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Virtual Desktop Hosting, DAAS, Desktop as a Service, Desktop Hosting Provider, VDI Hosting

Give users access to their desktop from anywhere on any device.

Hosting desktops in the cloud goes by many names (VDI, DAAS -Desktop as a Service, Remote Desktop, Virtual Desktops, Hosted Desktops, Cloud Desktops) and can be setup in several methods depending on your needs.

Why use Riptide's hosted Desktops as a Service

  • Access your desktop and applications from any computer / device
  • Increased uptime (8 internet providers, backup generators)
  • Easy to add and remove users
  • Single location for users files
  • Single Windows Operating system (to keep secure and patched)
  • Single server (or cluster) to install programs and manage users
  • Simple Backup of all files - (Single server or cluster)
  • No hardware cost for purchase or to upgrade (no more server in the office)
  • Month to Month contract
  • Try before you buy to ensure your programs will run smoothly!

And you would choose different options based on your needs such as:

  • Number of users
  • Licensing requirements - Licenses Owned / Needed (rent monthly MS licenses with us)
  • Amount of data storage needed
  • Intensity of users and applications (some are hungry requiring more ram/cpu)
  • Needs of users (sharing programs - applications)
  • Administration requirements - complexity

Have a Question?  Give us a call at 1.888.282.1883 or emails us @ [email protected]

Microsoft licensing requirements are different depending on the option you choose.

In the options below, you will see that Windows Server with RDS for individual user desktop sessions can be a very cost effective solution for companies with a smaller number of users. This option provides users with a customizable desktop session and ability to share applications between users.

Some companies want each employee to have a completely isolated virtual machine for each user. This option requires  Windows Desktop (Windows 7,8,10) licensing. Your company may already own the licensing necessary for this.  

Option 1: Remote Desktop Services on Windows Server – You can utilize a Windows Server OS (we provide) (versions 2022 or Server 2019) with Remote Desktop Services (RDS) to provide each user their own customizable desktop session.

Applications such as an access databases, accounting applications, business software, and MS Office can be installed on the server once and accessible by each user session simultaneously. Users have access to both a private folder (i.e. my documents) and a public folder to easily share documents between users. A Remote Desktop server is often the cheapest method for providing desktop sessions. At Riptide, a VM with licensing for Windows 2022 or 2019 starts at $90 plus RDS user licenses at $9.99 each. 

Click here to price a remote desktop server with the popular windows software.

Option 2:  An individual virtual machine for each users  (Approximate cost is $50 per user).  This option provides Windows virtual machines with a desktop operating system (7, 8.1 or the newest 10) .  You may be able to utilize your own licensing or purchase Volume Licensing. (Let us know if you need to purchase Volume Licensing).

This option uses more resources (disk space, memory and CPU) since each user has a copy of the operating system running along with a separate operating system (So only choose if the benefits outweigh the cost.

If you are looking to provide individual (isolated) VMs to each user with a Windows Desktop OS, an option is to use one or more Dedicated Servers upon which to install your own Volume Licensed version of Windows Server OS along with the “virtual machine based desktop” deployment method of RDS where each hyper-V VM utilizes a Windows desktop OS. Licensing in this scenario requires that each user or device accessing the VM have either the Windows Desktop Enterprise License with Software Assurance or a Windows Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) license. VDA device licenses are approximately $100/device/year. Many users do not have the Windows Enterprise license because it is available in Volume Licensing and not OEM/Retail and requires Windows Professional or better. Typically this is much more costly or cost prohibitive versus option 1 above. The rights to utilize the Desktop OS VM cease when either the Software Assurance or VDA license expires. For a client to use their own Volume Licensing, it must be on a fully Dedicated Server and must have the proper type of licensing. Here is a link to a good article on Microsoft licensing.

Click Here for some dedicated server pricing to use for individual Virtual Desktops

Option 3: individual VMs on Windows Server OS – if you want isolated VMs without the ability to share programs/documents between users, another option is to use Windows Server with individual hyper-V VMs with a Server OS instead of a desktop OS. This would allow you to license the underlying host machine/server with Windows Server Datacenter licensing which provides unlimited VMs on a Windows server OS. In some cases this would be cheaper than option 2 above but likely more expensive than option 1 of Windows Server with RDS desktop sessions. With this option you have dedicated server(s) for your hosted virtual desktops.

Click Here for some dedicated server pricing to use for individual Virtual Desktops

Points to Consider:

  • Do you want a Desktop OS (operating system) or Server OS / Server OS with Desktop Experience?
  • Who is providing the Microsoft licensing?
  • Do you have Desktop Enterprise with Software Assurance or VDA Licenses?
  • Use Server OS and Remote Desktop Services licensing provided by us.

Short video showing how to use a virtual desktop:
  • Install programs like (for administrators)
  • Redirect printers to print locally
  • Copy files via windows explorer and clip board
We offer custom hosting options to meet your virtual desktop and Desktop as a Service needs.
  • Dedicated servers with hypervisor
  • Virtual Desktop Servers
  • Dedicated Desktop Servers

Benefits of Option 1 "Remote Desktop Virtual Desktops" (RDS on Windows Server)

  • Share files and applications from a central server to multiple simultaneous users (Print locally)
  • Access from any device using a Remote Desktop Client – works with PCs, Macs, tablets and more.
  • Optional licensing available for Microsoft Office, Access, Excel and more.
  • High speed, redundant network for 100% power and network uptime!
  • Easy to add more user licenses or disk space as you grow. (And cheaper than the competition)
  • Utilize our Microsoft Licensing on a monthly basis.
Microsoft RDS (formerly Terminal Services) has been around for a long time and many users are familiar with this technology of providing customizable desktop sessions via RDS. With RDS there is only one server instance (more if clustered) to monitor, load applications, perform Windows Updates, etc. (Option 1). With VDI, often described as separate, isolated VMs with a Windows Desktop OS (Option 2), more resources are needed because each desktop has its own OS but this can be useful when individual users need full local admin rights. Since there are several VMs in this VDI approach, more support time may be needed to install programs, perform Windows Updates, monitoring usage, etc.

Features included with all Virtual Desktop Plans

Full Windows OS, More Storage included, Dedicated IP address
  • You get a Dedicated OS Environment to load your applications & programs. (Admin access included) 
  • NO additional fee for each application installed - others charge $10 per app per month and more.
  • Compatible with PCs, Macs, tablets, and more (anything with Remote Desktop Client app)
  • Local Printing, copy files to and from the server as if it is all running on your computer.
  • No Setup Fee, Month to Month agreement – no long-term commitment (We earn your business each month)
  • 24/7 phone, email support, Premium network bandwidth with 8 internet providers for 100% uptime.


Click here for Desktops as a Service Hosting on a Virtual Server  

Click Here to price Dedicated Servers to provide Individual Virtual Desktops

Call 1.888.282.1883 or Click here to contact us.
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