Release: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP1

Microsoft ihas announced on Wednesday at 5pm PST that Windows XP Professional 64-bit and Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2003 have been released to manufacturing to be produced for general release next month.

Download the service pack here and visit MSDN for the x64 versions of Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional.

Additional information about service pack 1 can be found in KB889100.

Some Active Directory related changes are:

• Directory service backup reminders
• Added replication security and fewer replication errors
• Install from Media improvement for installing DNS servers
• Enhancements for replication and DNS testing
• Support for running domain controllers in virtual machines
• Operations master health and status reporting
• Extended storage of deleted objects
• Improved domain controller name resolution
• Simplified process for server metadata removal
• Improved security to protect confidential attributes
• Retention of SID history on tombstones
• Adprep.exe improvements for Windows 2000 Server upgrades

Some Terminal Services related changes are:

• New fallback printer driver capability
• Authentication and encryption for Terminal Services connections
• New Group Policy settings for Terminal Services licensing
• Update to Group Policy setting for starting a program on connection to a Terminal Server

Review: Tarantella Secure Global Desktop 4

This Easter I evaluated Tarantella Secure Global Desktop Terminal Services Edition Version 4.

Short description
Secure Global Desktop Terminal Services Edition Version 4 is the ultimate companion to Windows® Terminal Services. It is an indispensable solution that provides a powerful set of application management and secure access capabilities for Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server environments.

Unlike other solutions, Terminal Services Edition leverages the Microsoft® RDP protocol as a standard building block, adding an intelligent management layer and protecting customers’ long-term investments in the Microsoft platform. By design it is easy to install, easy to administer and easy to use.

Terminal Services Edition publishes server-based Windows applications and the Windows desktop through a single, unified and portable browser interface—the Secure Global Desktop—to let you

• Ensure privacy, security and policy-based access to sensitive corporate data
• Manage workload across servers to assure high application availability
• Reduce capital investment significantly with a service-based purchasing model

Installation and configuration
The installation went smooth. I chose to install a local installation, on a single server. You can also install the solution in a domain environment. The installation itself requires IIS with ASP enabled and Microsoft SQL Server or MSDE as a datastore.

Creating teams of multiple servers automatically enables a high available solution with load balancing between servers within a team. No need for fancy additional load balancers.

Through a easy to understand web console the environment can be set up. Full desktops or applications can be published on the Secure Global Desktop with only a few mouse clicks. The client component allows you to launch the applications seamless on your existing desktop. The Tarantella client (Launch Pad) also allows you to published the available application in the user’s startmenu. Just like the Citrix Program Neighborhood Agent.

Managebility
The sessions can be restricted with standard policies or custom made policies. No need for in depth Active Directory Group Policy Object studies. This features allows you to easily build a secure environment.
From the console you can also manage the sessions (shadowing, resetting etc.) and create reports about usage.

Conclusion
Tarantella Secure Global Desktop Terminal Services Edition Version 4 really rocks. This solutions a replacement for simple Citrix envinronments, where not all features of Citrix are beeing used.

Read more at the developer.

Release: Flex Profile Kit 4.01

Jeroen van der Kamp has released a new version of the Flex Profile Kit. The Flex Profile Kit provides flexible mandatory profiles for a stable Windows profiles environment. Especially in terminal services environments the profiles cause many problems (corruption, unexpected growth). Mandatory profiles provide a small static profile, but no personal settings are stored for the user. The Flex Profile Kit allows the administrator to determine what settings are stored for each user aside from the mandatory profile.

The Flex Framework allows administrators to install the Flex Profile Kit plus additional tools without scripting knowledge. FPK made easy!
I advise all terminal services administrators to take a look at the advantages of the Flex Profile Kit and the Flex Framework.

Download files at the source.