Designing Remote Desktop Services and Application Deployment
- 6/15/2011
Application deployment would be a simple affair if all you needed to do was deploy the same set of applications to all users in your environment. The realities of software licensing mean that large organizations can realize significant cost savings by ensuring that only those workers who need an application have it deployed to their computers. In this chapter, you learn how to plan the distribution of applications to the workers in your environment by using several tools, each of which is appropriate for a certain set of circumstances. Methods of deploying applications to users discussed in this chapter include Remote Desktop Session Host (RD Session Host), Microsoft System Center Essentials 2007 SP1, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007, and traditional deployment through Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) software publishing functionality.
Exam objectives in this chapter:
Plan for Remote Desktop.
Plan for application delivery.
Lessons in this chapter:
Lesson 1: Designing Remote Desktop Services
Lesson 2: Designing Application Deployment
Before You Begin
Ensure that you have installed a Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise domain controller named Glasgow as described in Chapter 1, “Designing Name Resolution and Internet Protocol Addressing.” No additional configuration is required for this chapter.
REAL WORLD
Paul A. Mancuso
Working in the field for more than 20 years has shown me that most companies struggle with ways to provide remote connectivity to network resources. Companies are constantly looking for easy and inventive ways to allow access without having to retrain entire staffs on the use of remote access software. Starting from the beginning, remote access clients evolved many times, mostly morphing from one type or variation of virtual private network (VPN) clients. Users would require constant training and support to ensure the smooth access of the VPN client and the administration of the VPN services and devices. Providing seamless but secure access from a user’s desktop with lowered costs has been the ultimate goal. Starting with Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2008 and continuing with the enhancements provided in Windows Server 2008 R2, Remote Desktop Services has evolved to meet that ultimate goal. With Remote Desktop Services, a user from any remotely connected location merely needs to click an associated document of an application running on a server located within the user’s internal corporate network and a secure connection over Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) through a firewall can be initiated and authenticated seamlessly to the user. This removes the two biggest barriers to deploying applications for remote use: a user’s knowledge of how to access the applications as well as the overhead of training the user, and the ability to secure the access with reasonable costs for both the solution and the continued administration of the services and devices associated with the solution. My clients have shown a surprising increase in remote use of their applications due to the increased convenience and lowered costs.