Clonable & Scalable Windows Remote Workstation with Microsoft Azure

This guide presents a Windows 10 remote desktop setup for Unreal Engine 3 development. The setup allows teams to use a one-click solution to build games and scale up easily.

Download the master-build at this link - 256GB bootable .vhd Windows10 with pre-installed softwares(tested with Hyper-V as Virtual Machine)

https://vhdvm.blob.core.windows.net/vhdvm/rtxvhdx/rtx2udkfixed.vhd

Overview

The installation process involves downloading all software from a pre-packaged archive: Download UnrealStudio3[Mega-Repack].zip (60GB). Downloading and setting up all necessary software takes over 10 hours, so having a clonable virtual image is crucial for scaling up teams efficiently.

Master Build (rtx2udk)

The master build contains all required software and configurations. This serves as the base image for creating the clonable virtual machine (VM). The setup uses Moonlight-Sunshine for low-latency streaming, enabling CPU-intensive applications like Unreal Engine 3 and 3dsMax to run smoothly.

master-config: Microsoft Azure NV6adsA10v5 (6 vcpus, 55 GiB memory) NvidiaRTX GPU

Inbound Network TCP address to enabled for low-latency streaming

• 47984 47989 47990 48010 47998 47999 48000

How the Remote Workstation Works

• Users install the Moonlight client (iOS, Android, PC, macOS).Download
• They enter the virtual machine's IP address. rtx_vm_ip
• The Moonlight client will then prompt for a 4-digit PIN.
• The 4-digit PIN must be entered on https://rtx_vm_ip:47990/pin for quick pairing.
• The web UI facilitates an easier setup but can be disabled after logging in.

Sunshine Login

• Username: sunshine
• Password: sunshine

Configuration can be reset by deleting the folder:

c:\users\source\Program Files\Sunshine\config

If you reset your configuration, web_ui will be automatically disabled, and running sunshine.exe will result in new config files. After reset, you need to create new username and password. WARNING: In this case web_ui is disabled, and you need to have access via RDS which can be only downloaded by the authenticated person setting up the Windows.

c:\users\source\Program Files\Sunshine\config\sunshine-state.json

sunshine-state.json has a uniqueid field which is given by rtx2udk. In order to connect multiple clones from 1 client, you need to change this id manually by editing the file

Windows 10 Login

• Username: source
• Password: UDKDevKitRTX2!
• Computer Name: rtx2udk

It is recommended to change the password and computer name.

Creating a Clonable VM from a Snapshot

1. Create a snapshot from your current VM.
2. Create an Azure Compute Gallery (this will store your image data).
3. Inside the Azure Compute Gallery, create a new VM Image Definition.
4. Important Step: When creating the VM Image Definition, make sure to select OS state: Specialized. This is a crucial step to ensure your image is clonable.
5. Important Step: When creating the VM Image Definition, make sure that Security Type:. is matching with your snapshot. In my case it was: "Trusted launch" not (Trusted launch supported).
6. Add a version number (e.g., 1.0.0).
7. Do NOT select a Data Disk (your OS disk is already added).
8. Define a VM image with the following metadata:

VM Image Definition:
- Name: [Your Image Name]
- Publisher: MicrosoftWindowsDesktop
- Offer: Windows-10
- SKU: win10-22h2-pro-g2-custom-image (must be unique)

By following these steps from a snapshot you create a VM image version to setup replicated configs

1. OS Disk snapshot
2. Azure compute gallery
3. VM image definition
4. VM image version

Important Notes Reminder

• The SKU must be unique (e.g., win10-22h2-pro-g2-custom-image), or the image won’t boot.
• Select OS state: Specialized.
• Select Security type: must match with snapshot.

Post-Deployment Steps: Changing Sunshine Unique ID

When you create a cloned VM from a snapshot, the sunshine-state.json file retains its existing uniqueid. This ID is used by Moonlight to identify and connect to the remote workstation.

Since the only thing that changes during cloning is the IP address, multiple cloned VMs will appear as the same machine in Moonlight. To ensure each cloned VM is recognized as a unique machine, follow these steps:

How to Change the Unique ID

1. Navigate to the configuration file location:

   C:\Users\source\Program Files\Sunshine\config\sunshine-state.json

2. Open sunshine-state.json in a text editor.
3. Find the line containing "uniqueid": "[some-id]".
4. Change the uniqueid to a new, randomly generated value (e.g., using an online UUID generator).
5. Save the file and restart Sunshine.

Once modified, Moonlight will correctly detect each clone as a separate workstation.

Important Notes Reminder

• Change Windows login details for better security
• Reset Sunshine username, password by deleting C:\Users\source\Program Files\Sunshine\config\sunshine_state.json => this will create a new login
• Disable web_ui access to avoid pin via the web(you must have an RDS file downloaded or you won't be able to reconnect your machine)

Follow this guide, to setup your first remote cloud Windows 10 Nvidia GPU computer for development purposes using Microsoft Azure https://ue3rtx.netlify.app/