Remote desktop vs. terminal services

[bankajac]

Can someone tell me about these two services in the context of Server 2003 Enterprise. I have used remote desktop and what I think that this is a way to administer a servier by logging into a new session on the server. What is terminal services? Is it a way to run an single application from the server without running the whole desktop session? If not, can an application such as Word be run from a server and appear on a client as a single application without the server's desktop?

[Menge]

1) Remote Desktop is the "dumbed-down marketing name" for Terminal Services. They're essentially the same thing.

2) You can run a single application from the server. But it'll be running on the client. Not on the server and having the content transferred.

3) And no... there's no such built in feature such as a kiosk mode, like that which you asked abourt.

[Japlabot]

Remote Desktop and Terminal Services are the same thing

Terminal Services = Windows 2000,2003?

Remote Desktop = Windows XP

[crazihouse]

You can only have one user on Remote Desktop whereas you can have multiple users on Terminal Services.

[randy_tho]

I'm sure you can run a single app upon user login under TS. When you exit the app it will log you out. I know you can do it but can't say exactly how to set it up.

For instance: You have an Access program that users work with exclusively. When they log in through RD the program will be launched with no explorer.

[Menge]

You can only have one user on Remote Desktop whereas you can have multiple users on Terminal Services.

586382051[/snapback]

not really :)

on Windows Server 2003, you can have up to two simultaneous Remote Desktop connections if you don't have Terminal Services installed.... if you have the specific service installed, then you can have as many as you say :)

edit to answer question below without double-posting:

You can administer a server through Remote Desktop, yes. Remote Desktop is the name for the "client part". It's a dumbed down term for end-users. Terminal Services is the name given to the server portion. You can actually host a couple of sessions without Terminal Services installed (thought it actually kinda is - but the licensing part which allows more than 2 connections is not). In Windows XP, you can have up to 2 concurrent windows sessions (one on the terminal and one on remote). On 2003, without Terminal Services you can have up to two simultaneous Remote Desktop connections + 1 terminal (which means you can be logged locally and still have 2 other people remote desktop in). To have more than that, you must install the Terminal Services Licensing package, which provides for more connections

Edited August 15, 2005 by Menge

[bankajac]

I noticed that the terms "Remote Desktop" and "Terminal Services and Server" are both used throughout Server 2003. So, only one individual can log remotely through Remote Desktop (used to administer server) and many can use the Terminal Server to log into a session but to run applications and not administration. Is that correct?

Edit: Did not see the above post when posting?

[bankajac]

Menge, can you explain what you mean by your statement number 2?

[Billprozac]

Terminal services was the blanket term used in Windows 2000 and was a seperate product in NT4.

Windows 2000 Terminal Services has 2 modes: Administration and Application

Administration allows limited number of connections but does not use a virtualized enviornment

Apllication mode supports many users, but uses some "trickery" to make it all happy. When in application mode, all programs must be installed through special means so the system can apply all application changes to all enviornments.

With Windows XP, we got Remote Desktop which was essentially Windows 2000 Terminal services in Administration Mode. With Windows 2003 server, they abandoned the concept of modes. Remote Desktop is the same as it is in Windows XP (well except they allow multiple connections) and Terminal SErvices is Terminal Services:Application mode from WIndows 2000.

2) You can run a single application from the server. But it'll be running on the client. Not on the server and having the content transferred.

Nope. When using TS and remote desktop, all programs run oin the server and simple "screen shots" are sent to the client. There are thin clients and TS clients for MAC and UNIX/LINUX.

If not, can an application such as Word be run from a server and appear on a client as a single application without the server's desktop?

Not by default, but yes it can be done with TS WIndows Clipper.

Hope this all helps.

Edited August 16, 2005 by Billprozac

[Eversurf]

TS Windows Clipper. Could that be used as a replacement for Citrix? Is it a free product?

Thanx dude

[bankajac]

Looks free to me when I click on the link. All this is very interesting. I have some other questions:

1) In order to use terminal services one must purchase terminal services licenses in addition the CALs. That means that a client using terminal services must have two licenses. This is a substantial cost. Is this cost justified by not having to purchase application licenses for the client? I am a little confused at this point and probably don't understand this right. Terminal services is used when clients want to run an application from the server. If a client just needed to sun a single application such as word, it would probably be cheaper to buy the license for word for that client. If the client wanted to run several applications whose licenses cost a substantial amount, then a terminal server license would be appropriate. Is this correct?

2) If the above is correct, Microsoft made it possible for a company to purchase one software license and serve it to many clients (employees of the company). Microsoft makes money on each client from the terminal server licenses, but what about the company who only gets revenue from selling one license? I understand that the software is really running on one computer - the server, but the field should be somehow leveled by getting rid of the terminal server licenses or having the software require an additional license from the software vendor (at a substantially lesser price than the actual software license) to allow the software to be run in terminal services mode.

What do you guys think?

[MazX_Napalm]

You need one license per seat with TS (So if you have 50 pc's and 10 licenses then 10 clients can connect at any one time).

On the cost side, there is a bit more to it. If you are running thin clients, the per user cost is lower. So you need a descent server, the software, ts and a bunch of cheap thin clients. That means you save on gpu, cpu, ram and os costs per unit. Windows XP costs more than the basic Office package. You don't use Windows so there is the saving. Where you save on specs between the thin client and a normal client, that goes to having a good server/s. Finally, with thin clients, there is very little you need to do at the client.

[Eversurf]

By using TS you don't save on software. There is two way to save. First if you use TS on site you can save money on machine by buying WyseTerm or something similar (They are dumb terminals). You also save on maintenance. You only have one machine to update, one machine to upgrade and one machine to perform maintenance on.

If you use TS for user that work from home. Then you make the users happier. Some people have kinds and stuff and they love it if they can work from home, you also make data more available. The boss really like when they can look at their numbers when they are on vacation and stuff. Also if YOU are away you can always login into the server and fix most problems that occures.

BTW you need one TS license per user or per device and you are also suppose to have one software license per user or device depending on the application

[Billprozac]

In order to connect to TS you need a TS CAL. Windows XP and Windows 2000 include inherent TS CALs for Windows 2000 Server. If you are running Windows 2003, you will need to buy CALs until Vista comes out as it will have inherent CALs for 2003.

You can save money on the clients by building linux bnoxes and using rdesktop and TSclient frontend. As for the applications, legally, they need to be licensed for every user.

[bankajac]

So if the server has a copy of Microsoft Word installed on it, only one licensed user can run that software from the server remotely. If other individuals want to run Word from the server, they need to acquire an additional license. So the advantages of having a terminal server are more hardware related (cost of hardware and hardware administration).

[Billprozac]

That is correct. The other advantage is standarization of platform. If you ran a company with many small branches, you could have the branch buy any computer as their client since all of the applications would actually be running on the terminal server. Many large companier work this way.

[Amodin]

CITRIX > all, lol

Still the same thing, and of course more expensive, but it works great.

Speaking of that, they just put out their Goto Meeting app (Webex version from CITRIX) which really rocks as well, and much cheape than Webex.