Windows Terminal Server applies to servers running Windows Server 2008 and has become the standard for connecting remote users to remote applications.

One of the key components of Terminal Server is the use of Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). This protocol allows a client desktop to communicate with the Terminal Server over the network. The user interface from the server appears on the client's desktop. In other words, applications execute on the server, and the corresponding user interface display is sent over a network connection to the client desktop.

The Terminal Server client does not perform any local processing for the applications. All processing occurs on the server machine. This means the instance of the graphical user interface, the presentation layer, is the only piece transmitted to the client. It is transparent to the user that multiple connections are running simultaneously. The user only sees his or her session, which is considered independent of any other running session. Multiple sessions are possible because of the use of separate session IDs for each client connection.

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