Windows Server 2008 can be configured with the Terminal Services Role in order to make applications available to clients that use the Remote Desktop Connection included in Windows 2000, XP, and Vista. Microsoft’s technology is derived in part from Citrix, a leading innovator in the RDP based software. In Terminal Services the client makes a low bandwidth connection to the server and launches applications which load and execute entirely on the server, sending only bitmaps back to the client which display on its’ monitor. This is very similar to mainframe computer communication to dumb terminals. I like this approach to making applications available because they can be managed at the data center. Patches and updates need to be installed only on the server; clients only need the remote desktop client. Old computers and low-power mobile devices can be terminal clients and can run the latest applications from the terminal server even if the connection is as slow as a 28k dial-up phone line.
My problem with Terminal Services has been that when I connect to a terminal server I get a second terminal desktop that sits on top of my regular desktop. I then have must navigate to the program I want to run and launch it from the Programs menu. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could just get the program and not that clumsy second desktop?
Terminal Services RemoteApps on Windows Server 2008 will deliver only the application you desire in a resizable window. Users can run multiple TS RemoteApps in a single terminal session. TS RemoteApps look like a normal application executing in a window on the local desktop. Notification icons appear in the notification area by the clock and TS RemoteApp windows can be dragged across multiple monitors. Any application made available though Terminal Services can be a TS RemoteApp. Use the TS RemoteApp Manager console to add applications to the TS RemoteApp program list. Next you must distribute a .rdp file or an msi file to client computers that contains the connection information necessary to use a TS RemoteApp. An alterative method is to direct users to a TS Web Access webpage, where they can click on an icon for the App. It is possible to configure and deploy TS RemoteApps in a few hours, especially if you use TS Web Access. Any situation that requires an extremely rapid rollout of applications, or a deployment of applications to branch office sites with very low bandwidth WAN connections can be accomplished easily with TS RemoteApps.
An excellent tutorial can be found at:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/ts/bb986755.aspx
Check it out and start exploring the possibilities of TS RemoteApps today.
-Mark Menges
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