What are the benefits of using UDP in RDP sessions and what you need to know.

TCP: guarantees delivery of all RDP packages - for less-reliable networks with high latency and/or higher packet loss rates.
UDP: overcomes this issues, reliable delivery of UDP packets are not guaranteed, so only recommended if the connection excellent.
So it is up to the application to handle missing packages (re-transmission, error correction, etc.)

You can configure the used protocol in the Group Policies: 
Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates/ Windows Components/ Remote Desktop Services/ Remote Desktop Session Host/ Connections/ "Select RDP transport protocols"

Some hints:

Verify that your RD clients support RDP 8 or later. For the Windows RDP Client -->  the client operating system should be Windows 8 or Windows 10.
For Windows 7 clients you have to apply the RDP 8 update accordingly.
Same with client running  Android, iOSx  - ensure that at least RDP 8 is supported.

If you use UDP for remote connections you have to know that this is not supported by default when you use RD Gateway
--> need to be enabled in RS Gateway Properties (check "Enable UDP transport")

If you DO NOT use the RD Gateway, you will need to configure the corporate firewall to pass through UDP traffic alongside TCP traffic over port 3389 (per default - of course this port can be changed)

UDP may boost effective throughput, but will also increase the amount of bandwidth for RDP traffic (so not recommend over low-bandwidth or saturated networks)

Running a server operating system only Administrator is allowed for remote access.
You have to give this permission to Remote Desktop User Group as well - in according GPO setting.

Open Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) and move to:
Computer Configuration/ Windows Settings/ Security Settings/ Local Policies/ User Rights Assignment/

In the right pane you will find setting: "
"Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services"
-> Add "Remote Desktop Users"

Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server will allow users to access their local printers within the RDP session. This feature is called auto printer creation. If users log on via RDP their local printers will automatically be created inside the RDP session and deleted again on logon. The redirected client printers are private to each session. With all printer models which are part of the standard windows printer driver database this will work out of the box.

IMPORTANT :

a) For printer drivers which are not part of the standard windows printer driver database you will have to install the specific printer driver once on the server to make auto printer creation work for this specific printer too.

b) With the exception of Vista Home Basic and Home Premium Auto printer creation should work on all MS operating systems which are supported by XP/VS Terminal Server if you enable this feature on the RDP client side before connecting.

c) If a user connects using the Microsoft RDP 5 client then all printers which have a port type other then COM, LPT or USB will by default not be redirected!

To enable redirection of those port types please follow this MS knowlegdebase article:

This fix is not needed if (at least) the Microsoft RDP 6 client is used

To resolve this problem on a computer that is not running Windows Server 2003, force all ports (including DOT4) on the client computer to be ltered for redirection. To do this, add a DWORD value named FilterQueueType
to 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\Default\AddIn\RDPDR

and set its value data to FFFFFFFF.

Follow these steps, and then quit Registry Editor:
1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\Default\AddIn\RDPDR

3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
4. Type FilterQueueType, and then press ENTER.
5. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
6. Type FFFFFFFF, and then click OK.

d) We have also heard from many customers that Auto Printer creation may fail if the printer drivers on the XP/VS Server system are not installed directly through the inf les which are provided by the printer manufacturer. Some customers have reported that if the printer drivers are installed through the vendors setup program (exe or msi file) Auto Printer Creation will fail with Windows event log entries stating that Auto Printer creation has failed because the right printer driver could not be found.

A very interesting article about auto printer creation can be read here.

 enable the automatic reconnection if the RDP connection is dropped, please enable the checkbox as you see on the screenshot below

For the base system for 100 RDP sessions with SAP and MS-Office you should calculate with:

- 2 quad core Xeon CPUs (a total of 8 physical CPU cores) with 3GHz or better (e.g. Intel Xeon DP E5450)

- 1GB RAM For each additional user you should add min. 128MB RAM. So 1GB + (100 x 128MB) = 13,8 GB RAM To be on the safe side you should install 16GB RAM

You can also find the RAM usage with a practical test:

a) add the "virtual memory size" column to your Windows Task manager to see the complete memory consumption of your applications and not just the part of it which currently resides in physical RAM.

b) connect 10 RDP sessions to your x64 system and start your SAP and MS-Offce sessions as your users would do in practice Then sort the process view of Windows Task manager by session id and summarise the virtual memory usage of each RDP session. Then make a sum total of the virtual memory usage of all 10 RDP sessions. If you multiply this value by 10 you should have a theoretical RAM usage for 100 RDP sessions.

The default TCP port number for RDP is 3389.

This port can be changed using the registry editor:

1. Start the Registry Editor.
2. On the left side navigate to the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\TerminalServer\WinStations\RDP-Tcp
3. On the right side locate and double-click the value "PortNumber" in order to open the edit window
4. Select the "Decimal" option, type the new port number and click OK.
5. Quit Registry Editor and reboot your computer

Now you have to add this port in the RDP client - otherwise RDP will use default port 3389.

For example - syntax: [ip-address:port-number]

Note ! Adding the port number is supported up from RDP version 8.0

Starting with RDP6 Client up to all newer version (XP SP3 --> Windows 11) you can select which client drive you want to make available in your remote session (Keyword: Drive Redirection)

You do not need to install our TSX USB Client on the client pc to connect to our XP/VS Terminal Server. The TSX USB client is only needed as an addition to our XP/VS Terminal Server Professional if you want to redirect client attached USB devices to your XP/VS Terminal Server which can not be redirected by the Microsoft Remote Desktop Client (tab "local resources") Such USB devices are e.g. USB Scanners, USB Webcams, USB Handheld computers, etc.

Instead you just need to use the Microsoft Remote Desktop Client which is already included in Windows.

e.g. in Windows XP you have to go to:

- Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Remote Desktop Connection
- or Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Communications -> Remote Desktop Connection

Then enter the ip address or hostname of your XP/VS Terminal Server and press the connect button.

As an alternative you can also use the Microsoft Remote Desktop Client for Mac to connect to our XP/VS Terminal Server.

Or you can use rdesktop under Linux (free Linux RDP client ) to connect to our XP/VS Terminal Server. There is also an integrated RDP Client in Mobile devices with Windows Mobile or Windows CE which you can use to connect to our XP/VS Terminal Server.

There are even Java based RDP clients and RDP clients as Web Browser plugins. So you can connect to our XP/VS Terminal Server with nearly any device without having to install additional software on the client.

As default Windows XP is set to 16 bit colour depth for RDP connections. To enable 24 bit RDP
connections please change the Windows policy as per following screenshot in gpedit.msc

The XP/VS Terminal Server feature "enable application compatibility mode" is the same feature as the Microsoft Terminal Server feature "Application compatibility mode".

It can be enabled in XP/VS Admin under the Options menu -> "enable application compatibility
mode".

If this feature is enabled XP/VS Terminal Server behaves exactly like a Microsoft Terminal Server in "Application Compatibility Mode".

Further Details about this feature are available here & here.

If you want to enable keep-alive connections, enable it as you can see at following screenshot.

By default, keep-alive connections are disabled.

Reference : KB216783

If you want to disable "All Programs" menu under Windows XP for a certain user give this user temporarily admin rights, then log in as this user and run gpedit.msc and change the setting as per the following screenshot .

Free Kiosk Mode Tools from Microsoft

You can allow logins with blank passwords by enabling the "Allow login with blank password" field in the XP/VS Server.

LPT port mapping for printing with DOS programs:

 To do a LPT port mapping please enter the following in a cmd prompt within the users RDP session once (Windows will remember this mapping for future RDP sessions on a per user basis)

e.g. "net use lpt2 \\tsclient\prn1"

To find the right prn number for redirection please consult the windows printer properties of the autocreated client printer  -> details -> tab port

Then you should be able to print to the autocreated client printer via the virtual lpt2 on the server.

 IMPORTANT!

According to our tests you can not use lpt1 within an rdp session if a physical lpt1 is present on the server.
Instead you have to use lpt2.
It is the same behaviour without XP/VS Server installed.
If you want to use LPT1 on the server for redirection you will have to disable the physical LPT1 port in windows device manager first!

First make sure that you've enabled port redirection in the Remote Desktop Connection client:

1. In the Remote Desktop Connection window, click Options.
2. On the Local Resources tab, under Local devices, make sure that "Ports" is checked !
3. Click Connect and now inside your RDP connection all your local serial ports will be available via the same  port name (COM1, COM2, ...).

Example:

Let's assume your client-workstation has two built-in serial ports COM1, COM2 and you've also attached an USB-to-SERIAL converter which shows up as COM5 in the device manager.

Now if you launch a remote desktop session from that workstation to the Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server any communication within the remote desktop session with COM1, COM2 and COM5 will be redirected to your client-workstation's local (physical) COM1, COM2 and COM5 port.

In other words: Inside the remote desktop session you will get "virtual serial ports" that have the same name as your client-workstation's physical ports.

Important note:

If you have to communicate with the server's own physical serial port from within a remote desktop session you should change the numbers of the server's physical com ports to a higher value in the server's device manager (e.g. from com1 to com11 and com2 to com12).

In this way if you open com1 from within a rdp session your client-workstation's com1 will be opened and if you open com11 within the same rdp session the server's com1 will be accessed instead.

Known limitation for connections TO Windows XP:

If your XP/VS Terminal Server is running on Windows XP then only one user can open a redirected port with the same name at a time. Example: If User1 and User2 are connected to Windows XP and both users have redirected their ports then User2 won't be able to open his redirected COM1 while User1 is accessing his COM1 in the other rdp session. As soon as User1 closes the application which is using COM1, User2 will be able to open his port again. For small installations a simple workaround is to change the client's com port numbers in order to avoid conflicts. (This limitation only applies to rdp sessions TO Windows XP.)

Sometimes you might want to set specific time limits or change the default behaviour for disconnected remote desktop users.

A detailed control over the session handling, can be achieved by activating several group policies:

1. Open your group policy editor (Start -> Run -> gpedit.msc)

2. Navigate to Local Computer Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Remote Desktop Services -> Remote Desktop Session Host -> Session Time Limit

3. Please reboot your machine, after you have changed a group policy or run command "gpupdate /force" in your command prompt. 

Note: In case your machine is joined to a domain, local computer group policies may be overwritten by domain policies.

Following policies are available:

• Set time limit for disconnected sessions

  Specify the maximum amount of time that a disconnected session remains active on the server.

• Set time limit for active but idle sessions

  Enable this policy to set to disconnect active but idle remote desktop sessions after a specified amount of time.

• Set time limit for active sessions

  Set a time limit to automatically disconnect active sessions after the specified amount of time.

• End sessions when time limits are reached

  Specify a time limit for active or idle remote desktop sessions. The user will get logged out instead of disconnected.

If you want to reconnect from any client on W2k3, please import the attached registry key (reconnect-from-any-client-w2k3.reg ).

If you want redirect your keyboard input to the remote computer, please select the "On the remote computer" field as you can see on following screenshot.

You can reduce RDP bandwidth usage with following possibility :

Turn of desktop background and animations etc. on the RDP clients experience tab before connecting.
And turn off desktop wallpaper etc. in the users session. (single plain blue or black is best as desktop background)

With the Remote Control feature both users can see the same screen, keyboard and mouse input.

Please follow the steps below to establish a Remote Control session:

1) To initiate a Remote Control Session please start an RDP session with administrative rights and start the XP/VS admin tool.

Then right click on the session you want to Remote Control and choose Remote Control from the local menu.

In the next screen choose the key combination you want to use to end the Remote Control session.

2) After you have started the Remote Control session request the target user will see a confirmation dialogue in his RDP session to accept your Remote control request.

3)in following screenshot you can see the Remote Control session in action

4) To end the Remote Control session please press the key combination defined in the next screenshot .

IMPORTANT!

A) Windows XP/Vista/7 / 2003/ 2008 (R2)
Remote Control can only be done from one RDP session to another RDP session or from one RDP session to the system console, but not from the system console to an RDP session.

B) Only a user with administrative rights can initiate a Remote Control session.

C) Remote Control is not supported with Windows 8 (all versions) nor Windows 2012
To answer the question as to "Why" and official response can be found here: 

"[...] The deprecation of shadowing in Windows Server 2012 RDSH was not a decision we easily made. Based on the overall improvements moving to a new graphics pipeline architecture the current shadowing architecture no longer works.[...]!"

Consequently Remote Control will also NOT work if you have installed Update(KB2592687)  

Description of the Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 Update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP"

D) Remote Control is back with Windows 8.1/10/ Server 2012 (R2)/2016  in XPVS Terminal Server Verson 1.0.822

Changelog

Version 1.0.822 - 2017, March 20:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- FIX: Remote Control (Shadowing) is working again on all Windows Editions
       (except Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012)
- NEW: Support for latest Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15061

On Windows Server 2008 R2 the shutdown menu is active in startmenu for Administartors, also if you log in via RDP.

