Background

This isn't really related to Linux, however, you will be using Remote Desktop Protocol $($RDP$)$ quite frequently in your professional careers. The goal of this assignment is to show you how to configure your RDP to transfer files to and from your local computer into the Windows installation in your Azure VM$.$ You can use these skills with any other Windows machine that you administer.

This lab requires that you record video on your local computer. You can use the Zoom client to do this, or however else you wish to do it$.$ However, it is on you to figure out how to record video.

Lab Objectives

Configure your Remote Desktop Client to allow for access to local directories $($also known as "folders" on your physical machine$).$

Copy something to your Azure VM via RDP$.$

Copy something from your Azure VM to your physical machine via RDP$.$

Submit the videos:

A video demonstrating Step $2$ above.

A video demonstrating Step $3$ above.

Lab Procedures

The procedures depend on which OS you are using. In the interest of broadening your knowledge, I'll specify $3$ different RDP clients because they handle this task quite differently from one another. You first begin by starting your Azure VM via the web interface like you would normally do$.$ Don't be surprised if this doesn't work, or if you need to "adapt" these procedures. This task is very dependent on how your physical machine is set up$,$ and factors that are beyond your control, such as firewall configurations, may prevent this from working at all.

Windows

This procedure was created in Windows $11$ Professional, but should work with Windows $10$ Professional.

After you paste the hostname for your Azure VM into textbox next to the "Computer:" label, click on the "Show Options" button in the lower left$-$hand corner of the dialog box:

RDP Initial Dialog

After the dialog box expands, enter ~$\backslash$mcuser for your User Name like you normally would, and then click the "Local Resources" tab:

Entering your User Name and Local Resources Tab

Under the "Local Resources" tab, click the "More" button at the bottom of the dialog box:

Local Resources Tab $-$ More Button

In the secondary dialog box that appears, click the "Drives" option and then make sure all local drives are selected. You may need to expand the listing to see the drives:

Selecting Local Drives

Click the OK button in the secondary dialog. You will be returned to the previous dialog.

Now you can "Connect" to your Azure VM as you otherwise would. Make sure to accept any warnings you will see.

Within your Azure VM$,$ click the File Explorer icon in your toolbar. You can also open this with the Start button and type in "File Explorer."

File Explorer Icon

In the "File Explorer" window, double$-$click the "Network" label at the lower right$-$hand side of the window. Your File Explorer window contents will likely differ from what you see here, but the "Network" label should still be there:

Clicking the "Network" Label

When the window refreshes, you should see something similar to below. Double$-$click the "tsclient" folder.

The "tsclient" folder.

"tsclient" stands for "Terminal Services Client."

"Terminal Services" was the old name for Remote Desktop.

Assuming that everything is set up correctly and there are no security restrictions in place, you should see a screen similar to the following:

C Drive on your Local Machine as seen from the Azure VM

These are the drives on your local machine.

The $"\backslash \backslash$tsclient$\backslash$C$"$ folder points to the C drive on your local machine.

Double$-$click this so you can browse to the root directory on the C drive of your local machine.

You will need to navigate to a directory on your local computer which contains the files you wish to copy.

Submit a video which shows you copying a file to the Azure VM$,$ and then opening it within the Azure VM using whatever application is suitable to open the file.

Submit a video which shows you copying a file from the Azure VM to your local machine, and opening it on your local machine using whatever application is suitable to open the file.

MacOS

These instructions presume that you are using the Microsoft RDP client that you downloaded from the MacOS App Store. In this case, you probably have an entry that contains a login for you Azure VM and it looks something similar to this:

Saved Connection for Azure VM

Right$-$click on your saved session and select "Edit" from the dialog box that appears:

Editing your Connection

In the dialog box that appears, select the "Folders" tab:

The "Folders" Tab

Make sure the "Redirect folders" checkbox is checked.

Select the $+$ sign at the bottom right$-$hand part of the dialog box. This will open another dialog box that will allow you to select the folder you wish to share.

Using this dialog, select the folder you wish to share and press the "Open" button:

Sharing my home directory

For this example, I am sharing my MacOS home folder $($directory$).$

This will close this dialog and return