Export and view RDP sessions
An export is a Boundary resource that tracks the conversion of a recorded RDP connection into video. Use an export when you want a playable/downloadable video artifact for a recorded RDP connection.
RDP session recordings are generated from multiplexed protocol traffic and may contain multiple recorded channels within a single session recording. Playback support for recorded channels varies depending on the channel type.
Boundary does not record RDP sessions directly as video. Instead, Boundary first records the session in BSR format. When you create an export, Boundary uses the stored RDP connection recording to create a video. This video file is encoded using AV1 and containerized into the WebM format. The result is a video/webm file.
To access RDP session recordings, you:
- Create an export to produce a video from the recording.
- Download the video.
- View the video.
The export process can take longer than the duration of the recorded session, as image frames are being constructed from the BSR to produce the video recording. After creating an export, you can read its current state or cancel it, if you no longer need it.
Create an export
You select a connection recording to create a session recording export.
Complete the following steps to create an export:
- Log in to Boundary.
- In the navigation menu, select Session Recordings.
- Select View on the session recording that contains the connection recording you want to export.
- Select Generate Video on the connection recording you wish to export.
If a worker is shut down while processing an export, it will prioritize finishing the processing before shutting down. If you request a forced shutdown, the processing will stop, the export will fail, and the worker will then shut down normally.
If an export fails during processing, Boundary will automatically reattempt it unless you cancel it.
Download the video
Once an export finishes successfully, Boundary creates a video artifact for the connection recording.
Complete the following steps to download a video artifact:
- Log in to Boundary.
- In the navigation menu, select Session Recordings.
- Select View on the session recording that contains the video you want to download.
- Click the ellipsis on the video you want to download and select Download Video.
View the video
Once the export has completed, you can view the video artifact in a web browser or any media player that supports the WebM format.
Complete the following steps to view a video artifact:
- Log in to Boundary.
- In the navigation menu, select Session Recordings.
- Select View on the session recording that contains the video you want to download.
- Select View on the video artifact you want to view.
Read an export
You can use the export ID to read the current state of an export using the CLI. The Admin Console also displays export information.
While you cannot read an export directly on the Admin Console, information such as status and create time is available on the session playback view. If an export is actively processing, you can view its progress percentage.
Complete the following steps to view export information:
- Log in to Boundary.
- In the navigation menu, select Session Recordings.
- Select View on the session recording that contains the export you wish to read.
Cancel an export
You can use the export ID to cancel an export that is in a pending or processing state. When you cancel an export, Boundary stops the export process and removes the export resource. You cannot cancel a completed export with an associated video artifact.
Complete the following steps to cancel an export:
- Log in to Boundary.
- In the navigation menu, select Session Recordings.
- Select View on the session recording that contains the export you want to cancel.
- Select Remove on the connection recording that contains the export you want to cancel. You cannot cancel an export that has already finished.
More information
- To learn more about how session recording exports work, refer to RDP session recording exports.
- To delete a session recording export, refer to Delete a session recording export.