Enterprise Server Strategies for the CIO
For some time now, Microsoft Windows Terminal Services has been a mainstay of Windows server environments. First introduced with Windows NT 4.0, Terminal Services was designed to allow remote clients the ability to access applications that are installed and managed on other network machines.
The technology has seen a host of performance and functionality improvements over the years leading up to Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services. With Windows Server 2008 R2, however, Microsoft has taken its biggest step yet, combining the components of Terminal Services with Hyper-V in an effort to make virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployments more affordable than ever.
 |
||||
|
|
|||
|
||||
Newly dubbed Remote Desktop Services (RDS), Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 include tons of new functionality not previously available. Now, some of these capabilities are nothing new to users of similar VMware and Citrix products. For example, both vendors have been using the concept of "hosted desktops" for some time, and R2's new RemoteApp and Desktop Connection feature is very similar to the XenApp Plugin from Citrix Systems. But with Windows Server 2008 R2, IT pros working in Windows environments no longer need to be as reliant on Citrix technologies for VDI.
While Windows Remote Desktop Services might not boast the same feature set as more seasoned products from those other vendors, it does have the upper-hand in terms of price. Since Remote Desktop Services comes out of the box with Server 2008 R2, organizations incur no added costs outside of the R2 server license to unleash the power of RDS.
The
new look of Windows Remote Desktop Services in R2
The first question you should be asking is, just how different is RDS from traditional Terminal
Services? This article tackles that very topic, with an explanation of how Remote Desktop Services
integrates with Hyper-V to provide a new, yet familiar, form of virtual desktop management.
New
Windows RDS features include App-V
Among the aforementioned out-of-the-box features Microsoft added to Remote Desktop Services is
application virtualization technology, commonly known as App-V. Described by Microsoft as "a
necessary component for terminal server environments," App-V is the company's answer to similar
products like VMware ThinApp and Symantec Workspace Virtualization.
Remote
Desktop Virtualization leads the way
Of everything that's been added to RDS in Windows Server 2008 R2, the Remote Desktop Virtualization
(RDV) feature might just take the cake. An improvement on Microsoft's previous Terminal Services
Session Broker service, RDV could be a welcome sign for those interested in VDI.
Client-side
rendering with R2 and Windows 7
Microsoft's acquisition of Calista Technologies in January 2008 has allowed for significant Remote
Desktop Protocol (RDP) improvements. In this tip, IT consultant and author Greg Shields explains
how these changes affect client systems running Windows 7.
Fair
Share CPU Scheduling and other Remote Desktop Services improvements
Many of the changes made to RDS with R2 build on the features present in Windows Server 2008
Terminal Services. While some new features are more important than others, additions like Fair
Share CPU Scheduling, remote desktop IP virtualization and increased Windows PowerShell integration
are just the tip of the iceberg.
Setting
up Windows Remote Desktop Services
You can test out VDI with Remote Desktop Services, but first it's important to understand the basic
components. Here you'll find a step-by-step breakdown for getting set up to use the new Terminal
Services and Remote Desktop Gateway Manager functionalities in Windows Server 2008 R2.
How
Remote Desktop Services and PowerShell work together
As mentioned before, Remote Desktop Services – as with many tools with Windows Server 2008 R2 – can
be managed from the command line using Windows PowerShell 2.0. This short tip tells you how to work
with the PowerShell RDS module and about the most useful cmdlets available to you.
There is plenty more to learn about Remote Desktop Services for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. For more information on RDS and other VDI technologies, visit SearchVirtualDesktop.com.
This was first published in April 2010
Join the conversationComment
Share
Comments
Results
Contribute to the conversation