If you are using a server in a lab environment, most likely, you are not going to license this type of server outside of production. When you install the role, by default, you have a 120-day grace period that Microsoft gives you to properly license the server for use as an RDS installation. However, when you install the true Remote Desktop Services role, you have the ability to have multiple sessions to your server. When you install Windows Server 2016 or 2019 as with previous Windows versions, you get the normal ability to have the two sessions that you generally have available for administering.

In this post, I will show how to reset 120 day RDS Grace period on 20 Windows Server. In my lab environment, I am making use of Windows Server 2019 for my Windows workloads. While most trials are fairly “hard and fast” and don’t allow you to reset the trial expiration, if you work with Microsoft Windows Server and Remote Desktop Services (RDS), there is a “hack” that allows you to effectively reset the expiration of Remote Desktop Services grace period where you can essentially rewind the clock on your RDS licensing if you are making use of this role inside your lab environment. It is just part of the fun of lab environments. If you have a home lab environment or other lab that you continually test various solutions, licensing and trial expiration is a challenge that you constantly tend to run into.

Remote desktop license manager