On Windows 7 it is not shown if you log in via RDP, no matter if you have administrative rights or not.

If NoClose is set to 1 the shutdown menu is also not shown on Server 2008 R2.

But under Windows 7 this reg setting has no effect.

The shutdown menu is still hidden.

In the default settings users are limited to only one parallel Remote Desktop Session. You can allow multiple parallel Remote Desktop Sessions per user by disabling the "Restrict Terminal Services users to a single remote session" field in the XP/VS Server.

You can enable this option, by doing the following steps :

1. Run Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc.exe)
2. Go to the "Local Resources" Tab
3. Click on the More.. button in the "Local Devices and resources" subfield.
4. Enable the checkbox "Smart cards"

If you want run a program on remote machine after connecting with Remote Desktop please do the following:

1. enable the "Start the following program on connection" checkbox
2. Type in the path and the file name of the program you want to start

On Windows XP, Vista and Server 2003 you can only use XP/VS Auto Printer creation for which you will have to install a printer driver on the XP/VS Server once for each client attached printer model.
For more details : 4. Auto Printer Creation

Starting with Windows 7, Server 2008/2008 R2  (Standard, Foundation, Essential) Microsoft introduced  this new feature TS Easy Print.
No printer driver installlation required (well a lot f printer devices are supported by Microsoft)

__

With TS Easy print this new general printer driver is used for all redirected printers - called "Remote Desktop Easy Print printer driver"

The main feature of TS Easy Print is that the client's printer driver does not have to be
installed on the Terminal Server - a "driver-less" solution for printer redirection over
a remote desktop session.

TS Easy Print is basically a printer proxy that redirects printing-related jobs to the
user's local machine using the printer drivers installed on the client computer.

SERVER REQUIREMENTS:

Microsoft offers this feature on the following server side operating systems 
. Windows 7 Ultimate, Enterprise and subsequent desktop operating systems
. Windows Server 2008 (only with Terminal Services role)
. Windows Server 2008 R2 (only with Remote Desktop Session Host) 
. and following operating systems (2012,206,2019,2022)

With Thinstuff XP/VS Server installed TS Easy Print is supported on the following
additional server side operating systems:
. Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 11 Starter, Home, Home Premium, Professional
   (and of course Ultimate and Enterprise) editons
. Windows Server 2008 (also without Terminal Services role) - Service Pack 2, repectively  
. Windows Server 2008 R2 (also without Remote Desktop Session Host role)
    and following edtions - Windows server 2012, 2016, 2019,2022 , Standard, Foundation and Essential 


CLIENT REQUIREMENTS:

The client computer has to run Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) 6.1 or better.
On Windows XP and Vista clients you must have installed at least Microsoft
.NET Framework 3.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

Windows Vista with SP1 already includes both of the required components.

Windows XP with Service Pack 3 already includes RDC 6.1 but you must install the .NET Framework separately.
On client computers running Windows XP it is highly recommended to install Microsoft Hotfix KB-954744 which fixes potential TS Easy Print issues regarding garbled characters and incorrect orientations.

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Terminal Services Printing

Using Remote Desktop Easy Print in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

Introducing Terminal Services Easy Print

solving TS Easy Print issues - recommended hotfixes

TSX USB is a legacy feature in XP/VS Terminal Server Professional that allows you to forward client attached USB 2.0 devices over RDP to your XP/VS Server as if they were attached locally to the USB port of the server. Unfortunately USB 3.0 devices are not supported.

To redirect drives, headsets, printers or webcams you may not need TSX USB explicitly as modern RDP clients support these devices out of the box. Especially for scanning hardware we have developed TSX Scan, which allows you to redirect your scanner without the need to install a driver on your server.

 How do I use TSX USB?

To check if your computer uses USB 2.0 simply run command "msinfo32" :

It is important which hardware is built in --- not the ('software) downgraded USB interface !

So if you would forward 10 identical USB Devices from 10 different clients your server application (and every user who is logged on to the XP/VS Server via RDP) would see all 10 USB identical USB Devices just as if they where physically plugged into the usb ports of your server.

It now depends on your application which is running on the server if it can "differentiate" which of the 10 available USB devices to use for a specific user.

So if it is not possible to specify this relationship (individual USB Device to RDP user) somewhere it will not work.

In TSX USB admin utility on the client PC you decide which USB devices of the client you want to forward to the server and when you establish an RDP connection to your XP/VS Server this USB device will be forwarded to your server.

In TSX USB admin utility on the server you should select:

- "Connect to any devices ..." every USB device will be redirected from your client to your server"

- or "Only connect to the following USB devices ..."only devices with specific vendor and device IDs will be redirected to your server machine"

Further links:

How to set up audio/video communication?
Webcam over RDP
Silent installation
Printing over Remote Desktop

To add users to the Remote Desktop User Group in Windows XP, please do the following:

1. Open Computer Management.
2. In the console tree, click on  Local Users and Groups .
3. Double-click the Users folder
4. Double-click the user
5. Select the tab "Member of", and then click Add
6. Type "Remote Desktop Users" in the Enter the object names to select box.
7. Click Check Names.
8. If the name is verified, click OK

For a 32 bit OS the base requirements are min 1GHz Pentium 4 CPU and 512MB RAM + additional 64-96 MB RAM and 100 MHz CPU speed per user.

So as a 32 bit OS is limited to max 4GB RAM it could do approx 30-40 users with a Core 2 quad and 4GB RAM for average office applications.

With a 64 bit OS you could use as much RAM and number of CPUs as the Windows OS version supports.

e.g. XP x 64 supports max 128GB RAM and 2 physical CPU sockets (e.g. 2 core 2 quad or 2 quad xeon CPUs which gives you a total of 8 CPU cores to use)

So for 150 RDP users we would recommend XP x 64 with dual quad core Xeon CPUs and min 16GB RAM (better would be 32GB RAM)

6. Calculate RAM Usage

To help us analyse your problem here please do the following:

First please check if you have installed XP/VS Server the latest version of XP/VS Server

If not please update to this version(latest Release from XP/VS Server).

If the problem still persists, upload a TSRP (Thinstuff Support Request Package) .

Most of the time this is the fastest and most simple way to analyze 90% of possible server-side configuration problems and errors.

Please run :

C:\Program Files\Thinstuff\XPVS Server\TSSupportPackage.exe 

on that computer where XP/VS Termial Server is installed and follow the instructions to upload the package.

We will then analyse it to find the problem.

You can download the new version here : latest Release from XP/VS Server

To update just uninstall the old version ( 74. Uninstall XP/VS Server) , then install the new version and reboot.

Starting with Version 1.0.424 you don't need to uninstall previous version when upgrading XPVS.

Your licenses and settings will be kept during this process.

As XP/VS Server is fully compatible with Microsoft Terminal Server all applications which are Terminal Server compatible should also work with XP/VS Server.

So please ask the manufacturer of your application if it is compatible with Terminal Services.

As far as we know the customer would have to buy a separate Office licenses for each user who uses Microsoft Office.

To make it work with XP/VS Server customer would have to buy a Microsoft Office license which is suitable for Microsoft Terminal Services.

As far as customers reported to us the standard Microsoft Office version which is not for Terminal Services will not work on XP/VS Server.

Unfortunately the fact that Microsoft Security Essentials wrongly detects XP/VS Server as a trojan on Windows XP is a general problem which also applies to other system specific software products.

E.g. Antivir does not show this problem on Windows XP because it correctly detects this.

The only way to solve this problem is to add an exception (allow) after installation of XP/VS Server on Windows XP.

This problem does not apply to Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Server 2008/2008 R2.

How many concurrent RDP connections you can run with one XP/VS Server depends on whether you are using a 32Bit or 64Bit operating system.

Windows 7 32Bit has a limitation of max. 3-4GB RAM and only one physical CPU socket

Windows 7 64Bit can address max. 128GB of RAM and also 2 physical CPU sockets

see also :

6. Calculate RAM Usage

45. Hardware Requirements

TSX Session Broker is a feature integrated into XP/VS Server (Standard and Professional) that allows the system to take part in a load balanced Terminal Server farm based on Microsoft Session Directory (Windows Server 2003) or Session Broker (Windows Server 2008).

Usually only Windows Server 2003 Enterprise and Datacenter Editions can take part as a member in Session Directory / Session Broker!

With a TSX Session Broker enabled XP/VS Server also Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Small Business Server 2003 and Server 2003 Standard systems will be able to join a Microsoft Session Directory / Session Broker farm.

FEATURES:

- Fully compatible with the standard Microsoft RDP client. No additional / proprietary software needed on the client to make use of the load balancing functionality

- Multiple Terminal Server farms in the same local network

- Session reconnect of previously disconnected sessions

- Load balancing based on DNS round robin

REQUIREMENTS:

- The TSX Session Broker feature requires a XP/VS Standard or Professional license ( 51. XP/VS Server versions )

- XP/VS must be installed on any of the following operating systems:

  . Windows XP x86 Professional (SP3)
  . Windows XP x64 (SP1/SP2)
  . Windows Vista Business/Ultimate/Enterprise (SP1/SP2)
  . Windows 7 Professional/Ultimate/Enterprise
  . Windows Server 2003 R2 SBS/Standard/Enterprise (SP1/SP2)
  . Windows Server 2008
  . Windows Server 2008 R2

- Note ! Not supported in Windows 8/8.1/10/11  nor Windows Server 2012 (R2)/2016/2019/2022

- The computer where XP/VS is installed must be joined to a Windows Server Domain !

Please note that you do also need a Windows 2003/2008/2008-R2 Server with the session directory/broker service enabled and running.
The session directory/broker services are included in all Windows Server 2003/2008/2008-R2 Editions (even Small Business Editions).

SETUP

1a) If you are using a Windows 2003 Server with Session Directory:

- Open "Services" from "Administrative Tools" and locate the service called "Terminal Services Session Directory"
- Set the "Startup type" of this service to "Automatic" and start it.

1b) If you are using a Windows 2008/2008-R2 Server with Session Broker:

- Open the Server Manager and install the TS Session Broker Role Service from the Terminal Services Roles

2) Define which member servers are allowed to join your Session Directory/Broker

In order to allow a Terminal Server to join a Session Directory or Session Broker you have to add the computer to a local group called "Session Directory Computers". This local user group is basically used to define a list of Terminal Server computers that can join Session Broker/Directory.

On the Windows Server computer running the Session Directory or Session Broker service:

- Open "Local Users and Groups"
- Locate the group called "Session Directory Computers"
- Add all participating XP/VS Terminal Server Computers to this group

3) Join all required XP/VS Terminal Servers

On each single XP/VS Terminal Server that will participate in the Session Directory / Session Broker:

- Open Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server Administrator
- Select "Session Directory Configuration ..." from the Options menu
- Activate the checkbox "Join a TS Session Directory or TS Session Broker"
- Enter the name of the Windows Server 2003/2008 computer running the Session Directory / Session Broker service
- Enter a common name for your farm/cluster (e.g. "myfarm1").
  Unless you know what you're doing please enter exactly the same string on all your XP/VS Terminal Servers!

4) Load Balancing

If you want to use Round robin DNS load balancing:

- Add the farm name (e.g. "myfarm1") as a second hostname (A entry) for each XP/VS Terminal Server participating in the load balanced Terminal Server farm
- Don't forget that the Remote Desktop Clients must be configured to connect to this farm name (e.g. "myfarm1") instead of connecting to a hostname or IP address of a specific Terminal Server!

USAGE:

- Connect with your RDP Client to the farm name (e.g. "myfarm1") instead of connecting to a hostname or IP address of a specific Terminal Server.

- Because of DNS round robin the Remote Desktop Clients will get distributed equally among the member servers.

- On Logon the XP/VS Terminal Server will consult the Session Directory or Session Broker server to determine if there is an existing disconnected RDP session for that user

- Depending on the result of that query the XP/VS terminal Server will either accept the connection or redirect the RDP client to the server running the previously disconnected RDP session.

- The XP/VS Terminal Servers will automatically update the sessions' states (connected, disconnected, deleted) on the Session Directory / Session Broker.

• English Manual

• German Manual

You can find the XP/VS Server Trial Versions here .

related informations:

73. TSX Scan trial version

47. How can i buy the XP/VS Server or other products from Thinstuff?

82. Configure Product Evalutation Version

Windows Aero is the enhanced graphical user interface in most editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7.
It is intended to be a clean and aesthetically pleasing user interface.
Aero offers new translucency effects, live thumbnails and new icons and animations.

Aero Glass remoting provides the same user experience in a remote desktop session.

