, this level of device independence means students, staff, and teachers can access school resources securely from anywhere using their computer, tablet, or smartphone, without the assistance of IT staff. Users open their Web browser, enter the address of their school's AccessNow server, and log on with their username and password. Once they are connected, the browser window shows the remote application or desktop, and they can interact with it as if they were sitting in front of a computer at school.

Key features of Ericom AccessNow include:

• Support for Intel x86, ARM, or any other CPU architecture;
• Ability to act as a high-performance gateway for WebSockets, which enables secure remote access to virtual desktops and terminal servers from outside the firewall;
• Native SSL-secure data transfer for any operating system;
• WebSocket and HTML5 technologies to display remote desktops; and
• Architecture that uses only standard Web technologies (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript), so it runs entirely within the Web browser, without installing Flash, Java, ActiveX, Silverlight, or any other special software on the client device.

Further information about Ericom AccessNow is available at Ericom.com.