Remote Access with Terminal Services

Remote access through Microsoft Terminal Services to your business network is often an excellent addition to your Windows network. Because the Terminal Services are included free with every Microsoft Windows Server, it is a popular choice. All that is required is the proper Client Access License (CAL) and setup of the applications to be accessed.

The reason the application must be configured for Terminal Services is that the remote user is actually running the application on the server, with video and keyboard commands allowing a very quick and responsive operation. We have configured many clients with Windows applications like Word, Excel, and Outlook for remote access, and their operation is as quick as if they were on the local PC attached physically to the server.

It is important to note that accessing an appication remotely, perhaps by multiple users simulataneously, doesn't obviate the license requirements. A business owner still must insure that sufficient licenses are owned for the number of individual users. But setting up the application so that shared data is available from the server is relatively straight-forward. What tends to be more problematic, but easily managed with the latest versions, is the data access to the remote PC's data and printing.

It is important to remember that the Terminal Server application is printing to the server's printer. If you want access to the remote PC's printer, the drivers must be installed properly at the server being accessed. Some older printers can have compatibility issues with the Windows Server drivers. In these cases, one can sometimes work around the compatibility issue by testing a different model printer driver that the incompatible printer accepts. We find that it pays dividends for a company to standardize on the specific remote printers being supported. It makes the whole process that much easier to support.

White Paper: Remote Access Overview

It is critical for business professionals today to have secure access to their information from anywhere at any time. Windows Server 2003 integrates the latest remote access technology to make it easier for employees to connect to their corporate networks.

The "Remote Access Overview" white paper outlines how Windows Server 2003 can provide telecommuters and mobile computing professionals with access to their private organization network resources. It also details the steps that you can use to set up a remote access server running Windows Server 2003 and remote access clients running Microsoft Windows XP. Through integrated dial-up service and virtual private networking service, Windows Server 2003 provides a complete remote access solution for medium-sized networks.

White Paper: Remote Access Overview

Download this as a PDF file: Remote Access Overview

If you have a remote access requirement, call us for a free assessment of whether Microsoft Terminal Services can work for you.