SERVER REQUIREMENTS:

Microsoft offers this feature on the following server-side operating systems:
. Windows Vista Ultimate
. Windows Vista Enterprise
. Windows 7 Ultimate
. Windows 7 Enterprise
. Windows Server 2008 R2 (only with Remote Desktop Session Host)
  The Desktop Experience feature and Themes service must be enabled

Note:
The remote computer does not require Aero-capable hardware.
Aero support is also provided when connection to a “headless” server or a virtual machine

With Thinstuff XP/VS Server installed the following additional server-side operating systems are
enabled for Aero Glass remoting:
. Windows 7 Home Premium
. Windows 7 Professional
. Windows Server 2008 R2 (without Remote Desktop Session Host)

CLIENT REQUIREMENTS:

The client computer must be "Aero-capable". That means it must be running Windows Vista or Windows 7 and have "Aero-capable" hardware and drivers installed.
In other words: Windows Aero must be active on the Remote Desktop Connection client computer.

After Aero Glass remoting is enabled on the server, new users connecting remotely will automatically get Aero Glass in the remote session.
Existing users on the server must manually activate the Aero theme inside the remote session's desktop personalization.

The following settings must be set in the Remote Desktop Client:
- Color depth must be set to 32-bit
- Desktop composition must be enabled (Under the tab "Experience")

RESTRICTIONS:

Unfortunately Aero Glass remoting is not supported between Vista and Window 7/2008 R2.
Aero Glass remoting only works from ...
. Vista to Vista
. Windows 7 to Windows 7
. Windows 7 to Windows Server 2008 R2

Aero Glass remoting is currently not supported together with the multi monitor option enabled.

Aero remoting does not work for TS RemoteApps because Desktop composition is required which RemoteApps do not have.

Until recently the Remote Desktop Protocol supported audio redirection only from the server to the client.
Starting with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 the user's microphone or recording devices on the
client computer can be accessed from within the remote desktop session.

SERVER REQUIREMENTS:

Microsoft offers this feature on the following server side operating systems:
Starting with 
* Windows 7 Ultimate / Windows 7 Enterprise / Windows Server 2008 R2 (only with Remote Desktop Session Host)
* up to Windows 10/Server 2019

With Thinstuff XP/VS Server installed, this feature is also supported on the following additional server side operating systems:
. Windows 7 Starter /. Windows 7 Home Basic/ . Windows 7 Home Premium/ . Windows 7 Professional /. Windows Server 2008 R2 (also without Remote Desktop Session Host role)
. up to Windows 10/11  and Windows Server 2019 ....

CLIENT REQUIREMENTS:

The client computer has to run Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) 7.0 or better and the option for
Remote audio recording (in the „Local Resources“ tab) must be set to „Record from this computer“.

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Remote Desktop Services

64. Media Player Redirection

Beginning with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 several improvements have been made to enhance
the audio and video playback experience in remote desktop sessions.

If the remote desktop client supports media player redirection (see requirements below) then the
multimedia stream is efficiently transported in the original compressed format within the RDP protocol.
By decoding this stream locally for display a lot of intensive server CPU processing gets off-loaded
to the client and the user will experience smooth  playback through Windows Media Player – even in full-screen mode.

SERVER REQUIREMENTS:

Microsoft offers this feature on the following server side operating systems:
. Windows 7 Ultimate /. Windows 7 Enterprise /. Windows Server 2008 R2 (only with Remote Desktop Session Host)
or higher

Note: Windows Server 2008 R2 has to be configured to allow audio and video playback.

With Thinstuff XP/VS Server installed, media player redirection is supported on the following additional server side operating systems:
. Windows 7 Starter /. Windows 7 Home Basic /. Windows 7 Home Premium/ . Windows 7 Professional  or higher
. Windows Server 2008 R2 (also without Remote Desktop Session Host role) or higher 

CLIENT REQUIREMENTS:

The client computer has to run Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) 7.0 or better and the option for Remote audio playback.
(in the „Local Resources“ tab) must be set to „Play on this computer“ .

RESTRICTIONS:

When connecting to a 64-bit server you have to use the 64-bit version of Windows Media Player.
The Media Player in the task bar or start menu links to the 32-bit Windows Media Player binary – even on x64 systems !!

DRM-protected content will not be redirected through this mechanism.

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Remote Desktop Services

63. Audio Capture

The easiest way is to look under the following registry key:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{3DAA3FD6-B833-477C-A2EA-C56ACED3AC02}]

There you have two values that might provide what you need:

    "DisplayVersion"="1.0.390"
    "DisplayName"="Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server 1.0.390"


Another more complicated  option would be to look at the version resource of the ThinrdpAdmin.exe file.
Please see MSDN info about the Resource Version Information.

In order to retrieve the full path of the thinrdpadmin.exe file you first have to query the registry for the Thinstuff  installation folder and then append the filename.

The installation folder is saved under [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Thinstuff\XPVS]:
    "InstallDir"="C:\\Program Files\\Thinstuff\\XPVS Server\\"

Windows 2000 is not supported.
However, everything above is supported.

You can find a detailed feature comparison of all XP/VS Server Versions here .

The newer RDP clients support "NLA" Network Level Authentication.

Under XP SP3 "credssp" has to be enabled. KB951608

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
2. In the navigation pane, locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa
3. In the details pane, right-click Security Packages, and then click Modify.
4. In the Value data box, type tspkg. Leave any data that is specific to other SSPs, and then click OK.
5. In the navigation pane, locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders
6. In the details pane, right-click SecurityProviders, and then click Modify.
7. In the Value data box, type credssp.dll. Leave any data that is specific to other SSPs, and then click OK.
8. Exit Registry Editor.
9. Restart the computer.

You don't have the option "Users and Groups" on a Windows Home OS.

However, on any Windows Home (Windows Xp Home, Vista Home Windows 7 Home) it is not required to do this configuration step !

By default administrators and standard users have the permission to log-in via RDP to Windows Home systems with XP/VS Server installed.

If the problem still resists, first please check if you have installed XP/VS Server version 1.0.390 or higher. If not please update to this version(latest Release from XP/VS Server).

If the problem still persits upload a TSRP (Thinstuff Support Request Package)

C:\Program Files\Thinstuff\XPVS Server\TSSupportPackage.exe

on that computer where XP/VS Termial Server is installed and follow the instructions to upload the package.

We will then analyse it to find the problem.

To allow domain users logon to XP/VS Server please do the following :

1. Open Computer Management.
2. In the console tree, click on  Local Users and Groups .
3. Double-click the Groups folder
4. Double-click the "Remote Desktop Users" Group
5. Then click Add
6. Type "Domain Users" in the Enter the object names to select box.
7. Click Check Names.
8. If the name is verified, click OK

You can enable fontsmoothing for RDP sessions also for the XP SP3 server as described in the following link:

Font smoothing in Remote Desktop to Windows XP

Before installing XP/VS Server on a server operating system please make sure that the Terminal Server role and the Terminal Server licensing service are not installed.

This applies to all 32bit (x86) and 64bit (x64) versions of Windows Server operating systems.

If you want to uninstall XP/VS Server, please do the following :

1. Open "Programs and Features" by clicking the Start-Button /Control Panel / Programs and Features, and then click "Uninstall a program".
   

   

   

2. Select "XP/VS Terminal Server", and then click Uninstall.

   

3. Click 'Yes' on the dialog box.

   

   

4. To complete to uninstall process you have to reboot your computer. Click 'Yes' if you want to restart now or 'No' if you plan to manually restart later.

   

Sometimes it may happen that the path to the installed msi file is corrupted.
In this case you have to uninstall the softare manually.
For these steps please contact our support (suppport@thinstuff.com)

Client side (where the device is attached)

You can download the client part of TSX USB in  XP/VS Server's installation package from here:

https://www.thinstuff.com/releases/ThinstuffXPVSServer-latest-EN.zip

 To redirect drives , headsets, printers, scanners or webcams you may not need TSX USB explicitly as modern RDP clients support these devices out of the box.

On client side start the installation package - and at a certain step you can decide to install XPVS Server or TSX USB (Workstation Installation: Install the TSX USB Remote Desktop Client Addon)



Note !!! TSX USB does not support USB 3.0 (hardware)
--> Can be found in command "msinfo32"

It is important which hardware is built in --- not the ('software) downgraded USB interface !

Server side (where XP/VS Server is installed and the users connect to)

1.) Run the XP/VS Server Adminstrator, click on "Options" and then on "TSX USB Server Administrator".

2.) The TSX USB Server Administrator window will open.

3.) Click on "Options" and then on "TSX USB Configuration".

4.) Enable the "Enable USB Device Redirection" field and choose one of the two options.

USING:
Before you connect to the Server per RDP please do the following :

1.) Run the "TSX USB Client" on the client machine.

2.) Click with the right-mouse-button on the device you want to share .

3.) Click on "Share USB Device".

The Device is now released. When you connect to your server via RDP your shared device will appear in the TSX Server Administrator.
Keep in mind that everybody can access the device because for the server it's a locally connected device.

XP/VS Demo licenses are usually valid for 14 days after installation and may only be used for demo and testing purposes. The XP/VS Server installer comes with a built-in 14-day demo license.

If you register for a Thinstuff account at: https://www.thinstuff.com/licensing/index.php?action=register or if you already own a Thinstuff account you can create one more 14-day demo license to extend your demo period.

XP/VS demo licenses can be used on multiple computers at the same time. Activation of demo licenses is not necessary and also not possible.

 XP/VS Demo licenses offer exactly the same features as full licenses except that you will receive the following demo message after each logon.

Additonal links:

-> FAQ: How can i activate my licence

-> FAQ: different XP/VS Server versions

-> FAQ: 14-day XP/VS Server trial version

-> FAQ: Configure Product Evalutation Version

How to change the DPI setting within a Remote Desktop session to a computer that is running ...

..Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2:

Microsoft has released a hotfix (KB 2726399) for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 which allows you to change the dots per inch (DPI) setting within an connected RDP Session.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2726399

This hotfix has to be requested manually!

After the installation of this hotfix please restart your machine!

..Windows 8

Windows 8 does support it by default!

1. In the Remote Desktop session just right click on the Desktop and select "Screen resolution". You can also find this setting in the Control Panel -> Appearance and Personalization -> Display 

2. Now click on "Make text and other items larger or smaller"

3. Change now for example the DPI setting to 125% or choose a custom text size!

4. Logoff your session! The item size will adapt after the next login!

Example:

All users should now experience a 125% scaling

Before
After

This FAQ describes how to prevent users from shutting down or restarting your server where XP/VS Server is installed.

Basically there are two possibilities to distinguish:

1. Hiding the entries “Shut down” and “Restart” in the Start Menu:
   If shutdown/restart/suspend/hibernate options are missing in the menu, this does not mean that a normal user does not have the privilege to shut down the machine.The user still ca shut down the computer by using e.g. the shutdown command from command line.
   
   • Open the Local Group Policy Editor: Start -> Run -> Enter gpedit.msc
   • Move to User  Configuration/ Administrative Templates/ Start Menu and Taskbar
   • Enable “Remove and Prevent access to the Shut Down from Start Menu”
2. Removing the user’s shutdown-privilege
   This is the right and effective way to solve that issue.

Removing the user’s shutdown-privilege

For the following operating systems (except “Home” Editions)

• Windows XP / Vista 
• Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10,11
• Windows Server 2003 (SBS), 2008 (R2), 2012 (R2), 2016, 2019,2022

Log in with administrative rights: Start -> Run -> Enter: secpol.msc (Security Policy Editor).
Move to Local Policy/ User Right Assignment and on the right pane open “Shut down the system”.
This security setting determines which user (who is logged in remotely) has the privilege to shut down the operating system.
Default settings for servers (where XP/VS Server is installed): Administrators and Backup Operators

Removing the user’s shutdown-privilege on Windows Home-Editions

Local Security Policy Editor is not included in Windows Home Edition, like Windows XP Home, Vista Home and Windows 7 Home.
The privilege to shut down the computer is called “SeShutdownPrivilege”. Configuring this privilege is more complicated in Windows Home Editions, because Security Policy Editor is not available.

But there is a solution to modify those settings, but two command line programs are required:

1. Microsoft´s accesschk.exe
   This program displays the current privileges of users or groups.Download here: http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/accesschk.zip
   Information page: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb664922.aspx
   After downloading copy accesschk.exe from the zip to your windows\system32 directory!Open a command prompt (as Administrator !) and enter the command
   

   accesschk -a UserOrGroupName *

   to see which privileges a user or group has: e.g. to list the privileges of the group Users use the following command:
   accesschk -a Users *
   
   
   
2. If the privilege should be removed, a program called “ntrights.exe” from the Windows Resource Kit is required.
   Download the Windows Resources Kit here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=9d467a69-57ff-4ae7-96ee-b18c4790cffd&displaylang=en
   After successful installation, please copy ntrights.exe (from e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Resource Kits\Tools) to C:\Windows\System32 and uninstall Resource Kit afterwards.
   Start the command prompt (“Run as Administrator”) and enter the command:
   ntrights -u UserOrGroupName -r PrivilegeName
   to revoke the privilege from a single user or group:
   
   
   To verify  that the privilege has been revoked use the command:
   accesschk -a Users *
   
   
   “SeShutdownPrivilege” is not listed anymore!

