Chapter 1: The Concept of Terminal Services

Overview

Note

This chapter introduces Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services and includes a discussion of the basic features of Windows Server 2003 that play key roles in understanding Terminal Services. In this book, the term terminal server refers to Windows Server 2003 with Terminal Services in the application mode.

This chapter is designed to:

• Introduce you, through its history, to the possibilities that Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services offers.

• Familiarize you with the concepts of server-centered computing—the central topic of this book.

• Explain Windows Server 2003 and Terminal Services in detail.

• Describe the system architecture of Windows Server 2003, which allows multiuser operations without special modifications.

• Teach you the hardware selection criteria for terminal servers.

This chapter includes a detailed description of the operating-system architecture. The corresponding sub-chapter primarily targets experienced system architects and system engineers trying to optimize specific run-time environments. All other readers can safely skip that section and move on to the following chapters.