Terminal Services-Enabled Products

Posted by Benny Tritsch on December 8, 2003 – updated June 30, 2005

If you want to know who are the major Microsoft industry partners for Terminal Server technologies, there is a Windows 2000 partner page and a Windows Server 2003 partner page on the Microsoft Web site. They provide some interesting details. They list a number of manufacturers who licensed the usage of the RDP specifications for their own products. 

But who are these official Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services partners and what are they doing with the RDP specs?

• AMD (new on the list): They design and produce innovative microprocessors, Flash memory devices, and low-power processor solutions for the computer, communications, and consumer electronics industries. With dual-core AMD Opteron processor technology, Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services customers can support more users per server and increase the performance of demanding applications running on the same server, while reducing overall server and/or server farm power consumption.
• AppSense: AppSense is a global leader in application performance management, providing software to help enterprises improve productivity and reduce IT costs. The AppSense Performance Suite is a complete performance solution for server-based computing environments. Patented Intelligent Process Management and application optimization technologies dramatically increase the performance of your servers.
• Citrix: Almost everyone who knows Windows Terminal Servers also knows Citrix and their ICA protocol. Sometimes Citrix even seems to be a synonym for Windows Terminal Server technologies. In fact, Citrix invented Windows Terminal Servers many years ago and still is the major player in the Windows Terminal Server arena. Citrix is the Microsoft ISV of the year 2003 and Citrix developers should definitely know everything about RDP.
• Emergent OnLine: Emergent OnLine offers THINssentials, a suite of value-added server-based computing software that enhances the performance and functionality of Terminal Services and Citrix MetaFrame.
• Ericom (new on the list): Ericom Software develops, markets, and supports the PowerTerm line of products for secure Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services and legacy connectivity. Ericom's Server Based Computing solution, PowerTerm WebConnect, provides secure local and remote access to Windows applications running on Terminal Services in Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition. PowerTerm WebConnect extends Microsoft Windows Terminal Services with features including Full 64-bit support, Application Publishing, true Seamless Windows applications through a single RDP session, Load Balancing, SSL Gateway, Active Directory integration, Remote Desktop support, Centralized Administration and more.
• F5 (new on the list): Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and F5 Networks offer a solution that helps enterprises maximize the efficiency of their networks. This combined solution provides security, high availability, scalability, and integrated management for enterprises running Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services. This solution takes advantage of the BIG-IP product's unique Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services persistence feature, which provides an efficient way of load-balancing traffic and maintaining persistent connections between Windows clients and servers that are running Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services.
• Lakeside Software: SysTrack from Lakeside Software is an easy and complete way to monitor and tune Windows Terminal Server environments. SysTrack is easily installed and deployed, and scales to support centralized management of thousands of systems.
• Softricity: Softricity SoftGrid for Terminal Servers eliminates the need to install, manage, support, and upgrade applications on individual terminal servers. The SoftGrid platform uses an innovative deployment technology where small portions of the application code are streamed to the destination computer and are processed within a protective barrier, called SystemGuard, that enables applications that conflict with themselves or other applications to run on the same terminal server at the same time.
• ThinPrint: ThinPrint is a leading provider of bandwidth-optimized print solutions for server-based computing and thin devices. The namesake bandwidth management system, ThinPrint, is designed specifically for application in server-centric architectures. This software solution allows resource-oriented reduction of the bandwidth available for print job transfer.
• Wyse Technology and NCD: Providers of thin client hardware and software solutions. NCD has ceased operations in 2005.

The Windows 2000 Terminal Server partner list includes some companies who are not on the Windows Server 2003 partner list anymore.

• Network Computing Devices: Provider of thin client hardware and software solutions. NCD has ceased operations in 2005.
• New Moon: Canaveral iQ is a New Moon product extending the Windows Terminal Server platform. Canaveral iQ includes load-balancing, a Web-based management console, application publishing, and a seamless client software based on RDP. In 2003 New Moon was acquired by Tarantella. In 2005 Tarantella was acquired by Sun Microsystems.
• DAT Group: Panther Server 2002 is a DAT product that has been designed to extend Windows Terminal Services and RDP. It includes load-balancing, seamless windows, and application publishing.
• triCerat, and WM Software: These software manufacturers and system integrators develop administration products and system extensions to leverage Windows Terminal Server technologies.

Besides the manufacturers listed on the Microsoft partner Web pages, there are some additional manufacturers offering products related to RDP. It looks like they re-engineered the RDP specs or they did not need such a deep insight for the development of their products...

• Jetro: CockpIT and BoostIT are the names of the Jetro products providing a management platform for Microsoft Windows Terminal Servers and Citrix MetaFrame Servers. This includes seamless windows, application publishing, and load-balancing.
• Propero: properJavaRDP is an open source Java RDP client for Windows Terminal Servers. It is based on rdesktop, a SourceForge project.