Virtual Channels

Virtual channels enable bidirectional communication between RDP client and server components beyond the standard graphics and input streams. IronRDP supports both Static Virtual Channels (SVCs) and Dynamic Virtual Channels (DVCs).

Channel Architecture

RDP supports up to 32 static channels per connection:

1 mandatory I/O channel: Carries graphics, input, and control traffic
31 optional static channels: Custom bidirectional data streams

Dynamic channels are created within a special static channel called DRDYNVC, allowing unlimited dynamic channels to be opened and closed during the session.

Static Virtual Channels (SVCs)

Static channels are established during connection setup and persist for the session lifetime.

Core Concepts

Channel Definition — SVCs are registered in the Client Network Data GCC block:

// From ironrdp-connector/src/connection.rs:664-666
let channels = static_channels
    .map(ironrdp_svc::make_channel_definition)
    .collect::<Vec<_>>();

Each channel has:

8-byte name: ASCII identifier (e.g., "CLIPRDR", "RDPSND", "RDPDR")
Options: Compression settings
Channel ID: Assigned by server during Basic Settings Exchange

Chunking — Large PDUs are automatically split into ~1600 byte chunks:

pub const CHANNEL_CHUNK_LENGTH: usize = 1600;

Each chunk includes a Channel PDU Header (CHANNEL_PDU_HEADER):

struct ChannelPduHeader {
    length: u32,      // Total uncompressed PDU length
    flags: ChannelFlags,  // FIRST, LAST, COMPRESSED, etc.
}

See ironrdp-svc/src/lib.rs:655-686.

Implementing an SVC

Implement the SvcProcessor trait:

use ironrdp_svc::{SvcClientProcessor, SvcProcessor, SvcMessage};
use ironrdp_pdu::gcc::ChannelName;
use ironrdp_pdu::PduResult;
use ironrdp_core::{impl_as_any, AsAny};

#[derive(Debug)]
struct MyChannel {
    // Channel state
}

impl_as_any!(MyChannel);

impl SvcProcessor for MyChannel {
    fn channel_name(&self) -> ChannelName {
        ChannelName::from_bytes(b"MYCHAN\0\0").unwrap()
    }
    
    fn start(&mut self) -> PduResult<Vec<SvcMessage>> {
        // Called after channel is joined
        // Return initial PDUs to send to server
        Ok(vec![])
    }
    
    fn process(&mut self, payload: &[u8]) -> PduResult<Vec<SvcMessage>> {
        // Process received PDU (already de-chunkified)
        // Return response PDUs
        
        let response = MyChannelResponse { /* ... */ };
        Ok(vec![response.into()])
    }
}

impl SvcClientProcessor for MyChannel {}

See ironrdp-svc/src/lib.rs:258-295.

SvcMessage and Encoding

Response PDUs must implement SvcEncode:

use ironrdp_svc::{SvcEncode, SvcMessage};
use ironrdp_core::{Encode, WriteCursor, EncodeResult};

#[derive(Debug)]
struct MyChannelResponse {
    data: Vec<u8>,
}

impl Encode for MyChannelResponse {
    fn encode(&self, dst: &mut WriteCursor<'_>) -> EncodeResult<()> {
        dst.write_slice(&self.data);
        Ok(())
    }
    
    fn name(&self) -> &'static str {
        "MyChannelResponse"
    }
    
    fn size(&self) -> usize {
        self.data.len()
    }
}

impl SvcEncode for MyChannelResponse {}

Convert to SvcMessage:

let message: SvcMessage = response.into();

// Add additional flags if needed
let message = message.with_flags(ChannelFlags::COMPRESSED);

See ironrdp-svc/src/lib.rs:68-121.

Registering Channels

Add channels to the connector before connection:

use ironrdp_connector::ClientConnector;

let my_channel = MyChannel::new();
let connector = ClientConnector::new(config, client_addr)
    .with_static_channel(my_channel);

// Or add after creation
connector.attach_static_channel(another_channel);

Channels are stored in a StaticChannelSet:

pub struct StaticChannelSet {
    channels: BTreeMap<TypeId, StaticVirtualChannel>,
    to_channel_id: BTreeMap<TypeId, StaticChannelId>,
    to_type_id: BTreeMap<StaticChannelId, TypeId>,
}

This enables retrieval by:

Type: get_by_type::<MyChannel>()
Channel ID: get_by_channel_id(channel_id)
Channel Name: get_by_channel_name(&name)

See ironrdp-svc/src/lib.rs:441-607.

