Windows 2000 Administration in a Nutshell

Name

Terminal Services

Synopsis

Lets users access the Windows 2000 desktop and run Windows applications on remote computers.

Description

Terminal Services is an optional component of Windows 2000 Server that lets remote computers or devices run sessions that give users access to a Windows 2000 desktop even though Windows 2000 is not installed on the computers. Despite the fact that the remote computers may have different hardware and operating systems installed on them, they all display the same standard Windows 2000 desktop generated by the terminal server. A single terminal server can serve multiple remote computers and allow them to access Windows-based applications running on the server.

The advantages of using Terminal Services include the following:

• Windows 2000 can be run on computers whose hardware configuration is insufficient to run Windows 2000 locally. This allows business to get more mileage out of old computers and to avoid or delay the costly upgrade cycle. The client needs only enough processing power to connect to the server and display the Windows 2000 desktop.

• Instead of using legacy hardware, companies can opt to purchase newer thin clients that have modern hardware but only enough processing power to function as Terminal Services Clients.

• Windows-based applications can be accessed similarly by users on older computers whose hardware and software would not support local installation of these applications.

• Installation, upgrading, configuration, and maintenance of Windows-based ...