Basically XP/VS Server can also be installed on virtual machines.

However,  the license of XP/VS Server is bound to the MAC Address of the guest’s primary network interface à Further information you will find here: Licensing on virtual machines

But you have to take care if you choose a hoster who offers operating-system-level-virtualization technology, for example Parallels Inc. with its server virtualization solution “Virtuozzo”.

Virtuozzo is an operating system-level virtualization product designed for large-scale homogenous server environments and data centres.

But Virtuozzo blocks any foreign kernel-mode drivers from running in a VPS (Virtual Privat Server).

That is – from their point of view – necessary to prevent things like blue screens, because with operations system-level virtualization a blue-screen on one VPS would cause a blue screen on all other VPS as well.

XP/VS cannot be used without our kernel driver and therefore is not compatible with operating system-level virtualization like Virtuozzo.
To be sure you may try to install „Process Monitor" from Microsoft (you may download here) - it does not work either!

So you'll have to find another hoster that does not use operating system-level virtualization

"True Multiple Monitor" is supported by Thinstuff XP/VS Server, which means that remote-desktop-sessions can be distributed across mulitple monitors with high-resolution displays.

Span-Mode is known since Windows Vista, the remote-desktop-session can be display across mulitple monitor. This mode is also called "stretched" mode, because all monitors are connected together to a single, large monitor. There are a few disadvantages:
* Each monitor needs the same resolution and colour depth setting
* Task-bar will cover both monitors
* Popup dialogues will appear half on one, half on the other monitor

Since Windows 7 / 2008 R2 Multiple Monitors is supported. The client’s monitors can be arranged in any order with different resolutions.

Requirements Client-Side for Multiple Monitors

• at least RDP-Client 7.0 or higher 
• Resolution: provided that the total resolution per monitor must be under 4096 x 2048 pixels.  The resolution of displayed RDP-session can be configured in the Group Policy Editor (Computer Configuration/ Administrative Templates/ Windows Components/ Remote Desktop Services/ Remote Desktop Session Host/ Remote Session environment -> on the right pane select “Limit maximum display resolution”)

Requirements Server-Side for Multiple Monitors

• “multiple monitor via RDP” till Windows 7 / 2008 (R2) and newer Windows editions 

How to start multiple monitor mode with your Microsoft RDP-Client

Start the RDP-client, switch to tab “Display”

Another possibility is to start with the command prompt (Start - Run - Enter: cmd)
Span mode:                              "mstsc /span"
Mulitple monitor mode:             "mstsc /multimon"

How to start multiple monitor mode with Thinstuff TSX Connection:

As alternative you can install our own, free RDP-Client TSX RemoteApp Connection. Here you can easily enable the function for multiple monitor mode or span-mode.

Switch to tab "Display" - you have two possibilities:
* Span-Mode
* Muliple Monitor Mode

Use all my monitors for the remote session
Enabling this feature the remote-desktop-session is displayed in two or more seperate monitors (also with different resolution) and it automatically positions dialogue boxes and windows, so that they do not appear in the middle of the two monitors.

Span display
Will span the display over the monitors as discribed aboth.

Further information and pictures you will find here: Using Multiple Monitors in Remote Desktop Services

TSX Application Control will allow server side access restrictions for remote applications.
As TSX Application Control is currently still under development you can use the following workaround in the mean time to define a fix application that should be started per user at RDP logon.

However, this application will be started with a fixed size instead of the Windows Desktop inside your RDP session, so it will not be a seamless Remote Application.
Seamless Remote Applications will only be available with TSX Application Control.

Step 1
Add this specific user to the administrators group so that he has sufficient rights to start gpedit.msc.
You can remove this user again from the administrators group later.

Step 2
Start gpedit.msc and enter the program you want to start at RDP logon for this specific user.
For details please see the attached screenshot.

Step 3
Log off and log on again as administrator. Then you can remove this specific user again from the administrators group

If you want to limit all users to start just one application by RDP-login, start the Group Policy Editor as administrator and configure that setting as described above. This setting overrides any configured entry in the rdp-client. And the Start Menu will not be displayed. When the user exists the program, he will be logged off automatically.

Please note !!!

This setting is available since Windows 7 (not for Starter/Home) and Windows Server 2008  !

1)    Copy & Paste of Graphics and Text

“Copy & Paste” of text or pictures in RDP-session from a local to a remote computer (or vice versa) works by enabling “clipboard” in your RDP-client.

For details please see the screenshot below (the same applies for Microsoft RDP-Client):

Thinstuff TSX Remote Desktop Connections

1)    Copy & Paste of Files and Folders

 File transfer via clipboard redirection on XP, Vista and Server 2003 is limited to the mounted remote drives and also requires disk redirection to be enabled in the RDP connection setup.

For details, how to configure, please see the screenshot below (the same applies for Microsoft RDP-Client):

Once the RDP-session is established, drives are redirected – files and/or folders can be copied between the local and remote computer.

Since Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 it is possible to copy any files or folders between local and remote computers without disk redirection, just by enabling “clipboard” redirection (see screenshot under point 1).

General Description

You can use a digital signature to sign .rdp files. When you sign rdp files with trusted certificates, your clients can verify that important settings such as which server to connect to haven’t changed since the creation of the rdp file.

This enables clients to recognize your organization as the source of the RemoteApp program or the remote desktop connection, and allows them to make more informed trust decisions about whether to start the connection.

Following error will be displayed if someone opens a manually edited signed rdp file:

So what do you have to do to sign a .rdp file?

First: Create your .rdp file

Second: Get your certificate's thumbprint

Third: Sign your .rdp file by using rdpsign.exe

Create a .rdp file

A .rdp file is a basically a simple file ( filled with parameters) that defines the connection settings for a Remote Desktop or RemoteApp session. You can easily edit, copy and distribute it.

Basically you can create a .rdp by using the notepad and add the standard parameters. However, for this you'll have to know all the parameters. 

The simplest way to do this is to run TSX Connection (tstsc.exe), configure your basic settings and save it.  You can also use Microsoft's Remote Desktop Client (mstsc.exe).

Thinstuff has developed TSX Connection to make a Remote Connection client that allows you to configure,change and save Remote Desktop connections as well as RemoteApp connections.

Microsoft's Remote Desktop Client offers no possibility to configure or activate RemoteApp connections.

You can download TSX Connection from here.

In the download also included is the TSX Connection Manager - With this tool you can manage all your Remote Desktop, RemoteApp Connections in a graphical user interface and export, import them easily.

After the download please install the package and launch TSX Connection.
Now customize all required fields to your needs.

Following two fields are required: Connection Type and Computer in the General Tab

Now save your .rdp file. Please remember the path where you've saved it!

Get your certificate's thumbprint

The next step is to import your certificate and get your certificate's thumbprint. This step requires a valid .pfx certificate (either self-signed or CA-signed) and the export password from the .pfx file.

Manage Certificates with the Management Console

1. Open your Management Console ( Start -> Run - >type in "mmc.exe")
2. Goto File -> "Add/Remove Snap-in" in or use the shortcut Ctrl+M
3. Now select "Certificates" and click on "Add"
4. Choose "My user account" to manage your personal certificates. After that click on "finish"
5. Now apply with "Ok"

Import your Certificate

1. Goto Action - > All Tasks -> Import
2. The 'Certificate Import Wizard' window appears and click on 'Next'
3. Now click on 'Browse' and choose 'Personal Information Exchange .pfx, .p12' as file type.
4. Select your certificate and click on 'Open'
5. Click on 'Next'
6. Type in the export password which you've entered by creating the .pfx file and click on 'Next
7. Select 'Personal' as certificate store and click on 'Next'
8. Click on 'Finsih' to complete the import process.

Get your certificate's thumbprint

1. To get the certificate's thumbprint please do the following:
2. Navigate to 'Certificates - Current User' -> Personal -> Certificates and double-click your recently imported certificate 
3. Switch to the 'Details' tab and locate the field 'Thumbprint'
4. Now select the thumbprint, copy it and paste it in your notepad.exe
5. To use the rdpsign.exe you've the remove all blank spaces from your thumbprint. Goto File -> Replace (Ctrl +H) in the notepad and enter a blank space in the 'Find what:' field and click on 'Replace All'
6. Mark your thumbprint and copy it

More informations about certifiactes/cryptography can be found at wikipedia.com:

Public key cryptography

Public key certificate

We used e.g 'openssl' to create the .cert/.pfx certificate -  www.openssl.org

Sign your .rdp file

After you've created your .rdp file and copied the certificate's thumbprint(without blank spaces) you can sign your .rdp file.

Now open a command promt as Administrator and use the following command:

rdpsign [options] [items to sign]

• As option use /sha1 and then paste your thumbprint(without blank spaces). Now remove the first character, which is a '?'
• Enter the path of your .rdp file instead of [items to sign]

e.g

C:\Windows\system32>rdpsign /sha1 f9f89d00ec0ra2d5da259h7990144df53b413efb c:\Se
rver01.rdp

After you've exectuted your command following will be displayed:

All rdp file(s) have been succesfully signed.

If you open now your .rdp file a trust dialogue will be displayed:

As XP/V S Server is fully compatible with Microsoft Terminal Server / Remote Desktop Services any Thin Client which works with those solutions can also be used with XP/VS Server.
So it should offer either rdesktop or FreeRDP as RDP client.
We would recommend using FreeRDP if possible.

Examples:

Wyse C50LE Thin Client which with "Wyse Enhanced SUSE Linux Enterprise"
http://www.wyse.com/products/hardware/thinclients/C50LE/index.asp

HP Thin Clients
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF02d/12454-12454-321959.html

Igel
https://www.igel.com/de/produkte/hardware/hardware-uebersicht.html


As far as we know Dell currently does not offer any Thin Clients.

since version 1.0.504

Important to understand is that from the client's view RemoteFX is just a video stream - like e.g. mp4 !!
The server is basically creating a session video stream in realtime and this video encoding requires an enormous amount of computing power which extremely minimizes the possible amount of concurrent RDP sessions.
But still this year there will be RemoteFX encoder hardware cards on the market that can be installed on the server to allow more concurrent RemoteFX sessions. 

Please Note & Precondition 

• This is/ will  NOT be the Hyper-V RemoteFX 3D GPU Virtualization feature.
  RemoteFX on Thinstuff XPVS does not do 3D acceleration. Hence it does not have to be running on a virtualized OS and requires no fancy GPU.
  Basically RemoteFX for Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Services gives you the same features as Microsoft RemoteFX on Windows 2008R2 Remote Desktop  Session Host (RemoteFX/RDSH). 
• Please also note that RemoteFX for Thinstuff Terminal Services requires a XP/VS Professional license to work.
• Currently the only way to "watch" RemoteFX is by using the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection client from Win7 SP1.     
• If you use VM with Windows 7 - please ensure that RemoteFX 3D Adapter is not used 

How to enable RemoteFX in XP/VS Server

Open XP/VS Server Administrator and click "Options" in menu bar.
Here you will find "Enable RemoteFX for XP/VS Terminal Services"

(Note!!! Only available with XPVS Server Professional)

NLA (Network Level Authentication) is per default enabled since Windows 8 / 8.1 and Windows Server 2012.

Due to this option remote connection is refused if you try to connect from Linux client, iOSx (iPhone, iPad), Android devices, etc which do not support NLA.

If you are running Windows 8 Professional, Enterprise or Windows 2012 server you can easily uncheck NLA

"Computer" - right click "Properties" - "Remote Settings":

Unfortunately this user interface is not available with Standard version.

Here you have to modify the according registry key.

Open Registry-Editor (Start - Run - Enter: regedit) and move to path 

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\ Winstations\RDP-Tcp

in the right pane look for value "UserAuthentication" and change the value to "0"

(reboot required!)

This issue was reported for some Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 installations with enabled Application Compatibility mode. It should be fixed with Thinstuff XP/VS Version 1.0.710.

If you experience this issue first please check if you have installed XP/VS Server version 1.0.710 or higher.If not please update to the latest XP/VS Version!

On Server Side

Install XPVS Server

You can download latest version from here: http://www.thinstuff.com/releases/ThinstuffXPVSServer-latest.zip
After successful installation of XP/VS Server you have to reboot your PC.
The installation package includes 14-days trial license to evaluate our software if it suits to your requirement.
Or you activate the purchased license (step-by-step guide in our FAQ: Activate XPVS Server)

Allow users remote access

(Note !!! No available in  Windows Home edtiion)
Click "Computer" ("This PC")  - right click "Properties" - and click "Remote settings"
Add those users to remote user group who are allowed to login remotely !