Processing SVC Traffic

During the active session, route SVC data to the appropriate channel:

use ironrdp_pdu::mcs::SendDataIndication;
use ironrdp_svc::StaticChannelSet;

// Decode MCS Send Data Indication
let mcs_pdu: SendDataIndication = decode(input)?;

if let Some(channel) = static_channels.get_by_channel_id_mut(mcs_pdu.channel_id) {
    // Process the payload (automatically de-chunkified)
    let responses = channel.process(mcs_pdu.user_data.as_ref())?;
    
    // Encode and send responses
    if !responses.is_empty() {
        let encoded = ironrdp_svc::client_encode_svc_messages(
            responses,
            mcs_pdu.channel_id,
            user_channel_id,
        )?;
        
        stream.write_all(&encoded)?;
    }
}

Chunking and MCS/X.224/TPKT framing is handled automatically by client_encode_svc_messages.

Compression

Specify compression behavior via CompressionCondition:

use ironrdp_svc::CompressionCondition;

impl SvcProcessor for MyChannel {
    fn compression_condition(&self) -> CompressionCondition {
        // Never compress
        CompressionCondition::Never
        
        // Compress only if RDP data compression is enabled
        // CompressionCondition::WhenRdpDataIsCompressed
        
        // Always compress
        // CompressionCondition::Always
    }
}

This sets the appropriate ChannelOptions flags in the Channel Definition:

COMPRESS_RDP: Compress if RDP data is compressed
COMPRESS: Always compress

See ironrdp-svc/src/lib.rs:123-132 and make_channel_options at line 426.

Example: Clipboard Channel

The clipboard channel (CLIPRDR) demonstrates a complete SVC implementation:

// From ironrdp-cliprdr crate
use ironrdp_cliprdr::CliprdrClient;

let cliprdr = CliprdrClient::new();
let connector = connector.with_static_channel(cliprdr);

// Later, retrieve and use the channel
if let Some(cliprdr) = static_channels
    .get_by_type::<CliprdrClient>()
    .and_then(|c| c.channel_processor_downcast_ref::<CliprdrClient>())
{
    // Interact with clipboard
}

See crates/ironrdp-cliprdr for the full implementation.

Dynamic Virtual Channels (DVCs)

Dynamic channels are created at runtime over the DRDYNVC static channel.

DRDYNVC Protocol

The DRDYNVC channel manages dynamic channel lifecycle:

Create Request: Client requests a new DVC by name
Create Response: Server assigns a dynamic channel ID
Data: Bidirectional data transfer using the channel ID
Close: Either side closes the channel

PDU Types:

pub enum DrdynvcDataPdu {
    Create(CreateRequestPdu),
    Data(DataPdu),
    DataFirst(DataFirstPdu),
    Close(ClosePdu),
}

See ironrdp-dvc/src/pdu.rs.

Implementing a DVC

Implement the DvcProcessor trait:

use ironrdp_dvc::{DvcProcessor, DvcMessage, encode_dvc_messages};
use ironrdp_pdu::PduResult;
use ironrdp_core::{impl_as_any, AsAny, Encode};

#[derive(Debug)]
struct MyDvc {
    // Channel state
}

impl_as_any!(MyDvc);

impl DvcProcessor for MyDvc {
    fn channel_name(&self) -> &str {
        "Vendor::MyDvc"
    }
    
    fn start(&mut self, channel_id: u32) -> PduResult<Vec<DvcMessage>> {
        // Called when DVC is opened
        // channel_id assigned by server
        Ok(vec![])
    }
    
    fn process(&mut self, channel_id: u32, payload: &[u8]) -> PduResult<Vec<DvcMessage>> {
        // Process received data
        let response = MyDvcResponse { /* ... */ };
        Ok(vec![Box::new(response)])
    }
    
    fn close(&mut self, channel_id: u32) {
        // Channel closed by server
    }
}

See ironrdp-dvc/src/lib.rs:40-59.

