The Remote Desktop Connection client built into Windows. By itself it cannot connect to a VM lacking a public IP, but az network bastion rdp launches it via Azure Bastion.
Also called Remote Desktop Connection.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains mstsc in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- CONNECT
In SQL Server, the right to open a connection to a database. Fabric's equivalent is Read permission on an item, which allows connecting to a warehouse or SQL endpoint but not querying anything in it.
- az network bastion
Group of Azure CLI commands (
rdp,sshandtunnel) for reaching VMs through Bastion; for example,az network bastion rdpstarts mstsc against a machine that has no public IP address. - RDP
Remote Desktop Protocol, which Windows uses for remote sessions over port 3389; through Azure Bastion it travels inside TLS on 443 instead.
- Azure Bastion
Managed service that lets you open RDP and SSH sessions from the portal over TLS on port 443, so VMs need no public IP. Just-in-time VM access differs in that it opens ports 3389 and 22.
Related terms
- Native client support
Azure Bastion option, on Standard tier and above, that allows
az network bastion rdpandsshto connect using a client installed locally, mstsc for example.