RemoteApp and Desktop Connection allows administrators to provide a set of resources, such as RemoteApp programs and virtual desktops, to their users. Users can connect to RemoteApp and Desktop Connection in two ways:
- From a computer that is running
Windows 7. In this case, resources that are part of RemoteApp
and Desktop Connection, when set up, appear in the Start
menu under All Programs in a folder called RemoteApp and
Desktop Connections.
- From a Web browser by signing in to the Web
site provided by Remote Desktop Web Access (RD Web Access). In
this case, a computer that is running Windows 7 is not
required.
An administrator can provide the following types of resources in RemoteApp and Desktop Connection:
- RemoteApp programs hosted on a Remote Desktop
Session Host (RD Session Host) server. The RemoteApp programs
can also be hosted on a farm of RD Session Host servers or
multiple farms of RD Session Host servers.
- A personal virtual desktop, which is a
virtual machine that is hosted on a Remote Desktop Virtualization
Host (RD Virtualization Host) server and has been assigned to
a specific user in Active Directory Domain Services. For more
information, see About Personal Virtual
Desktops.
- A virtual desktop pool, which is a group of
identically configured virtual machines that are not specifically
assigned to a given user. For more information, see About Virtual Desktop
Pools.
To organize these resources and make them available to users through RemoteApp and Desktop Connection, the administrator uses the Remote Desktop Connection Manager tool, which is available on a Remote Desktop Connection Broker (RD Connection Broker) server. For more information about configuring RemoteApp and Desktop Connection, see Checklist: Configuring RemoteApp and Desktop Connection.
RemoteApp and Desktop Connection can be used from managed computers (that is, computers that are members of an Active Directory domain) or from unmanaged computers. This gives users the ability to use RemoteApp and Desktop Connection both at work and from home.
From Control Panel on a computer that is running Windows 7, a user can set up, update, and remove RemoteApp and Desktop Connection. If a user has set up RemoteApp and Desktop Connection on a computer that is running Windows 7, resources that are part of RemoteApp and Desktop Connection appear in the Start menu under All Programs in a folder called RemoteApp and Desktop Connections. This allows the user to use RemoteApp and Desktop Connection in a manner similar to running any locally installed program. RemoteApp and Desktop Connection is updated automatically, so if an administrator adds a resource to or removes a resource from RemoteApp and Desktop Connection, RemoteApp and Desktop Connection is automatically updated on the user’s computer.
If your user does not have a computer that is running Windows 7, the user can still access RemoteApp and Desktop Connection from a Web browser by signing in to the Web site provided by RD Web Access.
For more information about RemoteApp and Desktop Connection, see the Remote Desktop Services page on the Windows Server 2008 R2 TechCenter (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=143108).