Note
SERVICE RENAMED
Prior to Windows Server 2008 R2, Remote Desktop Services was
known as Terminal Services, and the Remote Desktop Session Host role
service was called Terminal Server. The technologies are essentially
the same and are fully compatible. Only the names of the various
server components have changed.
2. Understanding RDS Deployment Options
Some administrators use RDS as a complete client desktop
solution. They install all of the applications their users need on the
RDS server and, after the users connect with the Remote Desktop
Connection client, they spend all of their time working in the RDS
session. Supporting large numbers of users and users with different
requirements can complicate this arrangement enormously,
however.
Other administrators prefer to employ RDS as a partial solution,
using it to provide only certain applications to clients. A standard
RDS session can contain just a few applications, or even one, and
clients can switch back and forth between local applications and those
provided by RDS.
Combining two desktops on a single workstation can be confusing
to some users, however. People who spend all their time in an RDS
desktop might not even realize that they are connecting to a server
for their applications. Having to switch from one desktop to another
might be asking too much of them.
A feature called RemoteApp, introduced in Windows Server 2008,
addresses this issue by delivering individual applications to clients
in separate windows. There is no RDS desktop involved; the windows
appear to the user just as they would if they were running the
application locally. Users do not run the Remote Desktop Connection
client to access RemoteApp applications; instead, they use a desktop
icon provided by an administrator, or they click an icon on an
intranet Web page.
Users can open multiple RemoteApp programs at the same time, and
as long as all of the programs are hosted by the same RDS server, the
applications all run in a single session. RemoteApp is therefore no
less efficient than a full remote desktop, when it comes to the
hardware resources it consumes on the RDS server.
3. Deploying RemoteApp Applications
Deploying a full RDS desktop is basically a matter of installing
the Remote Desktop Services role on a Windows Server 2008 R2 computer
with the Remote Desktop Session Host role service, and then installing
the applications you want to share. When you grant users access to the
RDS server, they can connect using the Remote Desktop Connection
client and run the applications you installed.
Unless you are planning to deploy a full workstation
application configuration using RDS, you are probably better off using
RemoteApp to deploy individual applications. Deploying applications
using RemoteApp involves the following tasks:
To provide users with access to applications by using RemoteApp,
you must install the applications in the normal manner, and then use
the RemoteApp Manager console, as shown in Figure 1, to designate them as RemoteApp
programs.
When you launch the RemoteApp Wizard, you can select any of the
applications currently installed on the server. The Properties sheet
for each application, as shown in Figure 2, enables you to modify the
parameters that RDS uses to share the application. For example, you
can add arguments to the command line that launches the application,
enable users to supply their own command line arguments, and even
change the name that appears with the application icon on your client
computers.
When you complete the wizard, the application appears in
the console in the RemoteApp Programs list.
