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Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services is divided into five major segments, each with a specific focus.
The basis of Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services Chapters 1 through 4 deal with the understanding the basics of Terminal Services, relevant network protocols and thin clients, configuration options, administration, and basic operation concepts.
Detailed operation concepts Chapters 5 through 8 examine in detail installing applications, using the registry, and using scripting mechanisms for the terminal server, as well as system security and stability.
System extensions for corporate environments Chapters 9 through 11 cover integrating and configuring the Citrix MetaFrame XP Presentation Server, managing MetaFrame environments, and running server farms in large corporate environments.
Web technologies for central distribution of Windows-based applications Chapters 12 and 13 focus on working with Windows-based applications on terminal servers that use Web technologies and application access portals.
Production environments Chapters 14 and 15 deal with optimizing, troubleshooting, and planning terminal server projects.
To understand this book, you should already be familiar with the basic concepts of Windows Server 2003 on a network. In particular, you should have at least basic knowledge of the standard administration tools, services, the registry, as well as network structures in domains and within the Active Directory Services.
This book is not intended to be a comprehensive textbook on installing and administering terminal servers. On the contrary, its aim is to present the essential concepts behind Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services. These concepts are then juxtaposed with realistic and tested reference scenarios that allow you to derive procedures for a real productive environment. It is also recommended that you read other publications by Microsoft and the different third-party manufacturers of extension tools.
Not all options of the tools and system components introduced are described in full. The author’s intention is to fully cover one topic in each chapter, which means that descriptions of marginal areas of interest and the relevant system tools remain limited. This lends the chapters cohesiveness around one core topic. When necessary, the chapters refer to detailed descriptions in previous or succeeding chapters in this book.
The following types of reader aids appear throughout this book:
| Note |
Additional notes on certain options or background information. |
| Tip |
Interesting facts or techniques that allow a particularly elegant solution. |
| Important |
Some functions are associated with a certain amount of risk. The “important” note is used to point those risks out to you at the appropriate place. |
| Caution |
Contains valuable information about possible loss of data; be sure to read this information carefully. |
So who is the target audience of this book? First of all, the book addresses Windows Server and network administrators and experts who want to use Terminal Services. System integrators, technically savvy IT decision-makers, support staff, and security advisors are also part of the target group.
To get the most benefit from this book, you should at least have one copy of Windows Server 2003 that you can access as an administrator. You should also be able to install system extensions and applications on the server. An Internet connection is certainly helpful to download interesting tools and additional documentation.
In some chapters, we will look at the Microsoft .NET programming technique as it relates to .NET Windows Forms applications and .NET console applications. If you plan to copy the examples in your server environment, you should have available a Microsoft Visual Studio .NET development platform or the Microsoft .NET Framework SDK (Software Development Kit). You can download the latter free of charge from the Microsoft Web site or from the CD that accompanies this book.
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