As you have seen in the initial chapters of this book, agility and optimization are some of the most common keywords found in the virtualization world. Those keywords are not a recent invention; organizations were always looking for new or improved ways to optimize resources (like hardware, time, and money) and make their services and platforms more agile for deployment and maintenance.
One of the technologies most commonly used to gain those benefits was Terminal Services, now called Remote Desktop Services , which allows for centralized management of resources, plus some simplified maintenance of users' environments.
The name of Remote Desktop Services appeared because the platform communication is based on the RDP protocol. In Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft changed the term Terminal Services to Remote Desktop Services, and added some changes to the architecture and functionalities. One of the new features included is that, even though the protocol used is RDP, you can now also use Web Access to access applications or desktops, just needing a compatible browser.
Many organizations choose Remote Desktop Services as part of the basis of their IT platform, which leaves you with a challenge if you are considering an App-V implementation. Can you believe in the co-existence of Remote Desktop Services and App-V? Yes, of course, but there are some considerations you should evaluate before the implementation as what you have seen so far of App-V deployments needs a twist for a successful combination with RDS.
In this appendix, you are going to learn about:
What Remote Desktop Services, formerly known as Terminal Services, is
Components involved in RDS
Differences in RemoteApp features between RDS and App-V
Combining RDS with App-V, including benefits, considerations, and procedures