Terminal Services and Remote Desktop Connections

The purpose of this section is to introduce you to Microsoft's Terminal Services.  I don't often beg, but if you haven't tried Terminal Services yet, I beg you to give the remote desktop a chance.  If you take up my challenge, I hope that you will have fun experimenting with the RDC (Remote Desktop Connections) settings for the client.  You will find most of the key configurations for Windows 2003 Server under the RDP icon.

The purpose of this page is to act as a mini sitemap and provide pointers to Terminal Services terms and concepts.

Topics for Microsoft's Terminal Services

• Terminal Services Concepts
• Terminal Services Configuration (Server)
• Terminal Services Client Options
• Remotely Setting up the Remote Desktop Connections
• Benefits of Thin Clients (White Paper)
• 10 reasons to switch to an IP PBX
• Choosing the Right Thin Client Device and Software (White Paper)
• 3CX 10 Key New Features
• 3CX Phone System provides Economical Telephony on Windows
• 3CX Delivers a Business Soft Phone Completely Free of Charge
• Remote Desktop Web Connection
• Terminal Services Group Policies
• Terminal Services Licensing
• New RDC Features for Windows Server 2003

New Client Features for RDC

1. Display Remote Desktop in True 24 bit Color.
2. Automatic Reconnects - Useful for wireless and dial-up connections.
3. Redirect and Control - Printers and especially, file systems.
4. Low Bandwidth Options - Conserve the bandwidth by disabling bitmaps.
5. Security - Client Authenticates Server also can use TLS Security.
6. Remote Desktop Web Connection.

New Features for Server

Better remote desktop connection.  Tools that did not work in previous Terminal Services now work with Windows Server 2003.

More Group Policy Options especially for Terminal Services.  Give better control of profile paths.  Much asked for single session, so that a user can only logon once.  Configure which servers can obtain a Terminal Service License.  Also improved control of Terminal Service software via group policy.

Printer drivers.  Better support, improved emulation of printers which are almost the same.

Session Directory.  An attempt to create 'Farms' for Terminal Servers.  Helps you create clusters of load balanced servers.

Summary of Microsoft's Terminal Services

Terminal Services is easy to install, deploy and configure on Windows Server 2003.  The toughest part is understanding Microsoft's licensing system.  Trust me, one day you will find situations where remote desktop comes into its own.

Related topics

• Terminal Services Home 
• Terminal Services Concepts 
• Terminal Services Configuration 
• Terminal Services Clients
• Group Policies for Terminal Services
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