Comparison of Windows RDP Desktop deployment in HPC: 7lbd vs. Traditional RDP Infrastructure

Overview

Providing end users RDP access to Microsoft Windows in a high-performance computing (HPC) environments comes with unique challenges. Traditional Windows infrastructure often requires maintaining dedicated hardware, Microsoft user accounts and profiles, and managing an Active Directory. Furthermore, most traditional environments require Windows Server operating systems—with their associated licensing costs and structural requirements—adding additional complexity. In contrast, the 7lbd open source project offers a new approach tailored to HPC needs by leveraging standard HPC resources, Open OnDemand, and network namespaces. This approach uses individual Windows 11 VMs running in network namespaces on your cluster using a completely different connection paradigm.

Comparative Analysis

Below is a summary table that highlights the key differences between 7lbd and traditional RDP infrastructure:

Aspect	7lbd (HPC-based Windows VMs)	Traditional Windows Infrastructure
Resource Management	Dynamic VM deployment via QEMU-KVM on any cluster node; VM resources reserved by Slurm	Deployed on large physical Windows Servers where users connect via RDP and share resources
OS & Licensing	Uses Windows 11 licenses (one seat per running VM)	Relies on Windows Server OS licensing. All cores on every RDP server must be licensed. (Plus AD server licensing, etc.)
User Account Model	One generic temporary Windows account; password changed dynamically via Open OnDemand; one simultaneous user per VM	Individual Windows accounts managed via Active Directory
Administrative Overhead	Low – No need for Windows accounts or Active Directory; only 1 VM to update (can automate)	High – Involves maintaining user and group accounts, profiles, several RDP servers, file servers, Active Directory servers
File Access	Integrated Samba server runs as part of OOD job	Standard network file sharing requiring user accounts and Active Directory
Flexibility & Scalability	Highly flexible; deploys on any available nodes or cores without dedicated hardware provisioning	Less flexible; dependent on physical servers and static configuration