Further information you will find in our FAQ: XP/VS Server Manual

If you use a Windows Server Operating System:

Running a server operating system only Administrator is allowed for remote access.
You have to give this permission to Remote Desktop User Group as well - in according GPO setting.

Open Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) and move to:
Computer Configuration/ Windows Settings/ Security Settings/ Local Policies/ User Rights Assignment/

In the right pane you will find setting: "
"Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services"
-> Add "Remote Desktop Users"

IP-Address if your XPVS Server

To connect to the Terminal Server you will need its IP-address.
If you connect within the LAN/ WLAN you will need the "internal IP-address"
--> Click "Start - Run - Enter: cmd.exe to start the Command Prompt.
Enter command: ipconfig --> the internat IP-address will be shown.



If you connect form outside you will need the "external IP-address"
This  address will be displayed here: http://www.myipaddress.com/show-my-ip-address/

On  Client Side

You need a RDP Client, which is already pre-installed in Windows operating system
--> Start - All Programs - Accessories - "Remote Desktop Connection" (mstsc.exe)
Enter IP-address (="Computer") and connect.



Enter your user credential to log-in remotely

 
Unfortunately we've discovered a incompatibility with XP/VS Server and Windows updates KB2984972 & KB2973501!
We've released a new version of our XP/VS Server which does solve this issue!
As usual you can download the new version from http://www.thinstuff.com/releases/ThinstuffXPVSServer-latest-EN.zip

Excerpt from the changelog <http://www.thinstuff.com/releases/changelog.txt>:

=========================
XP/VS Terminal Server
=========================

Version 1.0.718 - 2014, October 15:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- FIX: Resolved compatibility issues with the recent Windows Updates KB-2984972
and KB-2973501 which provide the option to perform restricted
administration logons for RDC 7.1.
Affected systems:
. Windows 7 SP1
. Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
. Windows 8.0
. Windows Server 2012

Please reboot your machine after installation.
Your licenses and settings will be kept during this process. 

Under Windows 7 the first user logon usually takes less then 35 seconds for each user and the initial user profile weighs approx. 5MB.
With Windows 10 this has increased dramatically. The first user logon now usually takes up to 2 minutes or more for each user and the resulting user profile weighs approx. 130MB!

Most of this increase can be attributed to:
- the Windows 10 "Modern Apps" (also called Modern UI) which have to be created for each user at first logon
- the initial setup of Microsoft "OneDrive"
- many other one time background processes which continue to run for a long time until all necessary Modern UI resources have been created after the first user logon process has already completed
- Live tile creation and initial setup for the new Windows 10 Start menu
- initial setup of the Windows Store database
etc.

Unfortunately this overhead consumes a lot of additional CPU and RAM resources for Windows 10 user logons, especially in multiuser environments like Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server.

With some Google research you can easily find many instructions about how to remove Modern Apps with PowerShell commands and limit the Windows 10 start menu to one single tile,
creating a slim default user profile, etc.

Microsoft knows about this bottle-neck and has released a "slim" Windows 10 version called "Windows 10 LTSB (Long-Term Service Branch)" where almost all of the above mentioned overhead has been removed (also bringing back the old Windows 7-style calculator).
Some reports about Windows 10 LTSB can be found here:
https://forum.level1techs.com/t/really-impressed-with-windows-10-ltsb/112714
But Windows 10 LTSB is only available for Microsoft Enterprise customers.

Fortunately even the cheapest Microsoft Server OS "Windows Server 2016 Essentials" also offers the same reduced overhead and remarkable performance improvements as Windows 10 LTSB, but without its restrictions.

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing service offering virtual machines.
To access such virtual server - Azure uses the same protocol "RDP"  as XPVS, RDSH, Termninal Server.

If "Remote Desktop Service" (RDP) is not available for what ever reason - there is no access to that server.

1. XPVS Server License is invalid (for example the MacAddress changes after the reboot)
2. Updates conflict with the installed version of XPVS Server
3. Remote Desktop Service crashes or is not started (also various reasons) 
4. etc.

And as there  is no "console " session possible - like in Hyper-V, VmWare, Proxmox ... etc. 
there is no chance to connect to the machine and repair the configuration, settings, update the software, reactivate the license,  etc. 

We do not recommend this plattform to virtualize server with XPVS Server installed .
But there are some management tools like Openssh to access the server.

As a rule of thumb every second tuesday per month is Microsoft's Patch-Day where Microsoft releases new Windows updates. During this event we are testing our software if they conflict with these updates. In case of an issue we will mostly release a new version of XP/VS Server within 24 hours.

So please keep in mind and have a look at our website or in the XPVS Server changelog. 

In case we discovered compatibilty issues with recent Windows updates, please do the following:

1. Download the latest version from here.

2. Run the installation - the old version will be uninstalled, new version installed and existing license will be imported automatically.

3. Reboot your machine.

 Did you know that you can also silently install the updates of XP/VS Server?
Thinstuff FAQ #1137 - Silent installation

If the problem persists - please upload a diagnostic file:
Simply run C:\Program Files\Thinstuff\XPVS Server\TSSupportPackage.exe and follow the instructions to upload an error report.

There have been some reports that the error message "Your current operating system update level is not compatible with the currently installed version of XP/VS server!" appears.

Please check if you have install all latest Windows updates and did you update the XPVS Server version as well ?
You will find the latest XPVS Server version shown on our website https://www.thinstuff.com/products/xpvs-server/ 
and in the changelog:  https://www.thinstuff.com/releases/changelog.txt

Might happen that system files are corrupted:
Open a command promt as Administrator and run  "sfc /SCANNOW" to repair system files.

If the problem still persists, create and upload our diagnostic file TSRP (Thinstuff Support Request Package) .

Most of the time this is the fastest and most simple way to analyze 90% of possible server-side configuration problems and errors.

Please run :

C:\Program Files\Thinstuff\XPVS Server\TSSupportPackage.exe 

on that computer where XP/VS Termial Server is installed and follow the instructions to upload the package.

You can upload this file directly to our webserver (https://www.thinstuff.com/tsrp/xpvs/)
We will then analyse it to find the problem.

Many customers are completely new to the whole Remote Desktop topic and are experiencing some issues after downloading XP/VS Server.
Most of the time, it is just a simple configuration issue.
Please go through the following Quick-Start guide before contacting our support team.

Server-side

1. After successful installation of XP/VS Server you have to reboot your PC. The installation package includes a 14-days trial license to evaluate if our software suits your requirements.

2. Go to "Computer" -> right click "Properties" - Remote settings:

1. Enable remote access
2. Add those users to remote user group who are allowed to login remotely !

(Except on Windows Home Edtions)

3. To connect to the Terminal Server you will need the machine's IP-address.

If you connect within the LAN/ WLAN you will need the "internal IP-address" --> Click "Start - Run - Enter: cmd.exe to enter the Command Prompt. Enter command: ipconfig --> the IP-address will be shown.

If you connect from outside your network you will need the "external IP-address". However, when connecting from outside it might be necessary to setup port-forwarding on your router.

Client side

You can use any client application that supports the RDP protocol to connect to XP/VS Terminal Server. As the standart itself has been published there are today clients for nearly every platform available.

On Windows there is already a pre-installed RDP Client, called Remote Destkop connection (mstsc.exe).
--> Start - All Programs - Accessories - "Remote Desktop Connection" Enter IP-address (="Computer") and connect.

On Linux/Unix we recommend to use open source project, called FreeRDP.
There is also a free multi-platform client from Thincast Technologies GmbH available, called Thincast Remote Desktop Client.
It is based on this open source project and available for Linux, macOS and Windows.

If you want to connect to XP/VS Server over the internet you will have to set up a port forwarding on your internet router to forward the external ip address/incoming tcp port 3389 (RDP) of your internet router to the internal ip address/tcp port 3389 (RDP) of your internal XP/VS Server computer.

To connect over the internet you would have to enter the external ip address of your internet router which is reachable from the internet into your RDP client.

Your internet router will receive this request when you try to connect with your RDP client over the internet and will forward this request to the internal ip address of your XP/VS Server computer.

Like that you will be able to reach your internal XP/VS Server with an RDP client over the internet.

For more details on how to set up port forwarding on your internet router please see here.

We do also recommend to take a deep dive into following topics:

Remote Desktop Protocol (Wikipedia)

Understanding the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) 

Issue:
I cannot connect after install Thinstuff XP/VS Server (Multi-session remote desktop server).
When trying to connect I get the following error message:

"The number of connections to this computer is limited and all connections are in use right now."
"Die Anzahl der Verbindungen mit diesem Computer ist begrenzt, und alle Verbindungen werden derzeit verwendet."

Solution:

This isssue can either be caused by using an old version of XP/VS Server, our service has not been started or the imported license is simply not valid resp. does not allow more connections.

• Update XP/VS Server
• Check if our service is started
• Check if the imported license is valid

32-bit: http://www.thinstuff.com/releases/ThinstuffXPVSServer-latest-x86.msi
64-bit: http://www.thinstuff.com/releases/ThinstuffXPVSServer-latest-x64.msi

msiexec /i c:\tmp\ThinstuffXPVSServer-latest-x64.msi DISABLETSXUSB=1 EVALUATIONMODE="NIL" /quiet

• Add /quiet to disable any user interaction and the restart XP/VS Server immediately after installation.
• Add /passive if you want the progress bar to be displayed.
• Add EVALUATIONMODE="NIL"  to perform a simple update when you have already imported a valid license file
  and just want to update your XP/VS Server installation silently

You can use the command "msiexec" --> with "?" to you get a list of all available operators.

32-bit: https://www.thinstuff.com/releases/ThinstuffXPVSServer-1.0.920.1-EN.msi
64-bit: http://www.thinstuff.com/releases/ThinstuffXPVSServer-x64-1.0.920.1-EN.msi

We would like to share our thoughts on RDPWrapper, which seams at a first glance a perfect tool for remote computing.  However, when taking a deeper look on this software, you will find out that it does modify original Windows system files.

Please be aware that this software cannot be used on the same machine  side by side with Thinstuff XP/VS Server.
Please understand that we only support original Microsoft system files.

In case you have already installed this softare, please do the following to repair your system.

1. Uninstall XP/VS Server
2. Uninstall RDPWrapper
3. Reboot
4. Open a command prompt as Administrator and run "sfc /SCANNOW" to repair the corrupted system files
5. Reboot
6. Download the latest version of XP/VS Server from here, install and reboot.

Most of the time there is also an additional registiry value set,  which is used together with a modified version of termsrv.dll from RDPWrapper 
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/Terminal Server/Licensing Core/EnableConcurrentSessions]
This registry value makes problems and should be deleted !

In case you receive the message "An internal error has occurred" or "Ein interner Fehler ist aufgetreten" the reason can be following:

XPVS Server is not working ? Checklist

1) License valid
Check in XPVS Server Administrator the license status.
Eg, Invalid Hardware Key, Activation Required

2) Microsoft Updates
Did you install Microsoft Updates recently?
If you get a pop-up-message from "Thinstuff XVPS Server" telling you that your installed version is not compatible
("incompatible environment") - download and update the XPVS Server version.
Latest version available here: https://www.thinstuff.com/releases/ThinstuffXPVSServer-latest.zip

3) Server attacked ?
Do you get the error message
- "Number of connections to this computer is limited..."
- or in Windows 7 "Internal error has occurred"
Open Command Prompt (cmd.exe) with administrator rights and enter command "netstat -a"
Check which / how many connections are listed for the RDP port (per default port number 3389)
If some unknown IPs are listed ensure that these are from your region or from any foreign country
Check location here: https://www.ip-tracker.org/locator/ip-lookup.php
If you get any suspicion that this port is misused - you can change the RDP listen port (short time solution)
(--> FAQ: Change RDP Listen Port -> stop and restart "Remote Desktop Services")

4) RDP connection internal test
You can test RDP connection first on the computer running XPVS Server
Open on this machine mstsc.exe (Remote Desktop Connection) and enter IP address "127.0.0.2"
to start remote connection from/ to the server (loop-back), enter remote user credentials, connect.
Does it work or do you get an error message ?

5) RDP connection external
If you cannot connect to the server from outside please check if your RDP port is open on the router
and incoming connections are allowed
Link: http://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/open-ports/
This link shows the external IP address of the server and the port status (enter RDP port number - per default 3389)

6) Alternative Terminal Server software installed ?
Did you use an alternative software to enable remote access for multiple connections ?
Please note - some of these programs might use hacked system files.
XPVS Server only supports original Microsoft Windows files, if there is any conflict - the service cannot be started.

7) Corrupted System Files
Enter command "sfc /SCANNOW" --> please send a screenshot of the result

8) CCleaner, RegCleaner
If Thinstuff XPVS Server was running for a while and "suddenly" stops working ?
Might be caused by software products like RegCleaner, CCleaner.
This application should be used wisely, otherwise it causes problems, as it can damage installation paths, etc.

