We're having RDP issues with Amazon cloud servers that we recently joined to an Active Directory domain. The setup is:
- A local office network
- A virtual private cloud in Amazon
- An IPSec tunnel between the two networks
- A number of Windows 2008 R2 servers on both networks
- An AD domain (call it abc.net), with one domain controller in each network.
The domain controllers are both new, fresh installs. Before we had the domain set up we had local accounts for the cloud computers which were used for RDP access. Our idea was to get all of the servers on to the domain so we could use domain logins instead of per-server local logins.
Before the cloud servers were in the domain, RDP (from the office network or through a VPN to the cloud) worked great. After we joined the cloud servers to the domain, RDP from the office became very slow – a few minutes to log in, long frequent pauses when the interface is unresponsive, generally just a slow and frustrating experience. This is a problem regardless of whether a domain or local login is used for RDP.
Oddly, when outside of the office network and connecting to the cloud directly with the VPN, RDP is still very responsive.
Any idea why RDP from office to cloud is suddenly very slow after the cloud servers join the domain? What can I look at in our configuration to address this? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Best Answer
Joeqwerty gave the tips that led to a solution in a comment, so I'll repeat the solution here.
Setting up the sites and subnets correctly resolved the problem. If anyone else is looking at a similar setup, we configured this to have two AD sites, each with a relevant subnet (one for the local office, one for the cloud). One domain controller is assigned to each site, and replication is configured through a site link containing both sites.
Thanks again to joeqwerty for the help.