Terminal Services and Remote Computing Tools

Pardon the mess; I'm in the middle of reorganizing the tools on this site. :)

AKA, 2003.02.03

Terminal Services Scripting References and Tools

Well, it isn't just Terminal Services; this section includes tools for most remote control tools I've used.  TS is the center of focus here since XP's Remote Desktop Connection (based on TS) completely changes the picture for remote control and administration.

Tools for Remote Computing

A selection of scripts and programs I have written and used for remote computing work, focusing on Terminal Services.

VB6-Embedded RDP Client

Simple demo of how to embed the RDP client in a VB6 app.


Terminal Services/Remote Desktop Troubleshooting

Life After MS02-047

If your TS Web pages don't work since IE has been patched with MS02-047, this is for you! A walkthrough of updating the server files followed by advanced troubleshooting for recalcitrant installs of the new client.

Finding a Black Hole Router

If you can connect to a Terminal Server but get the "black screen", this may be your problem.


Terminal Services/Remote Desktop Information

Terminal Services FAQ

Cleaned up by Jeffrey Randow and Wikified, this is a collection of common Q&A from the Terminal Services newsgroups.

Installing Peachtree 8 and 9 on a Terminal Server

Before the latest release (which apparently is accompanied by an EULA which forbids its use on Terminal Servers) Peachtree was a regularly deployed application for Terminal Services use.  Doug Wietbrock went to great lengths to discover the details of the process for successful installation, and it is documented here.

Terminal Services Application Compatibility List

Almost any application can be installed on a Windows Terminal Server and run.  With some, a few extra techniques are required to make them function well, and in some cases this is absolutely irrelevant because the applications may not legally be installed in a TS environment.

Terminal Services Home Directories and Profiles

Confused about how Terminal Services decides what your home and profile directories are?  Here's a chart based on Q246132 which makes it easier to trace what will happen for a given user configuration.

Licensing for Windows 2000 Terminal Services Clients

No one wanted it to be rocket science, but the Terminal Services licensing scheme is difficult to understand at first.  Here's a rough description to help you get oriented.

Clues on Installing Windows 2000 Terminal Services

This is for people who have never installed Terminal Services before and need to know where it is and how to do it.

RDP File Parameters

The new Remote Desktop client allows you to save settings in an external RDP file.  This is documentation I am assembling on the known parameters in the files.

SMClient

SMClient is a TS connection "simulator" designed for use in Terminal Services scaling tests.  It is capable of much more, including advanced diagnostics support.

Port Forwarding for the TSWeb Download and Client Connection

Port forwarding for Terminal Services/Remote Desktop can be confusing the first time you do it, especially if you're trying to implement the web client.  This graphic illustrates how the web applet download and the actual Terminal Services/Remote Desktop session are two distinct connections which can even be made to 2 distinct servers.

Turning a Win9x Workstation into a WinTerm

They're getting old and unmanageable, and everyone knows they're insecure - so what can you do with that old 120-MHz/32 MiB RAM PC?

Turn it into a Windows Terminal.  This walks you through the process of setting it up to "behave" like a WinTerm: no key-clicking until you hit the Terminal Server logon, and when you log off the Terminal Server, it shuts the system down.

Microsoft Newsgroup Posts

They're just some of my newsgroup posts.  No point in a vanity site if you can't be self-centered, right?  These are posts I've made that I found interesting for one reason or another.

Terminal Services Protocols References

Links to relevant RFCs and ITU-T drafts.  This compilation was gratuitously lifted from the RDesktop collection of Matt Chapman's links.

Mammoth List of MSKB Articles

No hyperlinks embedded yet, but this is a list of all the articles I can find on TS/RD.


VNC

My other favorite remote access tool.

VNC Q&A

Bunches of short answers for common questions from the VNC mailing list.  Includes a section on setting up VNC through a Terminal Services connection so you can get console access to a Windows 2000 server without going onsite.

VNC Tools

Various tools (mostly scripts) I have put together for working with VNC.


The Remote Computing Junkheap

Miscellaneous notes on anything that is not a part of serious remote computing - either not serious, or not remote computing.

Playing Quake over Terminal Services

Screenshots from an experiment I wanted to try for years.  Warning: if you try this yourself, don't expect good  frame rates...