9) Upload TSRP
All checks done - not any idea why the sofltware is not running ?
Right in the moment when this error occurs - Important !!! Ohterwise we will not get a helpful hint - please create and upload our diagnostic file TSRP (Thinstuff Support Request Package).
Most of the time this is the fastest and most simple way to analyse 90% of possible server-side configuration problems and errors.
Please run C:\Program Files\Thinstuff\XPVS Server\TSSupportPackage.exe and follow the instructions to upload an error report.
This will take literally just 2 minutes of your time and we'll hopefully immediately see what the issue is.

 You have installed XP/VS Terminal Server with Core Isolation mode enabled you may encounter following error:

“ThinRDPSrv is not a valid Win32 application.”

Or you are trying to install XPVS Server and get following error message:

"Could not start Thin RDP Server driver"

Thinstuff XP/VS Server uses kernel drivers and these must be allowed to install or start - otherwise our software does not work. Unfortunately that is the case when using XP/VS Terminal Server and Core isolation mode is enabled.

What are core isolation and memory integrity?

How to switch Off Core Isolation ?
Open Windows Security --> Device security --> Core isolation details --> Memory Integrity --> Off
Reboot

Sometimes Voice-over-IP (VoIP) applications may not play well with XP/VS Server out of the box. More specifically, you may find that the audio and microphone from your local PC is not routed through to Discord, Skype, or Zoom.  The redirection for audio and video must be configured or enabled correctly. The client-side part is covered here.

Configuration check in the remote session

1. In the microphone privacy settings (Settings -> Privacy ->Microphone), enable the "Allow apps to use my microphone" option.

2. In camera privacy settings (Settings -> Privacy -> Camera), enable the "Allow apps to use my camera" option.

3. The input and output devices selected in the client operating system are available within the RDP session on XP/VS Server under Control Panel -> All Control Panel Items ->Device Manager as "Remote Audio":

Check enabled group policies

Sometimes local microphone and video access is disabled by default due to security reasons. In this case, you need to manually enable audio and video playback on your XP/VS Server instance via group policies.

To do this, open the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) on the server and navigate to:

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Remote Desktop Services\Remote Desktop Session Host\Device and Resource Redirection

Please note that updating group policies (when group policies become active) depends on several factors. Also, configured domain policies may overwrite your local computer group policies in case your machine is joined to a domain. For more details, see the Microsoft documentation:

• Refresh Group Policy
• Force a Remote Group Policy Refresh (GPUpdate)

 Disable Audio Sandbox

Further, if you are using a modern browser, you might need to disable the Audio Sandbox as following:

Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/i-cant-play-audio-remote-desktop-connection

Chrome: https://cloud.google.com/docs/chrome-enterprise/policies/?policy=AudioSandboxEnabled

Edge: https://admx.help/?Category=EdgeChromium&Policy=Microsoft.Policies.Edge::AudioSandboxEnabled

To redirect your webcam from a client computer to XP/VS server, follow the steps below. Sometimes local microphone and video access is disabled by default due to security reasons. In this case, you need to manually enable audio and video playback on your XP/VS Server instance via group policies.

1. Open your  Remote Desktop app (recommended) on Linux, macOS and Windows that needs to redirect a webcam through remote desktop.

2. Type in the IP address or hostname of your remote computer and your login details.
   

3. Now switch to the “Local Resources” tab and click on "More".
   

4. Tick the checkbox before Cameras and confirm with “Ok”, then click “Connect” to establish the connection to XP/VS Server.
   

Your can print directly to your local printer from XP/VS Server, without additional administrator time required for installation or configuration of your printer.

1. Open your Remote Desktop app (recommended) and type in the IP address or hostname of your remote computer and your login details.

 2.  Now switch to the “Local Resources” tab and tick the checkbox before Printers. After that click “Connect” to establish your remote session.

3. The redirected printer will shop up in your printing dialogue automatically with a small note on the side (e.g. redirected 1) . The displayed number is your session ID. Have a look at XP/VS Terminal Server Administrator to see the session ID of the corresponding remote user.

Technical background

 If you are running XP/VS Server on recent Windows editions, including Windows 11 there is no need to install an additional printer driver on your remote server,  as there is a general "Remote Desktop Easy Print driver" already preinstalled. Usually this works great for most printer models that are available today.

The print job is sent to the system, which in turn uses the user's print settings to create a XPS file. The system then sends this file to the client and the local printer driver does the printing. Depending on your network and connection speed this can feel "slow".

Redirected printers are connected with the remote desktop and the client only. There is no access from other machines. Please note that redirecting a printer is not the same as sharing your network printer. You can either share a printer locally or redirect a printer to your remote session. Shared printers cannot be redirected within the remote session. That means - you can only print locally but not within the session, because only own printers are shown as redirected in the remote session not those from other users.

Especially for scanning hardware we have developed TSX Scan, which allows you to redirect your scanner without the need to install a driver on your server. The built-in compression algorithm highly reduces the amount of data that is sent over your network.

• TS Easy Print
• Auto Printer Creation

Once you’ve set up XP/VS Server to allow remote access for multiple users you will need the IP address or hostname of your server.

1. Right-click on the Windows icon and select “Run”.

2. In the box that appears type cmd.exe and press “Enter”.

3. Type ipconfig in the command line and press “Enter”.

You’ll see a range of information appear, but for now just note down the IPv4 Address or hostname of your XP/VS Server.

To connect to XP/VS Server simply use any modern Remote Desktop app (recommended) or the default RDP client from Microsoft  (Start -> Run -> mstsc.exe).

Type the IP address or hostname of XP/VS Server, your username and click “Connect”.

Online Activation

1. Open the program "Thinstuff XP/VS Administrator" and click in the menu bar "File" and subsequent "Add/Activate License"

2. Now it will open the activation-window. Please select "Add licenses/ Start internet activation..."

3. In the next step, please log into your "Thinstuff Account".
fig.1 Your web browser will be opened and you have to login with your user name and your password.

4a. If you have bought a license directly in our web shop
fig.1 You have to select “activate” next to your license. After that click on “Activate/download selected license”

4b. (OPTIONAL - Please note ! Coupon Codes are not longer available! This step is only for those customers who have not yet redeemed the coupon)

If you have redeemed a coupon from a Thinstuff Partner
fig.1 Enter your coupon-code and click on „Convert this Coupon!“

Your coupon will be converted into a valid license. Activation of the new license - please follow as described in 4a.

5. Import the license

In the following dialogue please select „run/open“ with: XP/VS Admin and the license will be imported automatically into your XP/VS Server Administrator.

6. Activation completed
fig.1 As shown in the window, the license appears now as valid in your XP/VS Server Administrator.

Offline Activation

There is also the possibility to do an offline-activation by copying the activation information from your computer without internet access to one with internet access.

1. On your computer without internet access, where you have installed XP/VS Server
fig.1 To get the activation information please open the program XP/VS Terminal Server Administrator and select “File” and “Add/Activate License”. Subsequent click on the button “Copy hardware Key to clipboard”

2. Paste the text into a text editor (e.g. Notepad), save it locally (e.g. xxx-hwkey.txt) and copy this text-file to your computer with internet access.

3. On your computer with internet access:
fig.1 Please log into your Thinstuff-Account

4a. If you have bought a license directly in our webshop
fig.1 Switch into your account to “Overview” and click on “Activate” next to your favored license.

fig.2 Please select your text file, which you have created previously based on the activation-information.

fig.3 Now click on „Activate license“.

4b. OPTIONAL - Please note ! Coupon Codes are not longer available! This step is only for those customers who have not yet redeemed the coupon

If you have redeemed a coupon from a Thinstuff Partner
fig.1 If you have successfully logged into your Thinstuff Account, select “Add/Manage Coupon” on the very right pane of the product overview.

fig.2 Enter your coupon-number and click on “Add this coupon”

fig.3 Now you have to confirm the transformation of the coupon into the license. By doing this your coupon isn't valid anymore and you'll get a full valid license instead of it.

fig.4 The transaction was successful. Please click on „Continue to your account overview..“.

Now you can activate your license - please follow steps as described in 4a

5. Download activated license
fig.1 Click now on the newly activated license below the item “License file to download an re-import”.

fig.2 In the following dialogue please select „Save“ to save the license file locally.

6. Copy the license file (license_XXXXX.tlic) on that computer, where you have installed XP/VS Server

7. Import the license
fig.1 Open the TSX Remote App Licensing Manager on the your server machine and click on the File → Import license from file in the menu bar.

fig.2 Now select your license file (.tlic) and click on „Open“.

8. Activation completed
fig.1 Now you receive a notice, that your license has been successfully imported, please confirm this dialogue with “Ok”. As shown in the window, the license appears now as valid in your XP/VS Admin.

This only happens on a physical PC if your hardware has changed significantly (e.g. change of mainboard or complete PC ...) or on a virtual machine if the MAC address of the primary Windows Network interface has changed.

Additonal Links:

FAQ -> Licensing on virtual machines

On virtual machines the XP/VS license is always bound to the MAC address of the primary Windows network interface.

In following cases this can lead to problems with XP/VS licensing:

A) If you on e.g. VMWARE try to move or copy a virtual machine and select "create new identifier" a new MAC address is created.

B) Also changing the order of the network interfaces in Windows (if. e.g. another network interface is added - e.g. a VPN connection ...) causes the MAC address of the primary Windows network interface to change.

C) Some virtualization solutions (e.g. HyperV, Xen, etc.) will create a new MAC-address for every new Guest OS.

In all of this cases the XP/VS license becomes invalid (9. Invalid hardware key?)
To avoid this, please make sure that the MAC address of the primary Windows network interface does not change on virtual machines.

In case B) you can fix your problem by recreating the initial order of the Windows network interfaces.

In case C) can be avoided by assigning a static MAC-address.

If you use a virtualization platform (e.g. VMWare, HyperV, Xen, etc.), please assign a static MAC-Address to your Virtual Guest Computers before you install XP/VS Terminal Server.

Usually an activated XP/VS license is bound to the hardware of each machine.

However, based on manual requests we do allow reasonable reactivation requests.
e.g. if your hardware breaks, or you change your server, etc.

In such a case we will release your license for another activation on a different system.

Licenses tied to your own Thinstuff account:

You will be able to release your licenses by yourself threetimes and you don't have to wait for our support to answer.

Please login into your Thinstuff account and go to "My Licenses".
Next to your license you'll find the link "Reactivate license" where you can release your license for reactivation (three times for free) by choosing "Release the license for reactivation"

If these three times are exceeded you can ask here for license reactivaton
Click "Reactivate license" and specify in the next window the reason from drop down menu
Choose --> "Send reactivation request"  to send the request to Thinstuff support.


As soon as the license is relased for reactivation (email information) you can run the activation process. 

For Reseller --> Release Customer's licenses

You are able to release your customer's licenses by yourself so you don't have to wait for our support to answer.

Please login into your Thinstuff account and go to "Reseller Control Center".

On the top left you'll find a textbox  where you can insert your customer's license id to release it for reactivation (either the number "1234" or the whole license code "12345-ABCDEFGHIJLMNOPQRST"

Click continue to release the license  for reactivaton (three times free)
If the three times are exceeded choose the reason from drop down menu and click "Send reactivation request"to send the request to Thinstuff support.
You will get an information email as soon as this license is released for reactivation. 

XP/VS licenses(except demo/trial licenses) are always perpetual licenses, so they will never expire.

Yes, you can upgrade your XP/VS license at any time after purchase directly in our webshop at https://www.thinstuff.com/licensing/

Log into your Thinstuff account and you will find top right "Shop"

Just press the "Upgrade" button and then follow the instructions.
The upgrade price is always the price difference + EUR 10,-- / US$ 15 upgrade fee.

Login into your Thinstuff account 

In "Shop" - the product overview /top right in your account - you will find the "Upgrade" button

Click this button and your purchased licenses,which can be upgraded, will be listed:

Select the license you want to upgrade and you will see the list of product you can upgrade to:

Check your favourite product and confirm with "Into Basket"

In the shopping card click "Proceed to checkout" and follow the assistant to finish your purchase.

There are 3 different XP/VS versions:

 Lite - No domain integration and no server operating system supported

Standard - Domain integration and support for Windows server operating systems 

Professional - Like Standard + Premium Support, TSX Gatway license bundled, TSX USB

related informations:

82. Configure Product Evalutation Version

If you want to change the evaluation license mode during the trial process please do the following :

1.) Open XP/VS Server Administrator and go to "Help" - > "Configure Product Evaluation Version"

2.) Now choose the version you want to evaluate and press OK.

3.) Please restart your computer.

You can find a detailed feature comparison of all XP/VS Server Versions here & the complete XP/VS pricelist here .

related informations:

51. XP/VS Server versions

The message during the activation process 

Error
License can't be activated -  License is already activated

signifies that the license has already been activated!

