Using a Remote Desktop Connection

Chapter 1 | Introduction to Remote Desktop Services and Citrix XenApp 5
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)
The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is automatically installed when you install Remote Desktop
Services. RDP is the only connection you need to configure in order for clients to connect to the
Remote Desktop Services server. You can configure only one RDP connection per network
adapter.
Benefits of using Remote Desktop Services
1 Organizations can deploy Windows-based applications on older systems that may have
inadequate resources.
1 Users can continue to use their current operating system and applications.
1 Organizations can deliver Windows-based applications to a variety of desktop environments
and over LANs and WANs.
1 Administrators only need to install and update one copy of an application on a server machine
instead of on all the computers in their network.
1 Networked applications will perform better over slow network connections.
About Citrix XenApp
Citrix XenApp is an application server that runs with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Citrix
XenApp extends the reach of Remote Desktop Services by providing application access by a
wider variety of platforms and clients and supporting a wider range of features such as application
transparency, better bandwidth performance, enhanced security, load balancing, and more. Citrix
XenApp has three components similar to Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server: the
server, the client, and the Citrix Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) protocol by which the
server communicates with the client.
Application server
Similar to Remote Desktop Services, when you are running Citrix XenApp, all applications are run
on the server. Also like Remote Desktop Services, the server sends only screen information to the
client and receives input only from the client mouse and keyboard.
The server hardware requirements for Citrix XenApp depend on how many clients will be
connecting at a time and the usage requirements of the clients. See
http://www.citrix.com.
Remote Desktop Services and Citrix XenApp both share executable resources among users, so
memory requirements for additional users running the same application are less than the
requirements for the first user to load the application.
Citrix ICA client
The Citrix ICA client uses thin-client technology to provide a Windows desktop or an application
to users. Unlike with Remote Desktop Services clients, when a seamless application is published
for Citrix ICA clients, the application appears as if it is running locally on the client desktop. For
Windows desktops and applications, the client only needs to make a connection to the server; the
server displays any needed visual information to the client, while the client sends back keyboard
and mouse information to the server. The application processing is done on the server; the
application is not actually loaded onto the client.
Clients are available from the Citrix website at http://www.citrix.com.