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220-1102 Practice Question: A company uses a Remote Desktop Gateway to allow…
A company uses a Remote Desktop Gateway to allow employees to access internal desktops from the internet. Users report that they can connect to the gateway but cannot see any available desktops in the list. Which of the following is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between gateway connectivity (CAP) and resource visibility (RAP), tempting candidates to choose generic network or client issues when the real problem is authorization policy misconfiguration.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The users are not members of the correct Active Directory group that is allowed to access specific desktops.
The Remote Desktop Gateway (RD Gateway) acts as a proxy, allowing external RDP connections to internal desktops. When users can connect to the gateway itself but see no desktops, it typically indicates an authorization failure: the RD Gateway uses Resource Authorization Policies (RAPs) to control which desktops a user can access. If the user is not a member of the Active Directory group specified in the RAP, the gateway will deny the list of available desktops, even though the gateway connection succeeds.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The Remote Desktop Gateway service is not running on the server.
Why it's wrong here
If the Remote Desktop Gateway service (TermService) is not running on the server, users would be unable to establish any connection to the gateway at all. They would typically receive an immediate connection error indicating the gateway is unreachable or unresponsive, rather than successfully connecting but failing to see a list of resources. This scenario prevents any policy evaluation from occurring.
- ✓
The users are not members of the correct Active Directory group that is allowed to access specific desktops.
Why this is correct
Remote Desktop Gateway utilizes Connection Authorization Policies (CAPs) and Resource Authorization Policies (RAPs) to manage access. CAPs determine who can connect to the gateway, while RAPs specify which internal network resources (desktops or servers) those authorized users are permitted to access. If users can connect to the gateway but cannot see or access specific desktops, it strongly indicates they are not members of the Active Directory group defined in the relevant RAP that grants permission to those particular resources.
- ✗
The desktops are powered off or disconnected from the network.
Why it's wrong here
While desktops that are powered off or disconnected from the network would indeed be unreachable, the Remote Desktop Gateway itself would still function normally. It would present any *available* resources that the user is authorized to see according to the configured policies. The problem described implies the gateway is accessible, but the *list* of resources is not appearing as expected for the user, suggesting a policy restriction rather than a universal unavailability of target machines.
- ✗
The user's RDP client is outdated and cannot display the list.
Why it's wrong here
The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) client primarily establishes the connection and renders the remote session. The list of available desktops is determined and transmitted by the Remote Desktop Gateway server based on its authorization policies and discovered resources. An outdated RDP client might cause connection issues or struggle with advanced features, but it would not typically prevent the server from transmitting the resource list, which is a core function of the gateway's initial connection phase.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Remote Support Tools and Techniques
Key term
Proxy
A proxy is an intermediary server that sits between a client and a destination server, forwarding requests and responses while providing security, privacy, and control.
Key term
Authorization
Authorization determines what an authenticated user is allowed to do within a system, such as accessing files, running programs, or changing settings.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1202 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1202 exam.