Global Protect and MS RDP on M1 Mac's

[Macrumorsss]

Hi,

I am interested in getting one of the M1 MacBook Air's, but one thing which is a game changer for me is whether or not VPN with Global Protect and MS Remote Desktop app work on the M1 mac's. Can anyone confirm if they have encountered any issues with Global Protect and the MS Remote Desktop App? Do they work? Do they not work?

I have a read a lot regarding users having problems when upgrading to Big Sur, I'm still on Catalina on my MacBook Pro and iMac.

Thanks for any experience you can share.

 

[Macrumorsss]

Hi All, in case anyone else is concerned about this another MacRumors post explains this in much further detail: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/vpn-software.2270086/

 

[CHarrisMedia]

I have the new M1 Macbook Pro and GlobalProtect and MS RDP work perfectly fine through Rosetta 2. Same with Remote Desktop Manager if you use that.

Once these apps get updated to run natively on Apple Silicon, they will probably be even faster but I've had no issues running them through Rosetta 2, I came from the 2020 Intel MacBook and they still run quicker via rosetta than they did on the 10th Gen CPU's.

I've actually had no crashes of any apps yet, MS have updated office for Apple Silicon in the beta builds, just waiting on Teams, Zoom and Spotify now.

 

[mj_]

Interesting. I cannot get GlobalProtect to work on Big Sur at all on both my Intel iMac and my M1 Air. It just sits there trying to connect forever. Never times out, never actually connects to anything.

What version of GlobalProtect are you using?

 

[CHarrisMedia]

Interesting. I cannot get GlobalProtect to work on Big Sur at all on both my Intel iMac and my M1 Air. It just sits there trying to connect forever. Never times out, never actually connects to anything.

What version of GlobalProtect are you using?

I’m on 5.2.x the issue you’re talking about is a direct symptom of being on a version too old and thus not supported in Big Sur. Your organisation need to give you a more recent version.

 

[Macrumorsss]

I’m on 5.2.x the issue you’re talking about is a direct symptom of being on a version too old and thus not supported in Big Sur. Your organisation need to give you a more recent version.

On your M1 use the iphone app. Works like a charm and you do not beed to wait for your company to make a right version available to you.

 

[CHarrisMedia]

On your M1 use the iphone app. Works like a charm and you do not beed to wait for your company to make a right version available to you.

I believe GlobalProtect mobile app requires a separate license from desktop backend side. We don’t pay for mobile licenses so the app doesn’t work at my org. Also, I would advise users to notify their IT department as newer versions of GP also have security updates.

 

[mj_]

I’m on 5.2.x the issue you’re talking about is a direct symptom of being on a version too old and thus not supported in Big Sur. Your organisation need to give you a more recent version.

I am my organisation Yes, it's possible that my version is outdated. We are still running a PA-500 HA-cluster, and the latest available version is 5.0.5 right now. I might have to look into updating the firewall to a more recent firmware, that might do the trick. And yes, the mobile client requires a separate license that we are not paying for at the moment either.

 

[nueve.local]

I have the new M1 Macbook Pro and GlobalProtect and MS RDP work perfectly fine through Rosetta 2. Same with Remote Desktop Manager if you use that.

Once these apps get updated to run natively on Apple Silicon, they will probably be even faster but I've had no issues running them through Rosetta 2, I came from the 2020 Intel MacBook and they still run quicker via rosetta than they did on the 10th Gen CPU's.

I've actually had no crashes of any apps yet, MS have updated office for Apple Silicon in the beta builds, just waiting on Teams, Zoom and Spotify now.

Thanks for the info. Are you using the standard Remote Desktop app from Microsoft? Just curious as I'm considering pulling the trigger on a M1 powered MacMini to replace my current MacMini. However I run a Remote Desktop session to a Win10 machine most days for work related activities. It's all on the same network. But I've heard some people say that RDP on a M1 Mac has been sluggish.

 

[chrfr]

I am my organisation Yes, it's possible that my version is outdated. We are still running a PA-500 HA-cluster, and the latest available version is 5.0.5 right now. I might have to look into updating the firewall to a more recent firmware, that might do the trick. And yes, the mobile client requires a separate license that we are not paying for at the moment either.

5.0.5 won't work in Big Sur, let alone on M1 Macs. You need a newer version which switches the client over to using System Extensions instead of Kernel Extensions.

 

[CHarrisMedia]

Thanks for the info. Are you using the standard Remote Desktop app from Microsoft? Just curious as I'm considering pulling the trigger on a M1 powered MacMini to replace my current MacMini. However I run a Remote Desktop session to a Win10 machine most days for work related activities. It's all on the same network. But I've heard some people say that RDP on a M1 Mac has been sluggish.

I mean once you connect to whatever PC/Server you’re going to use, surely any slowness would be on the actual remote machine itself?

I’ve not had any issues with slowness using the MS RDM program from the App Store. I connect to a windows 10 H2 PC with around 9ms latency and it works smooth.

