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Derek
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fix: tune RDP software encoding for virtio-gpu VMs without VA-API H.264
- Install mesa-va-drivers alongside vainfo/libva-utils (eliminates VA-API init errors in apps like VS Code even when H.264 encode unavailable) - Add Nice=-10 systemd drop-ins for both the GRD system service and user handover service to prevent encoder starvation under load - Add configurable refresh rate cap (default 30Hz) via XDG autostart to reduce software RFX encoding load on VMs without hardware encoding - Simplify vaapi.yml package install (always install, remove which check) - Add verification checks for new components
1 parent fb063a8 commit 5fbd6ca

9 files changed

Lines changed: 177 additions & 23 deletions

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‎ansible/roles/rdp/defaults/main.yml‎

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# Change these in your inventory or playbook vars to customize
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rdp_username: "hyperi"
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rdp_password: "hyperi"
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# Display refresh rate (Hz) - lower values reduce software encoding CPU load
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# Only relevant for VMs using software RFX encoding (no VA-API H.264)
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rdp_refresh_rate: 30

‎ansible/roles/rdp/files/grd-priority.conf‎

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# Boost gnome-remote-desktop encoding priority
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# Software RFX encoding is CPU-intensive on virtio-gpu VMs without VA-API H.264
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# Deployed by dfe-developer ansible role
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[Service]
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Nice=-10

‎ansible/roles/rdp/files/rdp-refresh-rate.desktop‎

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[Desktop Entry]
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Type=Application
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Name=RDP Refresh Rate
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Comment=Set display refresh rate for RDP performance
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Exec=/usr/local/bin/rdp-set-refresh-rate
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Hidden=false
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NoDisplay=true
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X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
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X-GNOME-Autostart-Phase=Applications

‎ansible/roles/rdp/files/rdp-set-refresh-rate‎

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#!/bin/bash
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# Set display refresh rate for RDP sessions
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# Reduces software encoding load on VMs without hardware video encoding
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# Deployed by dfe-developer ansible role
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set -euo pipefail
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RATE_FILE="/etc/dfe-developer/rdp-refresh-rate"
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# Read configured rate or default to 30
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RATE=30
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if [[ -f "$RATE_FILE" ]]; then
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RATE=$(cat "$RATE_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo 30)
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fi
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# Wait for display to be ready
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sleep 2
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# Apply to all connected outputs
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for output in $(xrandr --query 2>/dev/null | grep ' connected' | awk '{print $1}'); do
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xrandr --output "$output" --rate "$RATE" 2>/dev/null || true
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done

‎ansible/roles/rdp/tasks/display.yml‎

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---
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# Display refresh rate configuration for RDP performance
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# Reduces software encoding load by capping refresh rate
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# Only affects VMs using software RFX encoding (no VA-API H.264)
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# ============================================================================
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# DEPLOY REFRESH RATE SCRIPT AND AUTOSTART
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# ============================================================================
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- name: Deploy refresh rate script
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ansible.builtin.copy:
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src: rdp-set-refresh-rate
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dest: /usr/local/bin/rdp-set-refresh-rate
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mode: '0755'
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when:
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- ansible_facts['distribution'] in ['Fedora', 'Ubuntu']
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- has_gnome
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- name: Ensure dfe-developer config directory exists
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ansible.builtin.file:
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path: /etc/dfe-developer
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state: directory
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mode: '0755'
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when:
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- ansible_facts['distribution'] in ['Fedora', 'Ubuntu']
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- has_gnome
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- name: Write configured refresh rate
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ansible.builtin.copy:
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content: "{{ rdp_refresh_rate }}"
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dest: /etc/dfe-developer/rdp-refresh-rate
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mode: '0644'
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when:
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- ansible_facts['distribution'] in ['Fedora', 'Ubuntu']
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- has_gnome
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- name: Deploy refresh rate autostart entry
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ansible.builtin.copy:
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src: rdp-refresh-rate.desktop
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dest: /etc/xdg/autostart/rdp-refresh-rate.desktop
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mode: '0644'
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when:
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- ansible_facts['distribution'] in ['Fedora', 'Ubuntu']
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- has_gnome
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- name: Display refresh rate status
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ansible.builtin.debug:
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msg: "Display refresh rate will be capped at {{ rdp_refresh_rate }}Hz on login (reduces software encoding load)"
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when:
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- ansible_facts['distribution'] in ['Fedora', 'Ubuntu']
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- has_gnome

‎ansible/roles/rdp/tasks/main.yml‎

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file: vaapi.yml
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tags: ['vaapi']
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- name: Configure display refresh rate
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ansible.builtin.include_tasks:
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file: display.yml
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tags: ['display']
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- name: Verify RDP optimizations
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ansible.builtin.include_tasks:
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file: verify.yml

