Terminal Services Remote Desktop

Terminal Services (TS) for Windows Server 2008 allows a minimal computer called a thin client or a terminal to connect to a Windows server, display a Windows desktop, and use Windows remotely, with Windows and its applications running on the server. The thin client (called simply "client" in much of this tutorial) can run Windows XP, Server 2003, Vista, or Server 2008, or, with third-party software, a number of other operating systems (OSs). It can even access the server over the Internet. Only the user interface runs on the client, which returns keystrokes and mouse clicks to the server. The client computer can have a slower processor, a modest amount of memory, and a small hard disk or even no hard disk. To the application running on the server, the user appears to be on that machine, and to clients, the application appears to be running on their machines, given a reasonable network speed. Multiple terminal sessions can be running on the server, but each client sees only its own session. A good use of thin clients with TS is one where the client is used for a single purpose, such as order entry, ticketing, or inventory tracking, where it is beneficial for the application and its related database to be on a server.