Windows Server and number of terminal services sessions?

[Tim Watts]

[Cross posted to uk.d-i-y as much general expertice there too :) ]

Can anyone recall which versions of Windows Server (current or immediate previous) allow more than 2 terminal service sessions to be active at once?

2 seems the default for lesser versions of Windows Server, eg 2003 Standard

Reason: Deploying a new VMWare ESX cluster that required Windows to run vCentre and a limit of 2 sessions is not acceptable.

Cheers and thanks

Tim

[Tim Watts]

Hi John,

That might be it... We're Academic (= cheapy MS licenses) so I'll have a look in the downloads area and see what gives.

Cheers

Tim

[Tim Watts]

Hi Clive,

Couple of points I didn't mention:

1) It's in a datacentre so the console is a non starter;

2) We all mostly use Linux (me) and Macs so for admin purposes, we like to keep vCentre in one place and run it there (ie on the vCentre server) :)

It only takes a couple of people to forget to disconnect and I have problems (ie cannot get to it) hence the desire to have more sessions.

If it is a case of Terminal Services licenses, then we can do that. Sorry if that seemed a thicky question - I do not "do" Windows and haven't done so professionally since about 1999; I'm a linux dude.

The only reason now is vCentre is Windows only (PITA that is). There are a sum total of 2 Windows VMs out of over 100 (rest are Debian) and I don't touch those.

I had wondered is Server Professional (or Enterprise - is there such a thing) gave more TS sessions by default. 5 would be a safe number.

Thanks...

Tim

[Tim Watts]

Ah - them be magic words which will aid in my quest...

Thanks Andy

[John Rumm]

Don't think so. They don't usually miss a chance to stick their hand back in your pocket!

That is your standard CAL pack size as it happens... ;-)

[Tom Pickles]

You get two sessions with a non terminal services licenced copy of windows server, plus a third from the console if you use mstsc.exe with the /console switch from the command prompt (don't need to be in front of the box to use the console session).

If you have issues with people leaving unused, disconnected sessions, then you can use the windows command line tools qwinsta.exe and rwinsta.exe to query and reset the sessions respectively from a remote machine. That way, you don't need terminal services licencing to support the boxes.

I've worked in enterprise server support for many years supporting 2000+ windows servers (Win 2k onwards) and the three available TS sessions (inc console) have been sufficient in all cases.

HTH

[Andy Burns]

Yes, three sessions is sufficient to *administer* the servers.

But if you want to *use* the servers for terminal service sessions, you need approximately as many licences as concurrent users. If an RDP session is your everyday way of running the VI client, you'd be pretty hacked off if every 10 minutes when you wanted to do something, a colleaguue had bounced your session.

[polygonum]

No /console as of mstsc 6.1.

"If you use version 6.1 of the Remote Desktop Client included, in order to connect to the console session for Windows Server 2003, you should use the /admin switch instead. RDC 6.1 is included with the following operating systems:

o Windows Server 2008 o Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta and RC o Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) Beta and RC"