Windows Server 2008 R2 and Remote Desktop Services (RDS), A New Name for Terminal Services
As stated in Microsoft Windows Server product roadmap, a server release update is expected 2 years after a major release. Windows Server 2008 was released in 2008. So the next server release update should be in by 2010 as Windows Server 2008 R2 (or Release 2) and a reviewers guide is available. In Microsoft product release cycle, an update release integrates the previous major release with the latest service pack, selected feature packs, and new functionality. And because an update release is based on the previous major release, customers can incorporate it into their environment without any additional testing beyond what would be required for a typical service pack. Any additional functionality provided by an update would be optional and thus not affect application compatibility or require customers to recertify or retest applications.
In Windows Server 2008 R2, Terminal Services is renamed to Remote Desktop Services (RDS). RDS introduces the new Remote Desktop Connection Broker – an expansion of the Session Broker in Windows Server 2008 – which provides the administrator with a unified experience for setting up user access to both Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and traditional session-based remote desktops. Together with Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager, the Remote Desktop Connection Broker enables a VDI solution. The Remote Desktop Connection Broker it complements shared RDS infrastructure components in Windows Server 2008, such as Remote Desktop Web Access or Remote Desktop Gateway. Windows Server 2008 R2 also introduces a series of platform enhancements for remote desktop users – such as support for multiple physical monitors, redirection of multimedia and 3D content, including Vista Aero, and enhanced, bi-directional audio support. To follow the development of RDS, this Team Blog is good place to start.
This renaming is not just about getting a new name for Terminal Services, a technology we have been using for a long time. This is more about fundamentally validating, aligning, and integrating Terminal Services with emerging paradigm like virtualization infrastructure as shown below.
We know it is critical to have a management solution in place while introducing and transforming existing IT infrastructure into a heterogeneous environment in which physical and virtualized computing resources including data, storage, application, servers, desktops, networks, and peripherals are managed seamlessly and transparently. Terminal Services is Presentation Virtualzation and we should and need to manage it just like other virtualiztion solutions.