Automating Your RDS Lab, From ISO to Full Deployment with PowerShell

Setting up a Remote Desktop Services (RDS) lab doesn’t need to take hours of manual work. With my PowerShell-based HomeLab project, you can build a fully automated Hyper-V test environment—from converting an ISO into a deployable template all the way to configuring your RDS stack.

In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the complete process, combining two core automation scripts:

1. Template Builder – Converts a Windows Server ISO into a fully-prepped VHDX using Unattended setup.
2. Remote Desktop Services – Spins up VMs, creates a domain, joins servers, and configures RDS—all from a JSON config.

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Step 1: Creating the VHDX Template from ISO

Windows Server Evaluation Download Links

Server 2019: Windows Server 2019 | Microsoft Evaluation Center

Server 2022: Windows Server 2022 | Microsoft Evaluation Center

Server 2025: Windows Server 2025 | Microsoft Evaluation Center

Before we can automate the lab deployment, we need a Windows Server template disk image. That’s where the TemplateBuilder/main.ps1 script comes in.

It uses the excellent Convert-WindowsImage PowerShell module to:

• Extract a chosen Windows edition from an ISO
• Apply an Unattend.xml file for automatic setup. A sample file is included TemplateBuilder/unattend.xml, or you can generate an answer file on the Windows Answer File Generator.
• Output a bootable VHDX, ready for Hyper-V deployment

PowerShell Snippet

Convert-WindowsImage -SourcePath $isoPath `
    -VHDFormat "VHDX" `
    -DiskLayout "UEFI" `
    -Edition "Windows Server 2022 Standard (Desktop Experience)" `
    -VHDPath $vhdPath `
    -SizeBytes 64GB `
    -UnattendPath $unattendPath `
    -Feature "NetFx3"

Once this runs, you’ve got a pre-configured VHDX ready to be cloned into multiple VMs.

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Step 2: Deploying the RDS Lab

Now that we have our base image, the real magic begins.

Edit the Remote Desktop Services/config.json file to set up your environment. It should include:

• VM names, IPs.
• Domain controller configuration.
• RDS setup details.
• VM template paths.
• Network configurations.
• Change the AdminPassword to the same password as the TemplateBuilder/unattend.xml.

Example:

{
    "VMs": [
        {"Name": "dc1", "IP": "192.168.48.10"},
        {"Name": "rdgw", "IP": "192.168.48.11"},
        {"Name": "rds1", "IP": "192.168.48.12"},
        {"Name": "rds2", "IP": "192.168.48.13"}
    ],
    "DomainController": "dc1",
    "TemplateVHDXPath": "C:\\Hyper-V\\Virtual Hard Disks\\Templates\\template_server2019.vhdx",
    "VMStoragePath": "C:\\Hyper-V\\Virtual Machines",
    "VMSwitch": "vSwitch",
    "DomainName": "homelab.local",
    "AdminUsername": "Administrator",
    "AdminPassword": "Azerty123!",
    "SubnetMask": 24,
    "Gateway": "192.168.48.254",
    "DNS": "192.168.48.10",
    "RDS": {
        "connectionBrokerVM": "dc1",
        "ConnectionBroker": "rdgw.homelab.local",
        "WebAccessServer": "rdgw.homelab.local",
        "SessionHost": "rds1.homelab.local",
        "LicenseServer": "rdgw.homelab.local",
        "HostRemoteApp": "rds2.homelab.local",
        "GatewayExternalFqdn": "rdgw.homelab.com",
        "SessionCollectionName": "RDS Host",
        "RemoteAppCollectionName": "RDS Remote App",
        "UserGroupSession": ["homelab\\domain users", "homelab\\domain admins"],
        "UserGroupRemoteApp": ["homelab\\domain users", "homelab\\domain admins"]
    }
}

The Remote Desktop Services/main.ps1 script handles:

• VM creation and static IP assignment
• Network configuration via PowerShell remoting
• Domain controller promotion
• Domain join for other VMs
• Full Remote Desktop Services role setup

How to Use It

1. Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/marcmylemans/HomeLab.git

1. Edit config.json
   Define your VM names, IPs, domain name, and RDS preferences.

2. Run the script

Set execution policy to Unrestricted for the current session

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope Process -Force

Unblock all files in the folder

Get-ChildItem | Unblock-File

Run the script

.
.\main.ps1

And voilà: Your test lab is online!

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Repository Overview

The GitHub repo includes:

• ✅ TemplateBuilder/main.ps1: VHDX template builder
• ✅ Remote Desktop Services/main.ps1: Main deployment script for your Remote Desktop Lab
• ✅ Remote Desktop Services/config.json: Central configuration
• ✅ Modular helper scripts:
  • Setup-DomainController.ps1
  • Join-Domain.ps1
  • New-VMFromTemplate.ps1
  • Configure-VMNetwork.ps1
  • Set-VMStaticIP.ps1
  • Set-RDSConfiguration.ps1
  • …and more

Everything is structured for reusability and easy tweaking.

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Who Is This For?

This project is ideal for:

• IT pros testing RDS, AD, and GPO scenarios
• Admins learning PowerShell and infrastructure automation
• Instructors building classroom labs
• Certification students practicing real-world setups

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Watch the Walkthrough

I cover the full process in my video, from ISO to fully automated lab setup.

👉 Watch here

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Customize and Extend

Since it’s 100% PowerShell, the project is easy to expand:

• Add GPO baseline automation
• Modify the Unattend.xml for software installs
• Extend the RDS config

Have an idea? Fork the repo and share your setup!

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Final Thoughts

PowerShell isn’t just for fixing problems—it’s for scaling your skills. This project makes it easy to go from ISO to enterprise-style RDS lab in a fraction of the time.

Whether you’re learning, testing, or just geeking out:
Automate the boring stuff—then tweak it for fun.

Stay efficient, stay curious,
Marc @ Mylemans Online