Microsoft Remote Desktop Service
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services (previously Terminal Services)
Remote Desktop Services (RDS), formerly known as “Terminal Services”, is one of the core virtualisation technologies available in the latest version of Windows. In Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft extends desktop and application deployments from the data center to any device. In addition to the traditional session virtualisation scenario, Remote Desktop Services is expanding its role to provide an extensible platform for a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), the logical extension of traditional thin client computing.
RDS makes it possible to run an application or an entire desktop in one location, but have it be controlled in another. With RDS, you can install and manage session-based desktops and applications, or virtual-machine based desktops on centralised servers in the data center; screen images are delivered to the users, and the users' client machines, in turn, send keystrokes and mouse movements back to the server.
When using Remote Desktop Services, administrators can present users with an entire desktop environment, or with their individual applications and data which they require to complete their task. From a user perspective, these applications are integrated seamlessly — looking, feeling, and behaving like local applications.
RDS provides a cost effective means to offer a degree of thin client computing and VDI for environments that don't need the additional functionality of Citrix or VMware, whilst still providing the key benefits below:
- Faster desktop and application deployment
- Increased remote worker efficiency
- Centralisation helps to secure data and applications