Softdrive FAQ
Welcome to Softdrive! Get started faster by learning some basics.
Softdrive is a high performance Cloud PC that can be streamed to any device. On the surface, it feels just like a high-end PC where you can install and run whatever software you wish. Under the hood, Softdrive leverages the computational power of a data center. The result: a lightning-fast PC accessible on any device, gigabit Internet speeds, scalable storage, improved security, and a seamless experience for IT.
Softdrive is supported on any Windows 10 and 11 device. Other Operating Systems are coming soon!
If your device is capable of playing videos, it's capable of running Softdrive!
We recommend having a download speed of 15 Mbps+, and an upload speed of 1 Mbps+.
That said, our software dynamically adapts to your available bandwidth and Internet quality. We've seen Softdrive work on an airplane flight and with as low as 5 Mbps of bandwidth.
Using additional monitors and higher resolutions can lead to higher bandwidth requirements.
VDI, or Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, is a set of technologies which use virtual machines (VMs) as personal computers or computational resources. VDI typically refers to a self-managed, or on-prem solution.
DaaS, or Desktop-as-a-Service, is a managed, cloud-based, product that provides VMs for use as personal computers.
Cloud PCs are largely synonymous with DaaS. We use this name to distinguish Softdrive as a next-gen provider with an amazing end-user experience as a core goal.
Download Softdrive's Remote Desktop Client. Install it, login, and hit Connect!
If you're looking to use your Softdrive Cloud PC, log into the Remote Desktop Client: "SoftdriveClient.exe". If you're looking to manage your Cloud PC, such as to restart or troubleshoot, log into the management dashboard.
Your organization can control which login methods are enabled: email+password or Single-Sign-On (SSO), and whether 2-factor authentication (2FA) is enabled.
Logging into Softdrive lets you see the Cloud PC - you will have a separate login for Windows, depending on your organization's settings.
We're hoping it wouldn't be needed! But we do have a guide coming soon. This is the right place to look for it!
Generally, this indicator is a sign of network issues, although several possible issues exist.
A troubleshooting guide is coming soon. In the meantime, if the issue persists, contact your IT team or us for assistance.
We'd love to hear from you!
For feedback, reviews are always appreciated. You can also use our feedback page.
To report issues, you can use the Report Issue option in the overlay menu of our remote desktop software, or visit this link.
For feature requests, it's best to email us.
Go to your management dashboard at dashboard.softdrive.co. On the Users tab, select Invite a New User.
On the management dashboard, you can invite a new user and select the option to provision a new Cloud PC for them.
Alternatively, you can go to the Cloud PCs page, and use the bottom on the top right to add a new Cloud PC.
No, not by default.
Our default templates come with an unlicensed version of Windows Pro. Microsoft's recommendation is that our customers bring their own licenses, which is the model we follow. In particular, you can make use of Windows VDA. Please contact us for help if you're unfamiliar with this.
We can also provide Windows Pro licenses upon request.
On the management dashboard, you can upload a Windows image to use as a template. Any version of Windows 10, Windows 11, or Windows Server 2019+ is supported.
You can also convert Cloud PCs into templates using the dashboard. A guide for this is coming soon.
There are two systems to authenticate with: (1) Softdrive's services, for access to our remote desktop software and management dashboard; and (2) Windows.
For logging into Softdrive, you can use email + password authentication, Microsoft SSO, or you can work with us to configure a custom OIDC or SAML provider.
For logging into Windows, you can use Microsoft accounts, join the cloud PCs to your domain, or use local Windows accounts.
These can be configured on the client-side: the device and network the user is connecting from, and on the server-side: the Cloud PC and network the user is connecting to.
Client
By default, Softdrive Cloud PCs are accessible from anywhere, so no client-side VPN is required. We're able to do this using a connection-establishment procedure leveraging our common servers. All traffic is encrypted and authenticated, so this is still secure. If users are connecting from within a corporate network, you may need to add exceptions to your firewall for Softdrive's traffic.
Server
By default, no configuration is needed. If you would like to use a VPN or firewall here, please contact us for assistance. Guides are coming soon.
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