How Terminal Server Advanced Client Connects to a Terminal Server Computer (270897)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
This article was previously published under Q270897

SUMMARY

This article describes how Terminal Services Advanced Client (TSAC) connects to a Terminal Server computer. TSAC is an ActiveX control, and you can download it from the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads/recommended/TSAC/default.asp

MORE INFORMATION

How TSAC Connects to a Terminal Server Computer

For this to work, you must have Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0, or later running on a Microsoft Windows NT-based, or a Microsoft Windows 2000 Server-based computer with the supplied sample Terminal Services Web Connection .asp page.
  1. When you connect to the IIS computer that is serving up the Terminal Services Web Connection page, you are connecting over port 80.
  2. Upon connection to the Web page, the ActiveX control is downloaded to your client computer.
  3. From the supplied sample Web page, the name of the terminal server to connect to, or the screen resolution are passed as parameters to the ActiveX control. After these parameters are passed, the connect method on the control is called, and then a session is launched to the Terminal Server computer.
  4. The client computer creates a connection directly to the Terminal Server computer by using port 3389.
NOTE: The Web client is exactly like the version of the full client that is included with Windows 2000, without the graphical user interface (GUI). It obtains these properties from the Terminal Services Web Connection page, and not by any communication with the IIS computer itself.

There is no dependency between the IIS computer and the Terminal Server computer. If you cannot connect to the Terminal Server computer, follow these steps:
  1. If you have customized the connection .asp page, try using the default .asp page that is included with the ActiveX control.
  2. If you are still unable to succeed by using the default connection .asp page, try using the client that is included with Windows 2000.
For additional information and troubleshooting steps for connecting to a Terminal Server, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

186645 Troubleshooting RDP Client Connection Problems

For more information about how to script the TSAC, please refer to the article on the MSDN Web site:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnwts/html/w2ktsac.asp

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:1/26/2006
Keywords:kbinfo kbTermServ KB270897
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