If you are running a Remote Desktop Services Infrastructure (RDS) with Citrix XenApp, VMware View or doesn´t use any third party extension at all you will have to install a bunch of Updates to resolve the most bugs you could run into from a Operating System perspective. There are two Knowledge Base articles available for RDS at Microsoft that explain the prerequisites and necessary steps to install these updates.

I don´t know if you ever tried to dig into these articles and get all the necessary information. In my eyes it´s not an easy process as it should be. Therefore I´m writing this blog to get you through it and to give you an fast overview of what needs to be installed for every specific infrastructure role.

This blog won´t cover the client updates, just Windows Server 2012 R2.

Available information from Microsoft

Here are the Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles you need to know if you have RDS running:

• https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2933664
• https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3147099

A few words about the Updates…

You should try to avoid installing all of these updates if you don´t have problems with RDS in your environment. If everything is running fine, forget this article. But if you feel like something is not working as expected go through the updates and the descriptions and check if you could resolve one of your issues by installing the specific update. The attached script will help you find the installed and missing updates for every RDS role.

Prerequisites in my lab

I have a fully patched Windows Server 2012 R2 server available for my test with all RDS roles installed on it (without the virtualization role because it cannot be installed side by side with the Session Host role on the same system). After that I ran my script and checked what is already installed and what not.

With a fully patched system the Rollups and Updates listed below are already installed (so forget about them):

Rollups

• KB2919355
• KB3000850
• KB3013769

Updates

• KB3108326
• KB3123913
• KB3146978
• KB3078676

I had to make a few test rounds and installed the updates on three different servers in my lab to get only the updates that are needed. Somehow the behaviour documented in the table at the end of this blog might change with future updates. It should be reproducable today with fully patched Windows Server 2012 R2 servers.

The PowerShell script

Here is the script you can use to check your infrastructure roles. It only checks for the presence of the infrastructure roles and the updates that belong to them. Use it as your own risk.

Download it here

<#	
	.NOTES
	===========================================================================
	 Created on:   	4/5/2016 1:48 PM
	 Created by:   	Sinisa Sokolic
	 Organization: 	RIS Consulting GmbH
	 Filename:     	RDS_Updates_Revealed.ps1
	===========================================================================
	.DESCRIPTION
		This file checks the installed RDS roles on a server and additionaly looks for the corresponding updates.

	.GUIDELINES
		Just run it on one of your RDS servers. Please test this script in your lab or development environment before using it in production.
#>

Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host -ForegroundColor Green "You are running the following Operating System:"
(Get-WmiObject -class Win32_OperatingSystem).Caption

			

				[environment]::OSVersion.VersionString
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Checking Rollups"
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green

$KB2903939 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB2903939"}
    If(!$KB2903939)
        {
            Write-Host "KB2903939 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/2903939" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB2903939 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

$KB2928680 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB2928680"}
    If(!$KB2928680)
        {
            Write-Host "KB2928680 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/2928680" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB2928680 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

$KB2919355 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB2919355"}
    If(!$KB2919355)
        {
            Write-Host "KB2919355 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/2919355" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB2919355 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

$KB2955164 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB2955164"}
    If(!$KB2955164)
        {
            Write-Host "KB2955164 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/2955164" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB2955164 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

$KB2975719 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB2975719"}
    If(!$KB2975719)
        {
            Write-Host "KB2975719 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/2975719" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB2975719 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

$KB3000850 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3000850"}
    If(!$KB3000850)
        {
            Write-Host "KB3000850 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3000850" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB3000850 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

$KB3013769 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3013769"}
    If(!$KB3013769)
        {
            Write-Host "KB3013769 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3013769" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB3013769 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

$KB2984006 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB2984006"}
    If(!$KB2984006)
        {
            Write-Host "KB2984006 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/2984006" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB2984006 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Checking General OS Updates"
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green

$KB3092688 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3092688"}
    If(!$KB3092688)
        {
            Write-Host "KB3092688 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3092688" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB3092688 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

$KB3078689 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3078689"}
    If(!$KB3078689)
        {
            Write-Host "KB3078689 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3078689" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB3078689 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

$KB3053667 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3053667"}
    If(!$KB3053667)
        {
            Write-Host "KB3053667 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3053667" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB3053667 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

$KB2981330 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB2981330"}
    If(!$KB2981330)
        {
            Write-Host "KB2981330 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/2981330" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB2981330 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Checking RemoteApp"
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green

$KB3103000 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3103000"}
    If(!$KB3103000)
        {
            Write-Host "KB3103000 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3103000" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB3103000 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Checking Remote Desktop Client"
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green

$KB3024260 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3024260"}
    If(!$KB3024260)
        {
            Write-Host "KB3024260 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3024260" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB3024260 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Checking Device Redirection & Printing"
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green

$KB3073630 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3073630"}
    If(!$KB3073630)
        {
            Write-Host "KB3073630 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3073630" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB3073630 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

$KB3055615 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3055615"}
    If(!$KB3055615)
        {
            Write-Host "KB3055615 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
            Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3055615" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "KB3055615 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
        }

