Using Remote Desktop for Administration, you can use a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), or Internet connection to manage computers remotely with the Windows graphical interface. Remote Desktop for Administration is part of Terminal Services. For Windows Server 2003, Microsoft has separated Terminal Services into two operating modes:

To be operational, Remote Desktop for Administration and Terminal Server both depend on the Terminal Services service being installed and running on the server. By default, Terminal Services is installed and configured to run automatically. Both features use the same client, Remote Desktop Connection (RDC), for connecting to remote systems. Administrators can also use the Remote Desktops snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC).

No Terminal Server Client Access License (TS CAL) is required to use Remote Desktop for Administration. One console session and two remote administration sessions are provided for with this service. Most remote sessions are created as console sessions. The reason for this is that the console session provides full functionality for administration. Unlike standard Terminal Services connections, which are created as virtual sessions, console sessions are always created as Session 0.

Why is this important? Using a console session, you can interact with the server just as if you were sitting at the keyboard. This means all notification area messages directed to the console are visible remotely. For security, only one console session—either local or remote—is allowed. If you log on locally to the console and someone is logged on remotely to the console, you will be prompted to end that person's user session so that you can log on. The same is true if you log on remotely to the console.

Although it is recommended that administrators use console sessions, you can use remote administration sessions—hey, that's what they're there for. Remote administration sessions are created as virtual sessions on the server. They can perform most administration tasks, and their key limitation is in their ability to interact with the console session itself. This means users logged on using a remote administration session do not see console messages or notifications, cannot install some programs, and cannot perform tasks that require console access.

You'll want to formalize a general policy on how Remote Desktop for Administration should be used in the organization. You don't want more than one administrator trying to perform administration tasks on a remote system because this could cause serious problems. For example, if two administrators are both working with Disk Management, this could cause serious problems with the volumes on the remote system. Because of this, you'll want to coordinate administration tasks with other administrators.