For explanation:

During the activation process, some information of the hardware is transferred to the web server, which generates the license file. Once this process is completed, the download of new license starts automatically.

Now it is important that your web browser allows this download! 
Either the download is prevented, sometimes pop-up are even suppressed, which points out that files are ready for download.
Then - of course - you have the impression as if the activation process had not been executed.

In any case, you have the option to download the license manually (click top right -> "My Licenses").  
In the list you will find your favourite license file. Save the license file locally, open with double-click - the license will be importedautomatically  into the XPVS Server Administrator.

If you want to perform the activation process again, the license must be released for activation
In this case please write an email to "support@thinstuff.com" with your license ID and the reason and we will release your license for reactivation (for free). 

For customers from member states of the european community:

So that we can invoice to you without VAT, you have to enter a valid VAT number before ORDERING.

1. You can verify your VAT Number yourself if you log in to our Webshop.
2. After login on the right top corner please click on address book and enter your full address with your VAT number and the click save.
3. Then you will see if your VAT number was verified successfully (green)
4. If it was not verified successfully it is marked red.
5. In this case please try to save your address again until it shows up green (verified OK)

For customers from countries outside of the european community :

Customers from countries outside the european community will be invoiced without VAT.

If you want to become a Thinstuff Reseller or for more informations about Thinstuff Partners please contact us.  (sales@thinstuff.com).

You can buy the products directly in our Webshop .

You can pay with credit card (Visa, Mastercard), Paypal or payment in advance (wire transfer).

If you pay with credit card or Paypal you receive your license after successfully payment/transaction.
When you have selected payment per bank transfer we will release your license upon receipt of payment.

If you want to convert your coupon into a license, please do the following:

1. log in with your Thinstuff account, select Add/Manage a shop coupon! and then enter your coupon number (e.g. 1234-1234-1234-1234-1234-1234)

Additional links:

-> FAQ: Activate XP/VS licence

Online Activation

Open the program "TSX Scan License Manager" (--> "Run as administrator") and click tab "License Activation"

 
click "Start internet activation"

Your web broswser open Thinstuff Login page --> enter your credential to log-in



In the following screen you will see your license(s) listed (which are not activated or released for reactivation)
Select the TSX Scan License  and click "Activate/ Download license"



Now the hardware information of your system will be copied to the web server, which create the new license file.
PEASE NOTE!  You have to enable and allow pop-ups and automatic download from "Thinstuff.com" otherwise you will miss the download and the following invitation:

 
Choose "Thinstuff TSX Scan License Manager" and confirm with "OK"

The new license file will be imported automatically :



and the license will be shown op in the TSX License Manager

You can download the latest TSX Scan trial Version here .

related informations :

47. How can i buy the XP/VS Server or other products from Thinstuff?

No, for TSX Scan you do not need TSX USB.

TSX Scan is a seperate product which has to be installed in addition to XP/VS Server or Microsoft Terminal Server.

With TSX Scan you only need the TWAIN or WIA scanner driver on the client computer. On the server computer you need either XP/VS Server from here or Microsoft Terminal Server/Remote Desktop Services and in addition TSX Scan Server from here. On the client computer you need TSX Scan client from here.

Prerequirements:

On the server you don't have to install any TWAIN drivers but on the client you have to install the TWAIN drivers for your scanner. So before you install TSX Scan we would recommend that you first test with any TWAIN capable application on your client computer if you can succesfully scan with the installed TWAIN driver of your scanner.

WARNING! On Windows Server operating systems you have to install the "Desktop Experience" feature to install the TWAIN_32 subsystem which is needed by TSX Scan Server.

79. How do I install the Desktop Experience feature on Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 (example)?

Installation :

If you want to install TSX Scan, please do the following :

1. Download the TSX Scan installer from here, save it somewhere locally and execute the installer with a double click.

2. Welcome Dialogue. Select Next.

 3. Press “Next”.

 4. To proceed with installation you have to agree to the "End-user License Agreement" and the press “I Agree”.

5. In this step you have to choose which component you want to install :

5a. Select "Client" to install the client part of TSX Scan on the Client computer.	5b. Select "Server" if you want to install the TSX Server part on the server computer.

 6. Select your destination folder and select "Install".

8. In the last step choose the button „Finish“.To complete the installation process you have to reboot your computer. Click 'Yes' if you want to restart now or 'No' if you plan to manually restart later.

Usage:

If you connect after installation of TSX Scan via RDP to your XP/VS Server or Terminal Server you should see the TSX Scan icon on the right bottom in the info area of your task bar as you can see per following screenshot.

If you now start any TWAIN capable application (for e.g IrfanView) in your Remote Desktop session on the server and open the scanner selection dialogue you should already be able to chose the TWAIN scanner which you previously installed on your client.
Those will have a [TSX] in front of their scanner name to differentiate them from local scanners.

If you want to use TSX Scan on a server operating system you have to install the Desktop-Experience-Feature.

To install the Desktop Experience please do the following  :

1.) Launch the 'Server Manager' . Click Start, Administrative Tools, and click Server Manager.

2.) Go to the 'Features' Section and click on 'Add features' .

3.) Select the 'Desktop Experience' check box and click on 'Next' .

4.) Click on 'Install'

5.) Click on 'Close'

6.) To complete the installation, click on 'Restart'.

You will find more informations about the Desktop Experience feature here.

If you want to uninstall TSX Scan, please do the following :

Open "Programs and Features" by clicking the Start-Button /Control Panel / Programs and Features, and then click "Uninstall a program".

Select "Thinstuff TSX Scan Client" to uninstall the client-part - right click and select "Uninstall"

Select "Thinstuff TSX Scan Server" to uninstall the server-part - right click and select "Uninstall"

Click 'Yes' on the dialog box.

Uninstallation is finished after the reboot 

We are often asked for compatibility of scanners working with our software TSX Scan.
Of course we cannot test all available scanner devices, but we can highlight one rule --> TSX Scan requires installed TWAIN driver  on client side.

We know that some manufacturers are not supporting the scanning standards such as TWAIN or ISIS.
For example Fujitsu ScanSnap.
This company decided to use only their own properity protocol and did not implement neither Twain nor Isis drivers.
Consequently these products are not supporting standard scanning software application - for example IrfanView and consequently  do not work with TSX Scan neither.
If you start TSX Scan on your client computer the scanner will not be shown in the list of available, installed scanners.

Starting with Windows Server 2008 Microsoft included Terminal Services RemoteApp (TS RemoteApp).
RemoteApp programs are programs that are accessed remotely through RDP and display seamlessly.
These applications appear as if they are directly running on the user's workstation.
Thus instead of displaying the complete remote Desktop only the specified RemoteApp program
is visible and integrated with the user's local desktop, running in its own resizable window
with its own entry in the taskbar.

Please see here for more info.

Requirements

Server-side

TS REMOTEAPP WITH THINSTUFF XP/VS TERMINAL SERVER:

Starting with Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server Version 1.0.167 users can also enjoy seamless TS RemoteApp programs when connecting to any of the following remote operating systems:

- All Windows 7 Editions (including Windows 7 Starter).

- Windows Server 2008 (without TS role)

- Windows Server 2008 R2 (without RD Session Host role)

Starting with Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server Version 1.0.400 TS RemoteApp will also work on:

- Windows XP Professional SP3
  x86 only, requires Microsoft KB961742-v3 to be installed:
  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961742

- Windows Vista Enterprise or Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 or. SP2
  x86 only, requires Microsoft KB961741 to be installed:
  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961741

Remoteapp connection using RDP feature "TS RemoteApp" is also possible to systems running Windows 8 / 8.1/ and 10 if following system files are available in C:\Windows\System32 --> rdpinit.exe and rdpshell.exe
If you are using for example Windows Home Editions XPVS Server enables this feature in XPVS Server Administrator  since version 1.0.653 (April 2013)
Choose  menu bar  -> Options -> "Install TS RemoteApp Support"  in XP/VS Administrator.

Client-side

The client computer has to run Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) 7.0 or better which is available here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969084
Unfortunately the current Remote Desktop Connection clients have no GUI option to specify a RemoteApp.
Thus you have to manually create a .rdp file.
It is also possible to save a .rdp file using the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection and add the required lines manually using a text editor (e.g. Notepad).

These are the required settings:

remoteapplicationmode:i:1
remoteapplicationprogram:s:C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe
remoteapplicationcmdline:s:%HOMEPATH%\Test.txt

The line "remoteapplicationmode:i:1" tells the RD Client to use the TS RemoteApp mode.
Use "remoteapplicationprogram:s:" to specify the path to the application's binary you want to display seamlessly.
The last line "remoteapplicationcmdline:s:" is optional and allows you to specify command line parameters for the specified RemoteApp.

At the attachments you'll find a sample.rdp file ("SeamlessAppExample.rdp").
Before launching it you should change the first line "full address:s:SERVERNAME" and replace "SERVERNAME" with the host name of your Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server computer.

For Windows XP SP3 clients we strongly recommend that you add support for Network Level Authentication (NLA).
NLA requires the Credential Security Provider (CredSSP) to be enabled.
CredSSP is supported on Windows XP SP3 but not enabled per default.
In order to enable CredSSP on Windows XP SP3 please follow Microsoft's instructions in KB951608:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951608

The client computer has to run Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) 7.0 or better which is available here:

General Description

You can use a digital signature to sign .rdp files. When you sign rdp files with trusted certificates, your clients can verify that important settings such as which server to connect to haven’t changed since the creation of the rdp file.

This enables clients to recognize your organization as the source of the RemoteApp program or the remote desktop connection, and allows them to make more informed trust decisions about whether to start the connection.

Following error will be displayed if someone opens a manually edited signed rdp file:

So what do you have to do to sign a .rdp file?

First: Create your .rdp file

Second: Get your certificate's thumbprint

Third: Sign your .rdp file by using rdpsign.exe

Create a .rdp file

A .rdp file is a basically a simple file ( filled with parameters) that defines the connection settings for a Remote Desktop or RemoteApp session. You can easily edit, copy and distribute it.

Basically you can create a .rdp by using the notepad and add the standard parameters. However, for this you'll have to know all the parameters. 

The simplest way to do this is to run TSX Connection (tstsc.exe), configure your basic settings and save it.  You can also use Microsoft's Remote Desktop Client (mstsc.exe).

Thinstuff has developed TSX Connection to make a Remote Connection client that allows you to configure,change and save Remote Desktop connections as well as RemoteApp connections.

Microsoft's Remote Desktop Client offers no possibility to configure or activate RemoteApp connections.

You can download TSX Connection from here.

In the download also included is the TSX Connection Manager - With this tool you can manage all your Remote Desktop, RemoteApp Connections in a graphical user interface and export, import them easily.

After the download please install the package and launch TSX Connection.
Now customize all required fields to your needs.

Following two fields are required: Connection Type and Computer in the General Tab

Now save your .rdp file. Please remember the path where you've saved it!

Get your certificate's thumbprint

The next step is to import your certificate and get your certificate's thumbprint. This step requires a valid .pfx certificate (either self-signed or CA-signed) and the export password from the .pfx file.

Manage Certificates with the Management Console

1. Open your Management Console ( Start -> Run - >type in "mmc.exe")
2. Goto File -> "Add/Remove Snap-in" in or use the shortcut Ctrl+M
3. Now select "Certificates" and click on "Add"
4. Choose "My user account" to manage your personal certificates. After that click on "finish"
5. Now apply with "Ok"

Import your Certificate

1. Goto Action - > All Tasks -> Import
2. The 'Certificate Import Wizard' window appears and click on 'Next'
3. Now click on 'Browse' and choose 'Personal Information Exchange .pfx, .p12' as file type.
4. Select your certificate and click on 'Open'
5. Click on 'Next'
6. Type in the export password which you've entered by creating the .pfx file and click on 'Next
7. Select 'Personal' as certificate store and click on 'Next'
8. Click on 'Finsih' to complete the import process.

Get your certificate's thumbprint

1. To get the certificate's thumbprint please do the following:
2. Navigate to 'Certificates - Current User' -> Personal -> Certificates and double-click your recently imported certificate 
3. Switch to the 'Details' tab and locate the field 'Thumbprint'
4. Now select the thumbprint, copy it and paste it in your notepad.exe
5. To use the rdpsign.exe you've the remove all blank spaces from your thumbprint. Goto File -> Replace (Ctrl +H) in the notepad and enter a blank space in the 'Find what:' field and click on 'Replace All'
6. Mark your thumbprint and copy it

More informations about certifiactes/cryptography can be found at wikipedia.com:

Public key cryptography

Public key certificate

We used e.g 'openssl' to create the .cert/.pfx certificate -  www.openssl.org

Sign your .rdp file

After you've created your .rdp file and copied the certificate's thumbprint(without blank spaces) you can sign your .rdp file.

