CHAPTER 9Remote Desktop Services

Way back in the mainframe age of computers, dumb terminals ruled the roost. Users keyed their data into a “green screen” terminal and it was sent over the wire to the mainframe. Once the user’s commands had been processed, the results were then transmitted back over the wire to the terminal, where they were displayed in bright green on black background. This client/server architecture of dumb terminals and terminal servers can still be seen in operation when you watch classic movies like Billion Dollar Brain by Michael Caine.

Terminal servers have come a long way since then. Microsoft first introduced its own version of this architecture way back in 1996 with Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server edition, and it provided ...

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