Windows Terminal Services (WTS) is a technology that gives Windows NT, 2000 Server and 2003 Server operating systems the capability to serve 32-bit Windows operating system based applications to terminals and terminal emulators running on personal computers and other computer desktops.
The Terminal Server environment is, by definition, a thin client, 100 percent server centered architecture.
Unlike traditional client/server environments, an application runs only on the server in the Terminal Server environment. The Terminal Server client performs no local processing of applications. The Terminal Server operating system transmits only the application presentation, the Graphical User Interface, or GUI down to the client. Each user logs on and perceives only their session, which is transparently managed by the server operating system and is independent from any other client session.
The Terminal Server technology goes beyond the client/server multi user services. With Terminal Server, users share hardware and software resources commonly found on a local Windows or Windows NT – base client. These resources include use of a central CPU, memory, and storage as well as operating system resources such as the registry or other data structures.
