Once you have an Remote Desktop Services [RDS] environment setup and want to continue using it past the 120 day trial period you will need to setup the RD Licensing role. This blog post will document how to setup the role, activate the license server with Microsoft, add a license key, then configure RDS with the license. vBoring Blog Series: Setup Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2012 R2 Setup RD Licensing Role on Windows Server 2012 R2 Setup RD Gateway Role on Windows Server 2012 R2 Installing the Remote Desktop Licensing Role: First the licensing role needs to be installed. On your license server go to Manage -> Add Roles and Features Click Next Select Role-base or feature-based installation and click Next Select the license server from the server pool. Click Next Scroll down and select Remote Desktop Services then click Next Click Next without selecting a Feature Click Next  Select the Remote Desktop Licensing role Click Add Features on the pop up Click Next Select the Restart the destination server automatically if required then click Install Once finished click Close. Activate Licensing Server: Now the RD Licensing role is installed we need to activate it with Microsoft. To do this we need to launch the Remote Desktop Licensing Manager. Go to Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Remote Desktop Services-> Remote Desktop … Continue reading Setup RD Licensing Role on Windows Server 2012 R2