Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the questions we hear most. Each answer links to the page with the full detail.

General

What is DartRelay?

DartRelay is a self-hosted platform that delivers Windows applications and desktops to a web browser. You install it on a server you control, point it at the Windows machines (hosts) that run your applications, and people open those applications from a branded web portal. See What is DartRelay?

Do I have to install anything on my hosts?

No. DartRelay is agentless: nothing is installed on the machines you publish from. DartRelay connects to them over Remote Desktop and can prepare them remotely, for example by installing the Remote Desktop Session Host role for you. See Adding and preparing hosts.

Do my users need to install anything?

No. A current version of a mainstream browser is all they need: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Safari. There is no client, no plug-in and no VPN. See Users' devices and browsers.

Where can DartRelay itself be installed?

On Windows (Windows client editions and Windows Server, x86 or x64), on Windows on ARM64, or on Linux x64. Some host-preparation features need DartRelay to be running on Windows; the requirements page explains which. See System requirements.

Is it hosted by Dart Innovations?

No. DartRelay runs on your own server, in your own network or cloud account. Your applications, data and sign-ins stay with you. The only outside connection it needs is to activate and renew its licence. See Licensing and Relay Seats.

Installing and running

Which database should I choose?

SQLite is built in and needs nothing else, which suits a single server. If you plan to run several DartRelay servers, or your organisation already looks after SQL Server, MySQL or PostgreSQL, use one of those. You can move from SQLite to a server database later from the console. See Databases and migration.

How long does it take to get the first application working?

If you have a prepared Windows host and an administrator account for it, the quick start walks you from the installer to an application opening in a browser in one sitting. See Quick start: your first published application.

Can I run more than one DartRelay server?

Yes. Several servers can share one database behind a load balancer, serving one portal. A pool gives you capacity and lets you take one server out for maintenance without a maintenance window. It is not failover: if a server stops, the sessions on it end and those people sign in again. See Running several servers (pools).

Does DartRelay work behind my load balancer or ADC?

Yes. DartRelay reads forwarded headers from proxies you trust and can accept a sign-in made on the appliance. The integration page has examples for Citrix NetScaler, Kemp LoadMaster, nginx and IIS ARR, and a checklist for any other product. See Load balancer and ADC integration.

How do I upgrade?

Run the new installer over the existing installation. DartRelay keeps your data directory and brings the database up to date by itself. In a pool, upgrade every server together. See Upgrading DartRelay.

Licensing and seats

What is a Relay Seat?

One device with a live session. One device may run as many applications and desktops as it likes, on as many hosts, for one seat. Signing in to the portal costs nothing; the seat is taken by the first launch and given back when the last session on that device ends. See What a Relay Seat is.

Why is a seat a device and not a person?

Because accounts can be shared. Five accounts used by a hundred people would otherwise count as five. Two people at two screens are two devices, whichever account they type.

What happens when all the seats are in use?

The next device that tries to open something is refused with a message, until a seat is given back. A licence can carry a small Extra percentage that allows a short burst above the licensed number. See Licensing and Relay Seats.

What happens when the licence expires?

A notice appears above every console page from ten days before expiry. After expiry, applications keep launching until the grace period ends, with the date shown. An installation with no valid licence refuses to launch anything. Open sessions are never cut off. See The licence strip.

We have several sites that cannot share a database. Do we need several licences?

No. One installation can share its licence with others, each with its own database. See Sharing one licence between installations.

Users and sign-in

Who can sign in?

Portal accounts you create in DartRelay, local Windows accounts, Active Directory accounts from one or several domains, and accounts from Microsoft Entra ID or another OpenID Connect provider. You choose which are switched on. See Users and groups and Active Directory and multiple domains.

Can people sign in once and not type their password again for Windows?

Yes. With Relay Pass, DartRelay logs people on to Windows with a short-lived certificate from your own certificate authority, so someone who signed in to the portal with Microsoft Entra ID or another sign-in method is not asked for a Windows password. See Relay Pass.

Does DartRelay support two-factor authentication?

Yes, built in: an authenticator app (TOTP) or a one-time code by email. See Two-factor authentication.

Can users reset their own password?

Yes, once you switch it on. A Forgot your password? link emails a one-time link, for portal accounts and Active Directory accounts alike. See Password policy and self-service reset.

Can I publish an application to the public with no sign-in?

Yes. Nominate a guest account and turn guest access on for one address. Combined with an automatic-launch rule, that address becomes one application and nothing else. See Guest access without a sign-in.

Can I let someone help run DartRelay without giving them full control?

Yes. Administrator roles give each area of the console None, View or Full access, and can be granted to directory groups. See Administrator roles and permissions.

Branding and tenants

Can the portal carry our own brand?

Yes, completely. Start from a prebuilt theme, then change colours, images, fonts and the layout of the sign-in and home pages block by block. See Themes and Building the sign-in and home pages.

Can one installation serve several companies or departments?

Yes. Each address (hostname) can be bound to a tenant with its own brand, seat allocation, announcements, terms of use and sign-in options, from one installation and one licence. See Tenancy & Branding.

Which languages does the portal support?

The portal ships with several languages and picks one from each visitor's browser. Every phrase can be edited, and you can add your own languages. See Languages.

Day-to-day use

Can people print from a published application?

Yes. A virtual printer appears in the session; each job arrives in the browser as a PDF, ready to save or print on the person's own printer. No printer drivers are needed on the host. See Printing.

Can people move files in and out of a session?

Yes, when you switch file transfer on. A file browser in the session toolbar lets people upload, download, rename and organise files in a folder you choose. See File transfer.

Can I see who is connected right now?

Yes. The Sessions page lists live sessions and lets you end one. System → Seats shows which devices hold a seat. See Monitoring live sessions.

What does a user do if an application will not open?

Point them to Opening applications and desktops. For administrators, Troubleshooting is organised by symptom.

Getting support

Email support@dartinnovations.com. Tell us your DartRelay version (shown in the console), what you were doing, what you expected and what happened instead. A screenshot and the time it happened help us find the matching entries in the logs. See Logs and audit for where those are.