Here’s a little bloggy blog about what’s different in Windows 2008. This is from my somewhat limited exposure to said OS, but you should still find these tasty nuggets useful. These tips are geared specifically towards Terminal Server, as that is what I use.

First off, you can no longer type ‘tsadmin’ at the run command to open Terminal Server Manager. No, you now have to type “tsadmin.msc”. This is because in Windows 2008, Terminal Server Manager is now an MMC snap-in, whereas in 2003 it was an executable. Since we’re on the subject of Terminal Server Manager, it would behoove me to note that the ‘Favorites’ option has been replaced by a new and improved ‘Groups’ option.

The ‘Groups’ option gives you the ability to add multiple groups of servers. Back in ’03 you were limited to one lousy ‘Favorites’ group. There’s no fun in that! Terminal Servers can also be added to Terminal Server Manager by importing them from a ‘TS Session Broker’.

Neat!

Here’s another mind blowing morsel. The ‘/console’ switch is no longer necessary in Windows 2008. Session 0 (a.k.a. the console) is now reserved strictly for services. In Windows 2008, legacy applications, which used to require Session 0, can now be run and installed in sessions other than Session 0. If a service that is associated with an application attempts to display UI elements, Windows Server 2008 has the capability to allow users to interact with the Session 0 UI from other sessions. Additionally, if you wish to connect to the console of a Windows 2003 Server from your Windows 2008 Server (or any machine that has RDC 6.1), you will need to use ‘mstsc /admin’ instead of ‘mstsc /console’. I’m sure there is a good reason for this change, it just isn’t apparent to me.

Remember back in the dark days of 2003 when you used to have type ‘tscc.msc’ at a run command to open ‘Terminal Services Configuration’? You can now type ‘tsconfig.msc’. This makes more sense, but who will be running commands now that there is a ‘Terminal Services’ directory in ‘Administrative Tools’?

This makes it easier to access all of your Terminal Services related tools. Notice that there is an option for ‘Remote Desktops’? It’s still an MMC snap-in, but now it’s even easier to access. Personally, I still prefer RoyalTS.

After installing Windows 2008, I noticed that I was unable to run ‘dsa.msc’ (a.k.a. Active Directory Users and Computers) as a command. This feature needs to be added. In order to do so, open the ‘Server Manager’, select ‘Features’ and then select ‘Add Features’. The feature that you’re looking for is under ‘Remote Server Administration Tools’ (or RSAT for you acronym-lovers), then expand ‘Role Administration Tools’ and select ‘Active Directory Domain Services Tools’. Select the ‘Install’ button. This WILL require a reboot. I don’t remember having to install this tool separately when I installed Windows Server 2003, but I could be wrong. It has been awhile since I installed 2003 from anything other than an image.

I have one last crumb for you and then a link to my previous blog about RemoteApp. The ‘tsshutdn’ command that no one ever used in Windows 2003 is now ‘shutdown.exe’ in Windows 2008. That’s right. The ‘shutdown.exe’ is now the preferred method for shutting down your Terminal Server.

This brings us full circle back to my previous blog about RemoteApp, hands down my favorite new feature in Windows 2008 Terminal Server.

Feel free to educate yourself on RemoteApp. 

TSMADMAN (a.k.a. Justin Whyte)