2.3 Device Redirection
Once
a user has successfully connected, Windows Server 2003 and the Remote
Desktop Connection client provide a wide array of device redirection
options, including:
Audio
redirection, which allows audio files played within the terminal server
session to be played by the user’s PC. This feature is specified on the
Local Resources tab of the Remote Desktop Connection client, shown in Figure 4.
However, audio redirection (or audio mapping) is disabled by default on
the Client Settings tab of the RDP-Tcp Properties dialog box, as seen
in Figure 10. Audio redirection can be specified by a GPO.
Drive
redirection (or drive mapping), which allows the user to access drives
that are local to the user’s PC from within the terminal server
session. Local drives are visible in My Computer under the Other group,
as seen in Figure 11.
This option is disabled by default and can be enabled on the Local
Resources tab of the Remote Desktop Connection client. Terminal Server
Configuration can override the client setting and disable drive
redirection from the properties of the connection. These settings can
also be specified by group policy. The user account’s Connect Client
Drives At Logon setting does not
affect drive redirection using the Remote Desktop Connection client—it
is meant to manage drive redirection for Citrix Integrated Computing
Architecture (ICA) clients.
Printer
redirection (or Windows printer mapping), which allows the user to
access printers that are local to the user’s PC, as well as network
printers that are installed on the user’s PC, from within the terminal
server session. The Printers And Faxes folder will display printers
that are installed on the terminal server as well as the client’s
redirected printers, as shown in Figure 12.
Like
drive redirection, printer redirection is specified on the Local
Resources tab of the Remote Desktop Connection client. Printer
redirection can be disabled by properties of the RDP-Tcp connection.
Printer redirection will also be disabled if the Connect Client
Printers At Logon setting is not enabled in the user account
properties, shown in Figure 13. Interestingly, checking this option in the user account does not
cause printer redirection to occur—the client must specify redirection
on the Local Resources tab—but if this option is disabled, the user
account setting will override the client setting. The user account
properties also provide a Default To Main Client Printer setting which,
if enabled while printer redirection is in effect, will set the default
printer in the terminal server session to the same printer set as
default on the user’s PC. If the Default To Main Client Printer setting
is disabled, the terminal server session will use the default printer
of the terminal server computer. Printer redirection settings can be
specified by a GPO.
Serial
Port redirection, which allows a user to launch an application within a
terminal server session that uses a device, such as a bar-code reader,
attached to the serial port of the user’s PC. This feature is on the
Local Resources tab of the client and can be disabled in the properties
of the RDP-Tcp connection. Serial port redirection can be specified by
a GPO. LPT and COM port mapping, which
allow a user to install a printer within the terminal server session
that maps to a printer attached to an LPT or COM port on the user’s PC.
This method of printer redirection is not necessary with Windows Server
2003 and the Remote Desktop Connection client, which support printer
redirection in a much simpler way, as described previously. LPT and COM
port mapping are, however, still done by default. The RDP-Tcp
connection properties can disable port mapping, as can a GPO. Clipboard
mapping, which allows the user to copy and paste information between a
terminal server session and the desktop. This feature is enabled by
default in the Remote Desktop Connection client and cannot be changed
within the client’s user interface (UI). The RDP-Tcp connection
properties can disable clipboard mapping, as can a GPO.
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