The Remote Desktop Connection application provides
the means to connect to Server Core for remote management. You only
need this application when you want to access the command prompt on
Server Core. For example, you won't need this application when you want
to use a console to create a remote connection or when you want to use
a command line utility from a local machine to make the connection. The
Remote Desktop Connection application is exceptionally useful because
it does let you create a direct connection to the server. You can
monitor events and manage the system directly, which reduces one
potential cause of failure (making the remote connection every time you
want to perform a task). Select Start => Programs => Accessories => Communications =>
Remote Desktop Connection to start the Remote Desktop Connection
application. The following sections describe how to use this
application.
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You
must make any changes you want to the Remote Desktop Connection
application configuration before you connect to the remote server. Once
you make the connection, you can't change the configuration.
Consequently, it's always a good idea to create a complete
configuration first, save it to disk, and then reopen it as needed for
a particular server. Otherwise, you'll spend a lot of time
reconfiguring Remote Desktop Connection every time you want to use it.
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1. Creating a Connection
Before
you can use the Remote Desktop Connection application (I'll refer to it
simply as Remote Desktop from this point on), you need to set up Server
Core to provide Terminal Server connectivity. Once the server is ready for a
connection, you must configure Remote Desktop to make the connection.
The following procedure helps you make the connection.
Start the application and click Options. The General tab shows the connection options as shown in Figure 1.
Type the server name or select it from the drop-down list in the Computer field.
Type your account name on the server in the User Name field.
Type your password in the Password field. Make sure you use the password for your account on the remote system.
Type
the name of the server in the Domain field when using a workgroup
setup. If you're using a domain setup, then type the name of the domain
in the Domain field.
Optionally, check Save My Password if you want Remote Desktop to save your password for future use.
Optionally,
click Save As. You'll see a Save As dialog box. If you want to save
this setup as the default connection, then click Save. Otherwise, type
a name for the setup in the File Name field and click Save. You can
save as many setups as needed for the servers you want to access. Use
the default setup for the server you access most often.
Click
Connect. You'll see Remote Desktop performing all of the required
connection tasks. Eventually, you'll see a Remote Desktop window like
the one shown in Figure 2.
After
you create the initial connection, Remote Desktop opens with the
default connection already set up. If you want to use the default
connection, all you need to do is click Connect when Remote Desktop
starts. Otherwise, you can click Options, click Open, choose the
connection you want to use from the Open dialog box, click Open in the
Open dialog box, and finally click Connect to make the connection. You
won't need to create a setup more than once if you save it to disk.
It's
also possible to double-click the RDP file containing a connection in
Windows Explorer to make the connection to the server, so you can
simply place the RDP file on your desktop to make the connection
instantly accessible.