 

[mj_]

Thanks for the info. Are you using the standard Remote Desktop app from Microsoft? Just curious as I'm considering pulling the trigger on a M1 powered MacMini to replace my current MacMini. However I run a Remote Desktop session to a Win10 machine most days for work related activities. It's all on the same network. But I've heard some people say that RDP on a M1 Mac has been sluggish.

RDP on a Mac is a bit sluggish in general but it depends a lot on how fast your connection is. I have been using Microsoft's Remote Desktop application for many years now on a daily basis, and in my experience high-latency sessions are incredibly sluggish when compared to Microsoft's Remote Desktop client for Windows (mstsc.exe). Low-latency connections are fine with barely any difference between the Mac and Windows RDP clients, and there is absolutely no difference between my Intel iMac and my M1 Air.

 

[mj_]

5.0.5 won't work in Big Sur, let alone on M1 Macs. You need a newer version which switches the client over to using System Extensions instead of Kernel Extensions.

Yup, figured that would be the case. Unfortunately, I cannot update that PA-500 cluster any further. Doesn't matter though, those firewalls need to be upgraded anyway so I am now looking at a FortiGate 100E cluster instead. Thanks for verifying though.

 

[nueve.local]

RDP on a Mac is a bit sluggish in general but it depends a lot on how fast your connection is. I have been using Microsoft's Remote Desktop application for many years now on a daily basis, and in my experience high-latency sessions are incredibly sluggish when compared to Microsoft's Remote Desktop client for Windows (mstsc.exe). Low-latency connections are fine with barely any difference between the Mac and Windows RDP clients, and there is absolutely no difference between my Intel iMac and my M1 Air.

Thanks MJ & CHarris! Great feedback.

My biggest concern was if the MS Remote Desktop software itself wasn't performing well on the M1 chipped macs. Sounds like it's nearly identical to the Intel ones though.

Any other gripes on the M1 setup before I pull the trigger? Or are these machines performing as advertised, overall?

 

[edis]

My biggest concern was if the MS Remote Desktop software itself wasn't performing well on the M1 chipped macs. Sounds like it's nearly identical to the Intel ones though.

Any other gripes on the M1 setup before I pull the trigger? Or are these machines performing as advertised, overall?

No issues noticed in the whole VPN + RDP client chain. Thing does work. Minor issues in serving RDP (xrdp build missing for M1)/VNC (unsteady inbetween sleeps). If you have DVI screen, your current HDMI -> DVI cabling may not work, missing another required signal, then think Thunderbolt adapter. Willing to have several screens attached, you will need to resolve HDMI for one of them. Otherwise, it is machine to put fingers on without delay, it's new era, available now.

 

[sixth]

FYI the Global Protect iOS client works too and is "native" non-rosetta 2 need. Been using it since day 1 of M1 and no issues at all. Uninstalled the regular osx client since it went through rosetta.

 

[JRomeroR84]

Tengo una MBP 2013 y me conecto a mi organización con Global Protect 5.1.5 y MS Remote Desktop pero quería cambiar mi Macbook a la nueva MBP M1 y tengo dudas si tendré problemas en la conexión pues mi Organización es un ente estatal que no se caracteriza por tener lo ultimo en tecnología y tengo algo de temor que no pueda usar las ultimas versiones de Global Protect... hable con alguien de TI y me dijo que no debía actualizar yo mismo el Soft de Global pues se pueden dañar las librerías, lo que pretendo hacer es Instalar Global 5.2.X en mi Macbook antigua para ver si logro conectarme sin problema alguno a mi Organización y según el resultado tomar la decisión de comprar la nueva MBP. Agradecere me puedan dar consejos antes de hacer esa actualización y que hacer si en efecto se llega a dañar la librería como me dijeron los de TI pues no podré pedirles ayuda ya que me dijeron que no lo haga yo mismo y lamentablemente no les puedo pedir que lo hagan ellos pues hay muy poca gente en la organización que conoce de Apple y muchos de TI le tienen miedo agarrar una maquina como esta.

I have a 2013 MBP and I connect to my organization with Global Protect 5.1.5 and MS Remote Desktop but I wanted to change my Macbook to the new MBP M1 and I have doubts if I will have connection problems because my Organization is a state entity that is not characterized for having the latest technology and I have some fear that I will not be able to use the latest versions of Global Protect ... I spoke to someone from IT and he told me that I should not update the Global Soft myself because the libraries could be damaged, it What I intend to do is Install Global 5.2.X on my old Macbook to see if I can connect without any problem to my Organization and, based on the result, make the decision to buy the new MBP. I will be grateful if you can give me advice before doing that update and what to do if the library is indeed damaged as the IT people told me because I will not be able to ask for help since they told me not to do it myself and unfortunately I cannot ask them to they do it because there are very few people in the organization who know about Apple and many of IT are afraid to grab a machine like this.