‎ansible/roles/rdp/tasks/service.yml‎

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failed_when: false
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changed_when: false
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# ============================================================================
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# GRD PROCESS PRIORITY (reduce lag from software encoding)
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# ============================================================================
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# Software RFX encoding on virtio-gpu VMs is CPU-intensive. Boosting the GRD
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# process priority prevents it from being starved by other workloads.
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- name: Create GRD system service drop-in directory
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ansible.builtin.file:
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path: /etc/systemd/system/gnome-remote-desktop.service.d
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state: directory
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mode: '0755'
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when:
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- ansible_facts['distribution'] in ['Fedora', 'Ubuntu']
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- has_gnome
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- name: Create GRD user handover service drop-in directory
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ansible.builtin.file:
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path: /etc/systemd/user/gnome-remote-desktop-handover.service.d
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state: directory
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mode: '0755'
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when:
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- ansible_facts['distribution'] in ['Fedora', 'Ubuntu']
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- has_gnome
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- name: Deploy GRD priority override (system service)
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ansible.builtin.copy:
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src: grd-priority.conf
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dest: /etc/systemd/system/gnome-remote-desktop.service.d/priority.conf
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mode: '0644'
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when:
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- ansible_facts['distribution'] in ['Fedora', 'Ubuntu']
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- has_gnome
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- name: Deploy GRD priority override (user handover service)
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ansible.builtin.copy:
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src: grd-priority.conf
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dest: /etc/systemd/user/gnome-remote-desktop-handover.service.d/priority.conf
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mode: '0644'
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when:
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- ansible_facts['distribution'] in ['Fedora', 'Ubuntu']
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- has_gnome
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# ============================================================================
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# ENABLE GNOME REMOTE DESKTOP SERVICE
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# ============================================================================

‎ansible/roles/rdp/tasks/vaapi.yml‎

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# 2. Runtime: Deploy service that auto-enables when VA-API becomes available later
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# ============================================================================
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# INSTALL VAINFO FOR VA-API DETECTION
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# INSTALL VA-API DRIVERS AND DETECTION TOOLS
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# ============================================================================
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# mesa-va-drivers provides the Gallium VA-API state tracker for virtio-gpu
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# Without it, VA-API init fails system-wide causing errors in apps (VS Code, etc.)
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- name: Check if vainfo is available
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ansible.builtin.command:
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cmd: which vainfo
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register: vainfo_check
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failed_when: false
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changed_when: false
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when:
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- ansible_facts['distribution'] in ['Fedora', 'Ubuntu']
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- has_gnome
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- name: Install libva-utils for VA-API detection (Fedora)
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- name: Install mesa-va-drivers (Fedora)
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ansible.builtin.dnf:
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name: libva-utils
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name:
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- mesa-va-drivers
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- libva-utils
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state: present
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when:
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- ansible_facts['distribution'] == 'Fedora'
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- has_gnome
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- vainfo_check.rc != 0
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- name: Install vainfo for VA-API detection (Ubuntu)
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- name: Install mesa-va-drivers (Ubuntu)
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ansible.builtin.apt:
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name: vainfo
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name:
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- mesa-va-drivers
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- vainfo
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state: present
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when:
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- ansible_facts['distribution'] == 'Ubuntu'
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- has_gnome
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- vainfo_check.rc != 0
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# ============================================================================
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# DEPLOY AUTO-DETECTION SERVICE (runs on every boot)

‎ansible/roles/rdp/tasks/verify.yml‎

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register: verify_rdp_mtu_conf
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failed_when: not verify_rdp_mtu_conf.stat.exists
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- name: Verify GRD priority override exists
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ansible.builtin.stat:
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path: /etc/systemd/system/gnome-remote-desktop.service.d/priority.conf
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register: verify_grd_priority
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failed_when: not verify_grd_priority.stat.exists
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- name: Verify mesa-va-drivers installed
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ansible.builtin.command:
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cmd: "{{ 'rpm -q mesa-va-drivers' if ansible_facts['distribution'] == 'Fedora' else 'dpkg -l mesa-va-drivers' }}"
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register: verify_mesa_va
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failed_when: false
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changed_when: false
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- name: Verify refresh rate script deployed
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ansible.builtin.stat:
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path: /usr/local/bin/rdp-set-refresh-rate
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register: verify_refresh_rate
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failed_when: not verify_refresh_rate.stat.exists
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- name: Display RDP optimizer verification
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ansible.builtin.debug:
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msg: |
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✅ RDP Optimizer Configured (reboot required):
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- gnome-remote-desktop: {{ verify_grd_service.status.UnitFileState }} ✅
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- TLS Cert: {{ verify_rdp_cert.stat.mode }} ✅
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- TLS Key: {{ verify_rdp_key.stat.mode }} ✅
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- TCP config: /etc/sysctl.d/99-rdp-optimization.conf ✅
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- MTU config: /etc/sysctl.d/99-rdp-mtu.conf ✅
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RDP Optimizer Configured (reboot required):
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- gnome-remote-desktop: {{ verify_grd_service.status.UnitFileState }}
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- TLS Cert: {{ verify_rdp_cert.stat.mode }}
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- TLS Key: {{ verify_rdp_key.stat.mode }}
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- TCP config: /etc/sysctl.d/99-rdp-optimization.conf
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- MTU config: /etc/sysctl.d/99-rdp-mtu.conf
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- GRD priority (Nice=-10): {{ 'CONFIGURED' if verify_grd_priority.stat.exists else 'MISSING' }}
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- mesa-va-drivers: {{ 'INSTALLED' if verify_mesa_va.rc == 0 else 'NOT INSTALLED' }}
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- Refresh rate cap ({{ rdp_refresh_rate }}Hz): {{ 'CONFIGURED' if verify_refresh_rate.stat.exists else 'MISSING' }}
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- Status: RDP with auto-resize will be active after reboot on port 3389

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