This document describes how to log in to a Windows instance through remote desktop software on local Windows, Linux, and macOS computers.
Supported Operating Systems
Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Prerequisites
You must have the admin account (Administrator) and password for logging in to a Windows instance remotely.
If you set a login password when creating an instance, use it for login. If you forgot it, you can reset it.
If you choose to generate a random password when creating an instance, you can get it from Message Center.
Make sure the network connection between the local computer and the instance is working, and the port 3389 is open in the firewall policies of the instance (Port 3389 is open by default upon the creation of instance).
Directions
Select one of the following remote desktop applications to log in to your Windows instance based on your local operating system.
Windows
Linux
macOS
Note:
The following takes Windows 7 as an example.
1. On the local Window server, click
, enter mstsc in Search programs and files, and press Enter to open the Remote Desktop Connection window.
2. Enter the Windows instance's public IP after Computer and click Connect.
You can get the Window instance's public IP in the Lighthouse console.
3. Enter the instance's admin account/password in the Windows Security pop-up window.
Note:
If the Do you trust this remote connection? window pops up, you can select Don't ask me again for connections to this computer and click Connect.
If you want to install the latest version, visit the rdesktop page on GitHub to find it. Then replace the path in the command with that of the latest version.
3. In the directory where rdesktop will be installed, run the following commands to decompress and install rdesktop.
tar xvzf rdesktop-<x.x.x>.tar.gz ## Replace x.x.x with the version number of the downloaded rdesktop.
cd rdesktop-1.8.3
./configure
make
makeinstall
4.
Run the following command to connect to the remote Windows instance.
Note:
Replace the parameters in the example with your own parameters.
rdesktop -u Administrator -p <your-password><hostname or IP address>
Administrator refers to the admin account mentioned in the prerequisites section.
<your-password> refers to the login password that you set.
<hostname or IP address> refers to the public IP address or custom domain name of your Windows instance.
Note:
The following operations use Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac as an example. Microsoft stopped providing a link to download the Remote Desktop client in 2017. Currently, its subsidiary HockeyApp is responsible for releasing the beta client. Go to Microsoft Remote Desktop Beta to download a Beta version.
The following operations use a Lighthouse instance on Windows Server 2012 R2 as an example:
1. Download and install Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac on your local computer.
2. Start MRD and click Add Desktop.
3. In the Add PC pop-up window, follow the steps illustrated in the following image to establish a connection to your Windows instance.
3.1 In the PC name field, enter the instance's public IP.
3.2 Click Add.
3.3 Retain the default settings for the other options and establish the connection.
Your entry has now been saved
4. Double-click the new entry. In the pop-up window, enter your admin account and password obtained in "Prerequisites" as prompted and click Continue.
If you forgot your password, you can reset it.
5. In the pop-up window, click Continue to establish the connection.
If the connection is successful, the following Windows instance page will appear:
Yes
No
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