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Checking Remote Assistance"
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
$RemoteAssistance = (Get-WindowsFeature Remote-Assistance).Installed
If(!$RemoteAssistance)
        {
            Write-Host "Remote-Assistance is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "Remote-Assistance is installed"  -ForegroundColor Yellow
            
            $KB2919355 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB2919355"}
                If(!$KB2919355)
                {
                    Write-Host "KB2919355 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                    Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/2919355" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                }
                else
                {
                    Write-Host "KB2919355 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                }
        }

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Licensing"
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
$RDSLicensing = (Get-WindowsFeature RDS-Licensing).Installed
If(!$RDSLicensing)
        {
            Write-Host "RDS-Licensing is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "RDS-Licensing is installed"  -ForegroundColor Yellow

            $KB3013108 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3013108"}
                If(!$KB3013108)
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3013108 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                        Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3013108" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3013108 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                    }

            $KB3108326 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3108326"}
                If(!$KB3108326)
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3108326 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                        Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3108326" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3108326 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                    }
           }
        
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Remote Desktop Connection Broker"
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
$RDSConnectionBroker = (Get-WindowsFeature RDS-Connection-Broker).Installed
If(!$RDSConnectionBroker)
        {
            Write-Host "RDS-Connection-Broker is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "RDS-Connection-Broker is installed"  -ForegroundColor Yellow
            Write-Host "No updates to be installed" -ForegroundColor Green
        }

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Remote Desktop Gateway"
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
$RDSGateway = (Get-WindowsFeature RDS-Gateway).Installed
If(!$RDSGateway)
        {
            Write-Host "RDS-Gateway is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "RDS-Gateway is installed"  -ForegroundColor Yellow
            
            $KB3123913 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3123913"}
                If(!$KB3123913)
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3123913 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                        Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3123913" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3123913 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                    }
        }

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Remote Desktop Virtualization Host"
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
$RDSVirtualization = (Get-WindowsFeature RDS-Virtualization).Installed
If(!$RDSVirtualization)
        {
            Write-Host "RDS-Virtualization is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "RDS-Virtualization is installed"  -ForegroundColor Yellow
            
            $KB2908810 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB2908810"}
                If(!$KB2908810)
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB2908810 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                        Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/2908810" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB2908810 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                    }

            $KB2908809 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB2908809"}
                If(!$KB2908809)
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB2908809 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                        Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/2908809" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB2908809 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                    }

            $KB3092688 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3092688"}
                If(!$KB3092688)
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3092688 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                        Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3092688" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3092688 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                    }
        }

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Remote Desktop Session Host"
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green

$RDSRDServer = (Get-WindowsFeature RDS-RD-Server).Installed
If(!$RDSRDServer)
        {
            Write-Host "RDS-RD-Server is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "RDS-RD-Server is installed"  -ForegroundColor Yellow
            
            $KB3146978 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3146978"}
                If(!$KB3146978)
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3146978 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                        Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3146978" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3146978 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                    }

            $KB3103000 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3103000"}
                If(!$KB3103000)
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3103000 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                        Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3103000" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3103000 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                    }

            $KB3092688 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3092688"}
                If(!$KB3092688)
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3092688 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                        Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3092688" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3092688 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                    }

            $KB3078676 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3078676"}
                If(!$KB3078676)
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3078676 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                        Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3078676" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3078676 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                    }

            $KB3073630 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3073630"}
                If(!$KB3073630)
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3073630 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                        Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3073630" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3073630 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                    }
        }

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Remote Desktop Web Access"
Write-Host "######################################################################" -ForegroundColor Green
$RDSWebAccess = (Get-WindowsFeature RDS-Web-Access).Installed
If(!$RDSWebAccess)
        {
            Write-Host "RDS-Web-Access is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "RDS-Web-Access is installed"  -ForegroundColor Yellow
            
            $KB3069129 = Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixId -eq "KB3069129"}
                If(!$KB3069129)
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3069129 is not installed" -ForegroundColor Red
                        Write-Host "Get it here: https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/kb/3069129" -ForegroundColor DarkYellow
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        Write-Host "KB3069129 is installed"  -ForegroundColor Green
                    }
}

The PSADK packages….

If you have never heard of the PSADK Toolkit you should have a look at my previous blog post about it. I created packages for all the necessary referenced updates in this article.

You can download all of them in one big package or only the one´s you need.

• 2012_R2_RDS_Updates
• KB3146978
• KB3123913
• KB3108326
• KB3103000
• KB3092688
• KB3078689
• KB3078676
• KB3073630
• KB3069129
• KB3055615
• KB3053667
• KB3024260
• KB3020474
• KB3013769
• KB3013108
• KB3000850
• KB2984006
• KB2981330
• KB2975719
• KB2955164
• KB2928680
• KB2919355
• KB2903939
• KB2903333

Overview of updates and further information

This overview has additional information for every update. Go through it to find the MSU names, prerequisites or the installation order for your own needs. All information without warranty. If you feel something is wrong or works different for you let me know.

I hope you find it useful.