Hobbycode

I recently discovered something about Windows Server 2003 I had never seen before.  It’s called Terminal Services Web Connection. 

As a network consultant, I routinely connect remotely to servers inside my clients’ networks.  The most frustrating part however, is when a client has more than one server. 

If there is just one server you can simply NAT port 3389 through the firewall to that server, and RDP as you please.  If the client has more than one, then I have to remote to the first server, then remote again to the other server. 

This can be alleviated with Terminal Services Web Connection.  It can be installed from the Add/Remove Windows Components control panel applet.  You’ll find it under:

Application Server –> Internet Information Services (IIS) –> World Wide Web Service –> Remote Desktop Web Connection. 

Once installed, maneuver to http://<servername>/tsweb

This page has but one field.  Enter the server name you wish to connect to.  Voila!  Instant RDP connection to any server on the network!

Hope that helps

–cheers