Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services

1. Terminal Services Overview

Posted by Benny Tritsch on May 19, 2008; updated on December 26, 2008

[TS Overview] [Things You Should Know...] [History & Features] [Presentation Virtualization]

For the vast majority of small, medium and large size enterprises a corporate computer network has become a mandatory infrastructure that is completely oriented towards the delivery of a variety of information technology services. These services can range from simple file and print services to authentication services or complex application services. This is why computers running Microsoft Windows Server play a significant role in such corporate networks. They are the network nodes providing vital services to multiple users and devices.

Microsoft Server 2008 was developed as the successor to the popular Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating system, with special emphasis on use by IT professionals in corporate networks. A computer system running Windows Server 2008 supports simultaneous execution of an almost unlimited number of processes. Such a server system provides, of course, support to use several processors simultaneously to increase scalability.

By default the Windows Server operating system allows multiple users to log on interactively, creating a scenario called either multi-user operation or presentation virtualization. Redirecting input and output operations to remote computers is possible in the core Windows Server 2008 system using Terminal Services. Consequently, Terminal Services allow remote devices to access and use Windows desktops and applications.

Windows Server 2008 introduces many new Terminal Services features if compared to Windows Server 2003. Some changes can only be seen when looking at system level, while other enhancements are rather obvious. Here is a very short overview of the most spectacular new features:

• Terminal Services RemoteApp: This feature allows users to launch a remote application hosted on a server and interact with it on the local desktop. The remote application is displayed without the surrounding remote desktop including start menu and Explorer shell. This means that from a local desktop perspective remote application windows are integrated seamlessly, which makes it harder to distinguish which application runs locally on the workstation and which application runs on the server.
• Terminal Services Session Broker: A load balancing and session reconnection mechanism developed specifically for the requirements of server groups hosting remote desktops or remote applications.
• Terminal Services Web Access: Launching single remote applications or complete remote desktops from a webpage is the design objective that stands behind this feature.
• Terminal Services Gateway: This feature enables users to connect to remote desktops or remote applications by tunneling RDP over HTTPS (HTTP with SSL encryption).

Before going into the details of these features and other enhancements of Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services, it is advisable to learn about some basic things and know about the history leading to the development of the underlying technology.