Now open a command promt as Administrator and use the following command:

rdpsign [options] [items to sign]

• As option use /sha1 and then paste your thumbprint(without blank spaces). Now remove the first character, which is a '?'
• Enter the path of your .rdp file instead of [items to sign]

e.g

C:\Windows\system32>rdpsign /sha1 f9f89d00ec0ra2d5da259h7990144df53b413efb c:\Se
rver01.rdp

After you've exectuted your command following will be displayed:

All rdp file(s) have been succesfully signed.

If you open now your .rdp file a trust dialogue will be displayed:

There is the possibility to install the TSX RemoteApp client in a command prompt, script, ...

At first you have to download the TSX RemoteApp installer for the client from here:
32-Bit: https://www.thinstuff.com/releases/ThinstuffTsxRdcClient-x86-latest.msi
64-Bit: https://www.thinstuff.com/releases/ThinstuffTsxRdcClient-x64-latest.msi

Then open a command prompt, change to the folder which contains the TSX RDC Client and use the command "msiexec" to install the .msi file.

e.g msiexec  /i \\Server\Folder\ThinstuffTSXRDCClient-x64-1.0.701-EN.msi

You can also hide the gui for the installation with the following:
e.g msiexec  /qn /i \\Server\Folder\ThinstuffTSXRDCClient-x64-1.0.701-EN.msi 

All available parameters:

e.g msiexec /h

With this you will able to setup a script for installing the client side application of TSX RemoteApp!

Additional links:

FAQ -> TSX RemoteApp

FAQ -> TS RemoteApp vs. TSX RemoteApp

Client side (where the device is attached)

You can download the client part of TSX USB in  XP/VS Server's installation package from here:

https://www.thinstuff.com/releases/ThinstuffXPVSServer-latest-EN.zip

 To redirect drives , headsets, printers, scanners or webcams you may not need TSX USB explicitly as modern RDP clients support these devices out of the box.

On client side start the installation package - and at a certain step you can decide to install XPVS Server or TSX USB (Workstation Installation: Install the TSX USB Remote Desktop Client Addon)



Note !!! TSX USB does not support USB 3.0 (hardware)
--> Can be found in command "msinfo32"

It is important which hardware is built in --- not the ('software) downgraded USB interface !

Server side (where XP/VS Server is installed and the users connect to)

1.) Run the XP/VS Server Adminstrator, click on "Options" and then on "TSX USB Server Administrator".

2.) The TSX USB Server Administrator window will open.

3.) Click on "Options" and then on "TSX USB Configuration".

4.) Enable the "Enable USB Device Redirection" field and choose one of the two options.

USING:
Before you connect to the Server per RDP please do the following :

1.) Run the "TSX USB Client" on the client machine.

2.) Click with the right-mouse-button on the device you want to share .

3.) Click on "Share USB Device".

The Device is now released. When you connect to your server via RDP your shared device will appear in the TSX Server Administrator.
Keep in mind that everybody can access the device because for the server it's a locally connected device.

No, for TSX Scan you do not need TSX USB.

TSX Scan is a seperate product which has to be installed in addition to XP/VS Server or Microsoft Terminal Server.

TSX Session Broker is a feature integrated into XP/VS Server (Standard and Professional) that allows the system to take part in a load balanced Terminal Server farm based on Microsoft Session Directory (Windows Server 2003) or Session Broker (Windows Server 2008).

Usually only Windows Server 2003 Enterprise and Datacenter Editions can take part as a member in Session Directory / Session Broker!

With a TSX Session Broker enabled XP/VS Server also Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Small Business Server 2003 and Server 2003 Standard systems will be able to join a Microsoft Session Directory / Session Broker farm.

FEATURES:

- Fully compatible with the standard Microsoft RDP client. No additional / proprietary software needed on the client to make use of the load balancing functionality

- Multiple Terminal Server farms in the same local network

- Session reconnect of previously disconnected sessions

- Load balancing based on DNS round robin

REQUIREMENTS:

- The TSX Session Broker feature requires a XP/VS Standard or Professional license ( 51. XP/VS Server versions )

- XP/VS must be installed on any of the following operating systems:

  . Windows XP x86 Professional (SP3)
  . Windows XP x64 (SP1/SP2)
  . Windows Vista Business/Ultimate/Enterprise (SP1/SP2)
  . Windows 7 Professional/Ultimate/Enterprise
  . Windows Server 2003 R2 SBS/Standard/Enterprise (SP1/SP2)
  . Windows Server 2008
  . Windows Server 2008 R2

- Note ! Not supported in Windows 8/8.1/10/11  nor Windows Server 2012 (R2)/2016/2019/2022

- The computer where XP/VS is installed must be joined to a Windows Server Domain !

Please note that you do also need a Windows 2003/2008/2008-R2 Server with the session directory/broker service enabled and running.
The session directory/broker services are included in all Windows Server 2003/2008/2008-R2 Editions (even Small Business Editions).

SETUP

1a) If you are using a Windows 2003 Server with Session Directory:

- Open "Services" from "Administrative Tools" and locate the service called "Terminal Services Session Directory"
- Set the "Startup type" of this service to "Automatic" and start it.

1b) If you are using a Windows 2008/2008-R2 Server with Session Broker:

- Open the Server Manager and install the TS Session Broker Role Service from the Terminal Services Roles

2) Define which member servers are allowed to join your Session Directory/Broker

In order to allow a Terminal Server to join a Session Directory or Session Broker you have to add the computer to a local group called "Session Directory Computers". This local user group is basically used to define a list of Terminal Server computers that can join Session Broker/Directory.

On the Windows Server computer running the Session Directory or Session Broker service:

- Open "Local Users and Groups"
- Locate the group called "Session Directory Computers"
- Add all participating XP/VS Terminal Server Computers to this group

3) Join all required XP/VS Terminal Servers

On each single XP/VS Terminal Server that will participate in the Session Directory / Session Broker:

- Open Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server Administrator
- Select "Session Directory Configuration ..." from the Options menu
- Activate the checkbox "Join a TS Session Directory or TS Session Broker"
- Enter the name of the Windows Server 2003/2008 computer running the Session Directory / Session Broker service
- Enter a common name for your farm/cluster (e.g. "myfarm1").
  Unless you know what you're doing please enter exactly the same string on all your XP/VS Terminal Servers!

4) Load Balancing

If you want to use Round robin DNS load balancing:

- Add the farm name (e.g. "myfarm1") as a second hostname (A entry) for each XP/VS Terminal Server participating in the load balanced Terminal Server farm
- Don't forget that the Remote Desktop Clients must be configured to connect to this farm name (e.g. "myfarm1") instead of connecting to a hostname or IP address of a specific Terminal Server!

USAGE:

- Connect with your RDP Client to the farm name (e.g. "myfarm1") instead of connecting to a hostname or IP address of a specific Terminal Server.

- Because of DNS round robin the Remote Desktop Clients will get distributed equally among the member servers.

- On Logon the XP/VS Terminal Server will consult the Session Directory or Session Broker server to determine if there is an existing disconnected RDP session for that user

- Depending on the result of that query the XP/VS terminal Server will either accept the connection or redirect the RDP client to the server running the previously disconnected RDP session.

- The XP/VS Terminal Servers will automatically update the sessions' states (connected, disconnected, deleted) on the Session Directory / Session Broker.

Please download the latest TSX Gateway manual here:  

• TSX Gateway Manual

Latest version of TSX Gateway can be downloaded here:  

• TSX Gateway Installation Package

This manual describes the usage of external certificates (PFX format) together with TSX Gateway:

Please follow the steps listed below or download the step-by-step guide as .pdf.

• How to use PFX Certificate File with TSX Gateway

Content:

1. Generate Certificate Request

2. Import request on your certificate authority

3. Export the certificate as .pfx

4. Import certificate into TSX Gateway

1. Generate Certificate Request

We start with the configuration on our TSX Gateway Server:

1.1. Open the Microsoft Management Console (mmc) as Administrator.

1.2. Click CTRL+M and add the certificates snap-in for your computer account.

1.3. Select your local computer and launch the console by clicking on “Finish”:

1.4. Now navigate to Console Root → Certificates (Local Computer) → Personal

1.5. To create a custom request right-click Personal and select All Tasks → Advanced Operations → Create Custom Request

1.6. Click Next until the Certificate Information dialogue appears

1.7. Please change following parameters:

General

Insert Field:         Friendly name
They are used to enable a user to associate aliases with certificates so they can be easily identified

Subject

Add Value:         Common name CN
( Host + Domain Name) DNS Name

Extensions -> Extended Key Usage

Add Value:         Server Authentication

Private Key: Key options

Enable: Make private key exportable

Description:

TSX Gateway does not accept new connections, only if I restart the host.

Solution:

First please run a system file scan, to see if there are any file violations on your system.
Open a command prompt as Administrator and type in "sfc /scannow".
Wait for this process to complete.

Second, check your event log for any errors or warnings right in the moment or before connecting to TSX Gateway.

Third, check if there are still any open connections on the destination host (Remote Desktop Server or XP/VS Server). Sometimes you exceed the numer of allowed connections on the destination host. 
A reboot of the TSX Gateway Server will also terminate all active connections.

Question:

As it possible to change 443 default port on TSX Gateway?
Port 443 is already in use on the server where I need to install TSX Gateway.

Solution:

1. Open the installation folder of TSX Gateway (Default: C:\Programs\Thinstuff\TsxGateway).
2. Open file "TsxTsGateway.cfg" and change the port as following:

3. Save the changes and restart the TSX Gateway Service or your machine.
4. On client side you have to add the port before connecting to TSX Gateway. Otherwise RDP will use default port 443.

How to configure TLS protocol levels in TSX Gateway

TSX Gateway supports end-to-end encryption of remote sessions.
When the connection is established the client and the TSX Gateway server try to agree on used encryption type.

PCI standards require that TLS 1.0 (TLSv1) cannot longer be used for secure communication
(vulnarable to man-in-the-middle attacks), risking the integrity and authentication of data sent between the sever and the client.
TSLv1 is disabled per default in TSX Gateway since version 1.0.170.
All other TSL versions 1.1., 1.2 and 1.3 are enabled per default.

If you are running an older operating system or an outdated version of an RDP client, it can happen that the connection to TSX Gateway Server is refused, missing TLSv1.0 support might be the reason.
Possible error message:

If you want to enable TLSv1 in order to offer the connection from older RDP clients to the TSX Gateway server
you have to overwrite the according setting in the config file.
How to adapt the settings in the config file

1) Shut down TSX Gateway services.

2) In the installation folder of TSX Gateway (per default: C:\Program Files\Thinstuff\TSX Gateway)
you will find the config file - TsxTsGateWay.cfg
Open that file with text editor of your choice (eg notepad.exe)

3)
You will find following lines:
..
<cipher>ALL:+HIGH:!EXPORT:!LOW:!MEDIUM</cipher>
<config>
...

To enable TLSv1 you have to add the following line right after the <cipher> string.
<cipher>ALL:+HIGH:!EXPORT:!LOW:!MEDIUM</cipher>
<enableTLSv1>true</enableTLSv1>
...

4) It is mandatory to restart the server

Additional information

Of course this config file can also be used to disable other TLS versions - you have to add the according line
to overwrite the default behaviour of TSX Gateway:

Directly under

<cipher>ALL:+HIGH:!EXPORT:!LOW:!MEDIUM</cipher>
<enableTLSv1>false</enableTLSv1>
<enableTLSv1_1>false</enableTLSv1_1>
<enableTLSv1_2>true</enableTLSv1_2>
<enableTLSv1_3>true</enableTLSv1_3>

-- means TLSv1 and TSLv1.1 are disabled - only TLSv1.2 and TLSv1.3 are available

Sometimes it happens, that you ordered a wrong license. Unfortunately we cannot change an already issued order resp. invoice. However, we can offer you to cancel the whole order and refund the payment, as we are not allowed to change already issued invoices.   If you wish to place a correct order, just let our sales team know.

Do not click on links in suspicious emails or send them any information.
Very shameless tricks are currently being used to try to obtain sensitive data from Thinstuff customers via phishing emails.

Do not click on links or reply in suspicious emails.

The credit card companies tightened  security measures for payments(3d Secure v2), recognisable by the following logos:

We would like to ask all our customers to switch to 3D Secure v2 now in order to avoid a decline in transactions from 01.01.2021!
You should have received an information  of your credit card provider  and made aware of the need to implement these new security standards.
The EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2), which has been in force since September 2019, requires strong customer authentication (SCA) for every credit card transaction from January. 3D Secure 2 is the credit card system's answer to these SCA requirements.

You credit card / provider should support this new standard - perhaps must be activated.
Please contact your credit card company.

This is not only an issue with Thinstuff payments !