What's New in Terminal Services for Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services

Abstract

Ever since Microsoft rolled out Terminal Services for the Windows NT platform, changes to the basic design have been relatively unnoticed. Enhancements to this popular and long-running feature have taken place mostly in the background build addressing security and authentication. Not until now has the product undergone so much change gearing towards the needs of an enterprising environment. With the different kinds of devices that are available to the end user for remote connection Microsoft has addressed the transparency of use of Remote Desktop Services, the new name for Terminal Services with the release of Windows Server R2. Enjoy your experience.

Sample

Introduction

Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 were enhanced by many new features that enable users to access Windows-based programs that are installed on a terminal server, or to access the Windows desktop itself, from almost any computing device. Users can connect to a terminal server to run programs and to use network resources on that server.

This white paper points out and describes the features and technologies that the systems administrator and desktop user could use to enhance their core functionality. I am including web links and addresses for further reference on selected features.

The following list of topics enumerates the enhancements in Terminal Services on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server R2 where indicated. These are:

Remote Desktop Connection Display
Plug and Play Device Redirection for Media Players and Digital Cameras
Microsoft Point of Service for .NET Device Redirection
Single Sign-On for Terminal Services
Terminal Server Installation
Terminal Services Printing
Terminal Services RemoteApp (TS RemoteApp)
Terminal Services Web Access (TS Web Access)
Terminal Services Licensing (TS Licensing)
Terminal Services Gateway (TS Gateway)
Terminal Services Session Broker (TS Session Broker)
Terminal Services and Windows System Resource Manager
Remote Desktop Services (Windows Server 2008 R2)
Remote Desktop Connection Broker (Windows Server 2008 R2)
Platform Enhancements for Remote Desktop (Windows Server 2008 R2)

Terminal Services Core Functionality

The new core functionality in Terminal Services is of interest to organizations that currently use or are interested in using Terminal Services that enhance the end-user experience when connecting remotely to a Windows Server 2008 terminal server. These Terminal Services provides technologies that enable access, from almost any computing device, to a server running Windows-based programs or the full Windows desktop. Users can connect to a terminal server to run programs and use network resources on that server.

This new core functionality includes:

Remote Desktop Connection 6.1
Remote Desktop Connection Display improvements, including:
- Custom display resolutions
- Monitor spanning
- Desktop Experience
- Font smoothing
- Display data prioritization
Plug and Play Device Redirection for Media Players and Digital Cameras
Microsoft Point of Service for .NET Device Redirection
Single Sign-On for Terminal Services

If you use any of the following hardware you might be interested in the following new core functionality in Terminal Services:

Monitors that support higher resolutions, such as 1680 x 1050 or 1920 x 1200
Multiple monitors
Windows Portable Devices
Microsoft Point of Service for .NET devices

You also might be interested in the core functionality in Terminal Services if you want to support these scenarios:

Have users connect to a terminal server, and have the remote computer look and feel more like the user's local Windows Vista desktop experience.
Ensure that display, keyboard, and mouse data passed over a remote connection is not adversely affected by bandwidth intensive actions, such as large print jobs.
Allow users with a domain account to log on once, using a password or smart card, and then gain access to a terminal server without being asked for their credentials again.

In order to take advantage of the new Terminal Services core functionality, you will need to use the following.

Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) 6.0 or RDC 6.1
Windows Server 2008 configured as a terminal server

And in some cases, you will also need to use Windows Vista.

Remote Desktop Connection 6.1

Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) 6.1 is available with the following operating systems.

Windows Server 2008
Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3)

The RDC 6.1 (6.0.6001) client supports Remote Desktop Protocol 6.1.

Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) 6.0 is available with Windows Vista.

The RDC 6.0 software is also available for use on Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 (SP2), and Windows XP with SP2. To use any new Terminal Services features on any of these platforms, download the installer package from article 925876 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=79373).