[THIN] MSTerminalServices.org - October 2007 Newsletter

From: "MSTerminalServices.org" <info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "THIN List" <thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 06:10:52 -0500

MSTerminalServices.org Newsletter of October 2007
Sponsored by: UniPrint
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In this issue:
Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services. Will it be enough this time?
KB Articles / Webcasts of the Month
Ask our MVPs!
Learning Zone
Tip of the Month
Blog Posts
Rumours on the SBC Space

Welcome to the MSTerminalServices.org newsletter! Each month we will bring you
interesting and helpful information on MS Terminal Services

and server based computing. We want to know what all *you* are interested in
hearing about. Please send your suggestions for future

newsletter content to: SVermeulen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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1. Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services. Will it be enough this time?
Stefan Vermeulen, Terminal Server MVP and Citrix CTP

With every release of a new Microsoft OS after Windows NT 4 Terminal Server
Edition, the first
question that always popped up was "Can I do without Citrix?" Not that Citrix
is a bad thing, but for smaller shops it's pretty expensive,

and the need to have remote users setup for about $100 a pop, has always played
the minds of IT managers around the world.

With the release of Windows Server 2008, the situation is not much different.
With Windows 2003 Server versus 2000, the gain was pretty

high. Full color support, better printer driver redirection, (with kernel mode
drivers being disallowed by default) and a dozen other

features I haven't mentioned. Basically using Windows Server 2003 was much more
stable than using Windows 2000. As for rich functionality it

still was not enough for bigger companies, but smaller shops could work with it
just fine. (Maybe an extra small add-on here and there).

So what will Windows Server 2008 bring us? And more importantly: what will it
bring that is not already in Windows Server 2003? Keep in mind

that the list is not final. With RC0 being released a few weeks ago, one of the
things they noticed was the removal of AD integration of the

TSWeb solution.

This may not sound like such a big deal, but it means that users will log into
the portal and see all published applications, even if they

are not allowed to start it. Not a good deal in my opinion. I think one of the
earliest releases of NFuse from Citrix already had the

functionality to hide what you are not entitled to. If this is dropped in the
final release, I think someone will stand up and edit to

portal to get this.

But let's focus on what we do get:

- RemoteApp. For those of you familiar with storing RDP files to connect to a
server; that's basically it. Microsoft wraps it into a small

MSI to deliver it to the end user as a remote application. The experience will
be seamless and it has support for cleartext giving a richer

look and feel.
- Gateway. Connect to a portal to start your application. Citrix addicts among
you will see the NFuse resemblance. Nevertheless a nice one

though.
- Web Access. This means that traffic will not travel over port 3389 as it had
until now, but it will be tunneled through 80 or 443,

depending on the setup.
- Session Broker. An alternative for NLB, but much richer. It will load balance
the request over the least busy server, and will provide

fail over if a server in your farm should fail. This is pretty cool. So far
only third party solutions could provide this.
- Easy Print. This one popped up late in the beta stage, and surprised most of
us. Another 5 years of using the NT 3.51 printing technology

is out of the question. Other printing solutions profited well on this, but
they came at a steep price. The key is to now see which is best.

Microsoft's XPS format or the postscript/EMF format that everybody else is
using. Time will tell. If you do switch, keep in mind that the

client will require .NET Framework 3.0 SP1. And that is not a small package.

The official statement from Microsoft when it comes to comparing Terminal
Services to Citrix is 'the intent of Windows Server 2008 Terminal

Services is to provide a "better entry-level solution"' and that it is
"optimized for low complexity scenarios".

What I read was "we are not going to change an ecosystem that works well with a
minimal investment and brings us maximum ROI". Will it be

enough for the small shops though? I think so.

I think that with the web enablement, the solid printing and the load
balance/failover, this will suffice for the smaller environments. And

the big guys, what will they do? Being stuck with ICA they need to work with
Presentation Server 4.5. This product outweighs Windows Server

2008 by miles. The functionality difference is huge. But then again, so is the
price difference.