DvcMessage and Encoding

DVC messages are trait objects:

pub trait DvcEncode: Encode + Send {}
pub type DvcMessage = Box<dyn DvcEncode>;

Implement DvcEncode for your response types:

struct MyDvcResponse {
    data: Vec<u8>,
}

impl Encode for MyDvcResponse {
    fn encode(&self, dst: &mut WriteCursor<'_>) -> EncodeResult<()> {
        dst.write_slice(&self.data);
        Ok(())
    }
    
    fn name(&self) -> &'static str { "MyDvcResponse" }
    fn size(&self) -> usize { self.data.len() }
}

impl DvcEncode for MyDvcResponse {}

Return as DvcMessage:

Ok(vec![Box::new(response) as DvcMessage])

Data Splitting

Large DVC messages are automatically split:

pub const MAX_DATA_SIZE: usize = 1600;

First chunk uses DataFirstPdu with total length:

let pdu = if needs_splitting && first {
    DrdynvcDataPdu::DataFirst(DataFirstPdu::new(
        channel_id,
        total_length,
        chunk_data,
    ))
} else {
    DrdynvcDataPdu::Data(DataPdu::new(channel_id, chunk_data))
};

See ironrdp-dvc/src/lib.rs:61-102.

Client-Side DVC Management

Use DvcClient to manage dynamic channels:

use ironrdp_dvc::DvcClient;

let mut dvc_client = DvcClient::new();

// Register DVC processors
let my_dvc = MyDvc::new();
dvc_client.register_processor(my_dvc);

// Start DRDYNVC channel
let messages = dvc_client.start()?;

// Process DRDYNVC data
let responses = dvc_client.process(&drdynvc_payload)?;

Opening a channel:

let create_messages = dvc_client.open_channel::<MyDvc>()?;
// Send create_messages over DRDYNVC static channel

Sending data:

let data = MyDvcData { /* ... */ };
let messages = dvc_client.send::<MyDvc>(vec![Box::new(data)])?;

Closing a channel:

let close_message = dvc_client.close_channel::<MyDvc>()?;

See ironrdp-dvc/src/client.rs.

Server-Side DVC Management

Use DvcServer for server-side channel management:

use ironrdp_dvc::DvcServer;

let mut dvc_server = DvcServer::new();

// Register DVC handlers
dvc_server.register_processor(Box::new(MyDvc::new()));

// Process create request from client
let responses = dvc_server.process_create_request(&create_request_pdu)?;

// Process data
let responses = dvc_server.process_data(&data_pdu)?;

See ironrdp-dvc/src/server.rs.

Example: Display Control (EGFX)

The Enhanced Graphics Pipeline uses a DVC:

// Display Control channel
use ironrdp_displaycontrol::DisplayControlClient;

let display_control = DisplayControlClient::new();
dvc_client.register_processor(display_control);

// EGFX channel  
use ironrdp_egfx::EgfxClient;

let egfx = EgfxClient::new();
dvc_client.register_processor(egfx);

See:

crates/ironrdp-displaycontrol
crates/ironrdp-egfx

Encoding and Sending

SVC Encoding

Full encoding with MCS/X.224/TPKT headers:

use ironrdp_svc::client_encode_svc_messages;

let messages: Vec<SvcMessage> = /* ... */;
let encoded = client_encode_svc_messages(
    messages,
    channel_id,
    user_channel_id,
)?;

stream.write_all(&encoded)?;

This function:

Chunkifies messages into ~1600 byte chunks
Adds CHANNEL_PDU_HEADER to each chunk
Wraps in MCS::SendDataRequest
Wraps in X.224 Data TPDU
Adds TPKT header

See ironrdp-svc/src/lib.rs:230-256.

DVC Encoding

Wrap DVC messages in DRDYNVC PDUs, then encode as SVC:

use ironrdp_dvc::encode_dvc_messages;
use ironrdp_svc::ChannelFlags;

let dvc_messages: Vec<DvcMessage> = /* ... */;
let svc_messages = encode_dvc_messages(
    channel_id,
    dvc_messages,
    ChannelFlags::empty(),
)?;

// Then encode as SVC
let encoded = client_encode_svc_messages(
    svc_messages,
    drdynvc_channel_id,
    user_channel_id,
)?;

See ironrdp-dvc/src/lib.rs:61-102.

Channel Lifecycle

SVC Lifecycle

Registration: Call with_static_channel() before connection
Negotiation: Channel included in Client Network Data GCC block
Assignment: Server assigns channel ID in Server Network Data
Joining: Client sends Channel Join Request (unless skipped)
Active: start() called, bidirectional communication enabled
Termination: Channel closes when session ends

DVC Lifecycle

Registration: Register DVC processor with DvcClient
Creation: Client sends Create Request over DRDYNVC
Assignment: Server responds with Create Response containing channel ID
Active: start() called, bidirectional communication enabled
Closure: Either side sends Close PDU
Cleanup: close() called, resources released

Built-in Channels

IronRDP provides implementations for common channels:

