Level: Introductory Intermediate
Many Windows administrators are not yet familiar with the incredible improvements in Version 8 of the Remote Desktop Protocol, found in Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, and the upcoming Windows Server 2012. For instance, they may not know about its adaptive graphics capabilities, the ability to use both UDP and TCP as the transport protocol for exceptional reliability/responsiveness over unreliable connections, and its expanded RemoteFX features. More frequently overlooked is the rich instrumentation, logging, and diagnostics Windows Server 2012 admins can now use to determine all sorts of characteristics about each RDP 8.0 client connection. This is a shame, because one of the biggest challenges Remote Desktop Services administrators face is determining whether connectivity issues are isolated to single client or several of them.
Windows 2012 and Windows 8 provide a wealth of diagnostic information about RDP 8 client connections, such as:
- Outbound and inbound bandwidth to/from the RDP client
- Round trip time to/from the RDP client
- Loss rate / Retransmission rate
- The transport protocol (UDP and TCP, or just TCP) that was negotiated when the client connected