Will Windows Server 2008 make IT managers of large companies rethink their SBC
solution? Will the market shift towards other add-ons to come

close to what they want? Time will tell, but I think bigger companies will use
this to renegotiate their deal with Citrix.

src="http://images.isoftmarketing.com/UniprintfreeDown.jpg"; width=120
align=left vspace=6 border=0></A>UniPrint Gateway Terminal Server

Edition manages printing services on behalf of thin clients. It also enables
administrators to centrally manage and easily maintain

printing functions across multiple platforms in local and remote
locations. The software is simple to install, integrate, manage and

use. Its PDF-based universal printer driver conserves bandwidth and reduces
server instability caused by multiple printer driver

incompatibilities. Additionally, UniPrint Gateway TSE delivers superior
printing speed and end-to-end print data protection.

2. KB Articles / Webcasts of the Month

How to increase the number of Outlook 2003 clients that your Windows Server
2003 x64-based terminal server can support
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/891536

Event ID 10000 is logged in the Application log on a Windows Server 2003-based
computer that has Terminal Server enabled
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914052

A Windows Server 2003-based terminal server crashes when 30 to 40 users use
roaming profiles to log on to or log off the terminal server
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928096

Error message when you try to log on to a Windows Server 2003-based terminal
server: "Windows cannot load the user's profile but has logged

you on with the default profile for the system"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935649

Event IDs 1000 and 1004 may be logged in the Application event log, and Windows
Server 2003 Terminal Server client connections and logon

tries may sometimes fail, when you try to connect to a remote computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914048

Standard users cannot turn off the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security feature
on a Windows Server 2003-based terminal server
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933991

An incorrect client name appears in the license server database when you
connect the client to a Windows Server 2003-based terminal server
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927074

You cannot use a keyboard shortcut that uses the ALT GR key in a Terminal
Services session that connects to a Windows Server 2003-based

terminal server
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926934

A user who is logged on to a Windows Server 2003-based Terminal Server cannot
configure a printer as the default printer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933996

Stop error message when a client logs off from a Terminal Services session on a
Windows Server 2003-based terminal server: "Stop 0x000000ab"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/939442

Keystroke repetition and keyboard scrolling do not work smoothly when you use a
Remote Desktop connection to connect to a Windows Server

2003-based terminal server
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929274

Nothing occurs when you click Explore on the desktop in ActiveSync 4.0 or in
ActiveSync 4.1 on a computer that is running Windows Server

2003 x64 Edition
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/907885

Hotfixes

The Terminal Server Licensing tool may unexpectedly quit after you install
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 on a Terminal Server
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/910088

A Windows Server 2003-based terminal server in a forest cannot obtain a license
from a license server in a different forest
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/905687

A leak occurs in the Netbt.sys file on Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server that
has many NetBT connections
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/916508

You receive a "The specified domain either does not exist or could not be
contacted" error message when you try to establish a new Terminal

Services connection to a Windows Server 2003-based terminal server
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/902336

The session redirection function does not work correctly on Windows Server
2003-based servers that have Terminal Server enabled
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/913948

You cannot connect a terminal server client to a Windows Server 2003-based
terminal server
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922499

Terminal Servers cannot locate the license servers when you use the "Use the
specified Terminal Server license servers" policy setting
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922508

A terminal server cannot obtain a license from a licensing server that is
running Windows Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917915

When a user logs off a Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1-based terminal
server, the terminal server may stop responding for several seconds
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927182

You cannot connect to a Windows Server 2003-based terminal server when the
screen resolution for the Remote Desktop Web Connection ActiveX

control is higher than 1600 by 1200 pixels
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918679

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3. Ask our MVPs a question

This is simple and straight forward: shoot us your TS/Citrix question and we
will get some of the top Terminal Services MVPs together and

get you an answer, from everyone's point of view! The best question of the
month will be published here with all the answers from these

guys. Just email us at SVermeulen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

QUESTION: Hello Stefan; With Windows Server 2008 now coming with viridian, do
you think I could setup a big server and run multiple Terminal

Server instances on it to get a few hundred user load on it?