Crate	Channel Name	Type	Description
`ironrdp-cliprdr`	`CLIPRDR`	SVC	Clipboard redirection (MS-RDPECLIP)
`ironrdp-rdpdr`	`RDPDR`	SVC	Device redirection (MS-RDPEFS)
`ironrdp-rdpsnd`	`RDPSND`	SVC	Audio output (MS-RDPEA)
`ironrdp-echo`	`ECHO`	SVC	Echo test channel
`ironrdp-displaycontrol`	`Microsoft::Windows::RDS::DisplayControl`	DVC	Display configuration
`ironrdp-egfx`	`Microsoft::Windows::RDS::Graphics`	DVC	Enhanced graphics pipeline
`ironrdp-rdpeusb`	`URBDRC`	DVC	USB redirection
`ironrdp-ainput`	`Microsoft::Windows::RDS::Input`	DVC	Advanced input

Best Practices

Do:

Implement proper error handling in process() methods
Return empty Vec when no responses are needed
Use meaningful channel names (8 bytes for SVC, descriptive for DVC)
Leverage automatic chunkification — don’t manually split PDUs
Downcast channels safely using channel_processor_downcast_ref()

Don’t:

Block in process() or start() methods (no I/O)
Return None from start() unless explicitly intentional
Assume chunk size — use constants (CHANNEL_CHUNK_LENGTH, MAX_DATA_SIZE)
Forget to implement AsAny (use impl_as_any! macro)
Mix SVC and DVC encoding — they have different lifecycles

Debugging Channels

Enable tracing to observe channel traffic:

use tracing::{debug, info, trace};
use tracing_subscriber;

tracing_subscriber::fmt::init();

// In your SvcProcessor
impl SvcProcessor for MyChannel {
    fn process(&mut self, payload: &[u8]) -> PduResult<Vec<SvcMessage>> {
        trace!(payload_len = payload.len(), "Received channel data");
        // ...
    }
}

IronRDP uses structured logging throughout. See STYLE.md for logging conventions.

References

SVC Implementation: crates/ironrdp-svc/src/lib.rs
DVC Implementation: crates/ironrdp-dvc/src/lib.rs
Clipboard Example: crates/ironrdp-cliprdr
Device Redirection: crates/ironrdp-rdpdr
MS-RDPBCGR § 2.2.6: Virtual Channel PDU structures
MS-RDPEDYC: Dynamic Virtual Channel Extension specification

Get Started

Architecture

Core Concepts

Guides

Virtual Channels

Channel Architecture

Static Virtual Channels (SVCs)

Core Concepts

Implementing an SVC

SvcMessage and Encoding

Registering Channels

Processing SVC Traffic

Compression

Example: Clipboard Channel

Dynamic Virtual Channels (DVCs)

DRDYNVC Protocol

Implementing a DVC

DvcMessage and Encoding

Data Splitting

Client-Side DVC Management

Server-Side DVC Management

Example: Display Control (EGFX)

Encoding and Sending

SVC Encoding

DVC Encoding

Channel Lifecycle

SVC Lifecycle

DVC Lifecycle

Built-in Channels

Best Practices

Debugging Channels

References

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Architecture

Core Concepts

Guides

​Channel Architecture

​Static Virtual Channels (SVCs)

​Core Concepts

​Implementing an SVC

​SvcMessage and Encoding

​Registering Channels

​Processing SVC Traffic

​Compression

​Example: Clipboard Channel

​Dynamic Virtual Channels (DVCs)

​DRDYNVC Protocol

​Implementing a DVC

​DvcMessage and Encoding

​Data Splitting

​Client-Side DVC Management

​Server-Side DVC Management

​Example: Display Control (EGFX)

​Encoding and Sending

​SVC Encoding

​DVC Encoding

​Channel Lifecycle

​SVC Lifecycle

​DVC Lifecycle

​Built-in Channels

​Best Practices

​Debugging Channels

​References

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Channel Architecture

Static Virtual Channels (SVCs)

Core Concepts

Implementing an SVC

SvcMessage and Encoding

Registering Channels

Processing SVC Traffic

Compression

Example: Clipboard Channel

Dynamic Virtual Channels (DVCs)

DRDYNVC Protocol

Implementing a DVC

DvcMessage and Encoding

Data Splitting

Client-Side DVC Management

Server-Side DVC Management

Example: Display Control (EGFX)

Encoding and Sending

SVC Encoding

DVC Encoding

Channel Lifecycle

SVC Lifecycle

DVC Lifecycle

Built-in Channels

Best Practices

Debugging Channels

References