remote-desktop-dashboard 2.4.4

Remote Desktop Dashboard — monitor machines and connect via Microsoft Windows App

Remote Desktop Dashboard

Browser-based dashboard to monitor and connect to ATC1–ATC10 machines. Replaces the legacy Remote Desktop Connection workflow with live status, machine locking, and one-click access via the Microsoft Windows App — no .rdp file download.

Features

• Live machine status (online/offline, users, MobaXterm, ETGui, cameras, COM tools)
• Agentless monitoring — one Windows server polls all benches (no install on each ATC PC)
• Connect opens Windows App via local launcher (msrdc.exe + temp .rdp)
• Machine lock: when you connect, the machine is reserved under your name; Release or auto-timeout frees it
• WebSocket live dashboard updates
• Manage machines in the browser (add / edit / delete)

Architecture

Browser  ──Connect──►  Local launcher (127.0.0.1)  ──►  Windows App  ──RDP──►  ATC machine
   │
   └── REST + WebSocket ◄──►  Dashboard server (Windows)
                                    │
                                    └── remote poll: query user/session, tasklist
                                        (domain admin or RDD_MONITOR_* credentials)

Command	Purpose
remote-desktop-dashboard	Start server + poller
remote-desktop-dashboard-seed	Add/update machines in DB
rdd-agent	(optional) legacy per-machine agent — not needed at scale

Quick start

pip install -e .
remote-desktop-dashboard-seed --file data\machines.example.json
remote-desktop-dashboard

Open http://127.0.0.1:8080/

1. Enter Your name (used for locking).
2. Optionally enter Windows login (DOMAIN\user) — password is entered in Windows App.
3. Click Connect on a machine.

Windows App setup

1. Install Windows App from Microsoft Store.
2. Set it as the default app for Remote Desktop / rdp:// links (Windows Settings → Apps → Default apps).
3. When the browser asks to open a link, choose Windows App and allow the protocol.

Machine locking

Action	Behavior
Connect	Locks machine under your name, opens Windows App
Release	Frees the machine for others
Heartbeat	Sent every 60s while you hold the lock
Auto-release	After ~7 min without heartbeat (RDD_LOCK_TIMEOUT_SECONDS + grace)
Leave page	Sends release beacon for your locks

If someone else holds the lock, Connect is disabled and you see In use: name.

Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
RDD_DATABASE_URL	sqlite:///./remote_desktop_dashboard.db	Database
RDD_HOST / RDD_PORT	0.0.0.0 / 8080	Server bind
RDD_LOCK_TIMEOUT_SECONDS	300	Lock idle timeout
RDD_USE_WINDOWS_APP	true	Prefer ms-rd: over rdp://
RDD_RDP_PORT	3389	RDP port
RDD_RDP_DEFAULT_DOMAIN	(empty)	Prepended to username
RDD_POLLER_ENABLED	true	Server-side remote polling
RDD_POLL_INTERVAL_SECONDS	45	Seconds between poll cycles
RDD_POLL_MAX_WORKERS	40	Parallel remote probes per cycle
RDD_POLL_TIMEOUT_SECONDS	8	Per-host command timeout
RDD_POLL_PREFER_IP	true	Poll by IP instead of hostname
RDD_MONITOR_DOMAIN / RDD_MONITOR_USERNAME / RDD_MONITOR_PASSWORD	(empty)	Credentials for query / tasklist on remote hosts

Copy .env.example and adjust for your domain. For 100–1000 benches, increase interval and workers (e.g. RDD_POLL_INTERVAL_SECONDS=90, RDD_POLL_MAX_WORKERS=80).

Agentless requirements

• Dashboard server must run on Windows (domain-joined recommended).
• Service account or RDD_MONITOR_* user needs rights to run remote query user, query session, and tasklist on each bench.
• Firewall: RPC, File and Printer Sharing, and RDP (3389) as needed.

Insert machines (ATC1–ATC10)

copy data\machines.example.json data\machines.json
# edit hostnames and IPs
remote-desktop-dashboard-seed --file data\machines.json

Optional legacy agent

If remote polling is blocked on some hosts, you can still run rdd-agent on that PC — most deployments should use agentless polling only.

API (connect & lock)

POST /api/v1/machines/ATC1/connect
{"operator": "Alice", "rdp_username": "DOMAIN\\alice", "use_hostname": true}

POST /api/v1/machines/ATC1/lock/heartbeat
{"operator": "Alice"}

POST /api/v1/machines/ATC1/lock/release
{"operator": "Alice"}

Response includes launch_uri (Windows App) and fallback_uri (rdp://).

Publish to PyPI

pip install build twine
python -m build
python -m twine upload dist/*
pip install remote-desktop-dashboard
remote-desktop-dashboard

License

MIT