Regards,
Trying Tina

ANSWER: Dear Tina,

Numerous tests in the past have shown saturation of the host, when running
Citrix on vmware at 10 to 15 heavy users and 20 to 30 light

users, or when running a huge amount of users directly on Citrix/TS saturation
happened on a huge server at about 150 users.

With your "all eggs in one basket" approach in combination with both multiple
Terminal Servers and a big user load and Viridian being new

technology at version 1.0, I think you are being a bit too ambitious. We can
expect people to start trying to find out what the breaking

point of this new technology is, and to where it can bring us. I would, in your
case, not try this on my end users. Let the lab rats have

their go at it, and re-evaluate your idea somewhere at the end of next year.

4. Learning Zone

Troubleshooting Terminal Server Licensing Issues Part1, Part2 and Part 3.
http://www.msterminalservices.org/articles/Troubleshooting-Terminal-Server-Licensing-Issues-Part1.html
Date - Sep 26 2007; Author - Michael Burke; Section - Articles : Licensing
In this article Michael dives into all issues you can encounter with TS
licensing. He will help you with everything you can think of, and

what can go wrong. An excellent 3-piece.

Why you need a redundant Citrix License Server and how this can be accomplished
http://www.msterminalservices.org/articles/Create-Redundant-Citrix-License-Server.html
Date - Oct 10, 2007; Author - Wilco van Bragt; Section - Articles : Licensing
Wilco explains the need for redundancy at your Citrix license server and the
best way to set this up

src="http://images.isoftmarketing.com/UniprintfreeDown.jpg"; width=120
align=left vspace=6 border=0></A>UniPrint Gateway Terminal Server

Edition manages printing services on behalf of thin clients. It also enables
administrators to centrally manage and easily maintain

printing functions across multiple platforms in local and remote
locations. The software is simple to install, integrate, manage and

use. Its PDF-based universal printer driver conserves bandwidth and reduces
server instability caused by multiple printer driver

incompatibilities. Additionally, UniPrint Gateway TSE delivers superior
printing speed and end-to-end print data protection.

5. Tip of the Month

Load testing a Citrix server does not always have to be expensive like for
example load runner. Luckily there is a tool out there called

DeNamiK LoadGen and it has just reached version 1.2. With this you can test up
to 35 users from 3 client machines for absolutely no charge.

The counter only starts running over this amount.
You can download this free load testing tool
here.(http://www.denamik.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=31&lang=en)

6. Blog Posts

Microsoft has extensively blogged about the new printing technology in the
upcoming Windows Server 2008. Make sure to check out the 3 piece

on it.
http://blogs.msdn.com/ts/archive/2007/10/05/introducing-terminal-services-easy-print-part-1.aspx

Read all about the Client Requirements for TS Web Access in Windows Server 2008
Release Candidate (RC0)
http://blogs.msdn.com/ts/archive/2007/10/17/client-requirements-for-ts-web-access-in-windows-server-2008-release-candidate-rc0.aspx

Want to know about Terminal Services RemoteApp Session Termination Logic in
Windows Server 2008
http://blogs.msdn.com/ts/archive/2007/09/28/terminal-services-remoteapp-session-termination-logic.aspx

Do you need to connect to the Windows Server 2008 core for maintenance?
Then make sure to read this article on how to do that
http://www.petri.co.il/managing-windows-2008-server-core-rdp.htm

Michael Roth has revised his article on Windows Server 2008 Parallel Session
Creation.
Read all the details on it in his blogpost
http://www.thincomputing.net/comment.php?comment.news.3588

7. Events / Links of the Month

I think the biggest news is the release of the RC0 version of Windows Server
2008.
This one is close to RTM and gives you a good indication of what we can expect
in the final product. I also think that many people are going

to give Viridian a kick, just to see what it's worth. Want to give it your own
try? Download a 30-day version <A

href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/audsel.mspx";>here</a>.

MSTerminalServices.org will be announcing the winners of the Windows Internals
book any day now. Stay tuned to see if you are the winner!

To handle RDP connections you can either store .DRP files, retype your
connection data or use a (free) nifty application like Royal TS.

Version 1.4 has just been released. Get your copy <A
href="http://code4ward.net/cs2/files";>here</a>.

See you next month!