Setting Up Windows Server for High-Density Robots

Using robots in a High Density Robot deployment allows you to make use of a single Windows Server Machine to run multiple automations at the same time in separate user sessions. For this, some configurations have to be done on the Windows Server Machine first, then you need to set up the environment in Orchestrator.

The steps are described below:

Install Remote Desktop Session Host to enable the Windows Server machine users to access virtual desktops, session-based desktops, and RemoteApp programs.
Add the users that are going to use the machine (and are going to be used as Robots).
Enable the High-Density Robots feature in UiPath^®.

After performing these steps, deploy your Robots as described here.

1. Install Remote Desktop Session Host

Open Server Manager.
In the Dashboard panel, click Add roles and features. The Add Roles and Features Wizard is displayed.
Follow the wizard (click Next) until you reach the Select Server Roles step.
In the Roles section, select the Remote Desktop Services option and click Next.
Follow the wizard until you reach the Select Role Services step, without changing the displayed settings.
In the Role Services section, select the Remote Desktop Session Host option. A dialog box is displayed prompting you regarding some required features.
Click Add Features. You are returned to the wizard.
Follow the wizard until the Confirm Installation Selections step and click Install. The feature is installed (restarting the server might be required).

Note: Remote Desktop Session Host option is a Microsoft paid service.

Important:
In order for RDP sessions to work correctly, make sure that Network Level Authentication for RDP is enabled.

This is done from: Computer Configuration – Administrative Templates — Windows Components — Remote Desktop Services — Remote Desktop Session Host — Security — Require user authentication for remote connections by using Network Level Authentication.

2. Adding Users

You need to add the users that can connect to that machine (they do not need administrator rights). These users are the ones that are also going to be used as Robots.

Open Computer Management.
In the left panel, navigate to Computer Management (Local) > Local Users and Groups > Groups. The right panels are updated accordingly.
Double-click Remote Desktop Users. The Remote Desktop Users Properties window is displayed.
Click Add. The Select Users, Computers, Service Accounts, or Groups window is displayed.
In the Enter the object name to select field, add users from your domain, under which the Robots will be able to access the machine.
Click OK. The configuration is saved and the Select Users, Computers, Service Accounts, or Groups window closes.
In the Remote Desktop Users Properties window, click Apply and OK. Your settings are saved and the users you just added will now be able to login to the Windows Server machine.

3. High-Density Robots Feature in UiPath^®

Create a machine template.

Important: Assign the necessary runtimes to the template. A template with X number of runtimes sets aside X licenses from the tenant's pool of licenses for each workstation connected to Orchestrator using that template. This allows you to execute X processes concurrently on each such workstation.

Say you assigned 2 unattended and 3 nonproduction runtimes to a machine template. Three workstations connected to Orchestrator using that machine template withhold 6 ( 2 unattended X 3 workstations) unattended and 9 (3 nonproduction x 3 workstation) nonproduction licenses from the tenant's pool of licenses. This enables you to execute a number of 2 unattended, respectively 3 nonproduction processes, concurrently on each such workstation. Tenant > Machines > Machine Template See here how to create a machine template.
Connect your machines to Orchestrator using the key generated by a machine template.

See here how to connect the UiPath^® Robot to Orchestrator.
Configure the user entity: set its role at the tenant level, enable automatic robot creation, set the username and password used to log on to the machine such that the Robot can authenticate, select the credential store, and configure the execution settings of the Robot.

Tenant > Users See here how to manage users. Make sure to set the login to console option to no.
Assign the user and machine template to one or multiple folders while choosing the user's roles at the folder level.

Important: This gives access to that folder and makes the processes deployed there available and ready to get executed.

Tenant > Folders See here how to assign users and machine templates to a folder.
Start a job, configuring its priority and runtime type. You can specify the user under which it gets executed, or you can leave it undefined.

Important: Unattended jobs are dynamically executed by automatically pairing the users and machines in your environment. If the user is specified, only the machine is dynamically allocated. If no user is specified, both are dynamically paired to each other. The latter is the optimal job execution mechanism, as it optimizes resource consumption.

Folder context > Automations > Jobs UiPath^® Robot Tray (for unattended robots used in attended mode) See here how to start a job.

Modern and Classic Folder

Modern

In order to configure High Density Robots in Modern Folders, unattended robots have to be created for the users that are going to benefit from this feature. In addition to this, multiple runtimes are needed to be assigned to the corresponding machine templates (the ones providing the key used to connect the Robots to Orchestrator).

Note: In modern folders, the machine name does not need to be an exact match, you can use placeholder names such as "HD Machine". In this scenario, the unattended robots are floating, not standard, meaning that the deployment is easier by design.

Classic

For Classic Folder deployments, the machine name has to be an exact match of the machine that is used to run the automations. When creating the Robots, to ease the configuration process, select the Create Another checkbox to save the values in the input fields (username, password, machine name).

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