Terminal Services Client for Mac

The Terminal Services Client for Mac can be considered and planned in the same manner as its Windows counterpart . When the prerequisites are met, administrators can use the Terminal Services Client to provide full Windows and application functionality to Mac users requiring Exchange services.

Through Terminal Services technology, Mac users are able to fully access the Windows client and Outlook application with all the features and functionality of Windows-based users.

Compatibility, Features, and Functionality

Because this remote desktop connection for Mac uses Windows Terminal Services, the only compatibility concern to be considered is the actual connection manager. All applications, when being run, are executed remotely and do not require additional compatibility between Windows-based applications, such as Outlook and the Mac client.

The Remote Desktop Connection manager is compatible with the Mac OS X 10.1 version or later. If required on an earlier version of the Mac client, upgrade the Mac operating system to meet the operating system requirements. Also ensure that the Mac client hardware meets the minimum hardware requirements for installing the Remote Desktop Connection for Mac, as shown in Table 27.6.

Table 27.6. Remote Desktop Hardware Requirements

Processor	Memory	Hard Disk Space
Mac PowerPC	128MB	3MB for installation 1.1MB after installation

One of the biggest benefits to the Remote Desktop Connection client from Mac is its integration with Windows and Mac clients. Because of this compatibility, Mac users are able to leverage the functionality and features of Windows Outlook when accessing exchange information and also leverage some of the following enhanced features when integrating Mac clients into a Windows Terminal Services environment:

• Access to Windows The Remote Desktop Connection for Mac provides full access for Mac users into the Windows environment. This connection can be configured to the Windows desktop or restricted to an application such as Outlook.

• Printing Through the Terminal Services connection, Mac users can access network printing and print information from applications to a networked Windows printer. To further enhance this feature, Mac users can print Windows information to the local Mac printer.

• Access to Data Through the copy feature, Mac users are fully enabled to copy and paste data between the Mac client and the Windows Terminal Services session.

Before beginning any installation of the Remote Desktop Connection for Mac, Microsoft Windows Terminal Services and remote access must be enabled for supporting a remote connection with one or more of the following Microsoft Windows operating systems:

• Windows XP Supported only through the Remote Desktop Connections feature of Windows XP, this method is limited to one concurrent connection.

• Windows 2003 Supported in all versions of Windows Server 2003, Terminal Services can be enabled to support remote access for multiple simultaneous connections.

• Windows 2000 Included in Windows 2000 Enterprise, Standard, and Datacenter Editions, the Terminal Service Application mode component must be enabled and will support multiple, simultaneous connections.

• Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition This operation system enables support for multiple connections for both Windows sessions and application sessions.

TIP

When using Terminal Services for multiple client connections from Mac and Windows users, performance is dependent on the total amount of simultaneous connections and the total amount of available hardware resources installed in the server.

Installing the Terminal Services Client

To install and configure the Remote Desktop Connection for Mac, let's begin with a simple scenario of creating a one-to-one connection. In this scenario, you configure a Windows XP desktop and a Mac client to provide remote desktop connectivity to Microsoft Outlook.

To begin, enable the remote desktop feature of the Windows XP client by following these steps:

1. From the Windows XP desktop, select Start, My Computer and open the Properties page by right-clicking the mouse and selecting Properties.

2. Select the Remote tab and check the Allow users to connect remotely to this computer option, as shown in Figure 27.3.

   Figure 27.3. Remote desktop properties page.

   

3. Next, assign the account that may access the desktop remotely by clicking the Select the Remote Users button. Assign or create an account for the Mac users to authenticate with when accessing the Windows XP system remotely.

After the remote desktop configuration is complete and the client permissions to access Windows remotely have been configured, begin the installation of the Remote Desktop Connection for Mac by ensuring that the Mac client can communicate via TCP/IP on the network. Follow these steps to configure TCP/IP on the Mac client.

1. From the Apple menu, select Control, TCP/IP properties.

2. In the TCP/IP dialog box, configure the TCP/IP properties. In this scenario, configure the TCP/IP properties using a Static setting. Select Connect Via option and select Ethernet.

3. From the Configure tab, select Manual.

4. Enter the TCP/IP properties for the client and Domain Name System address being used on your network.

5. Close the TCP/IP properties and reboot the Mac system.

To install the Remote Desktop Connection for Mac, download the installation file from Microsoft and place the file on the local Mac client where it will be installed.

To install the client, complete the following steps:

1. Expand the downloaded installation file by clicking on the file twice.

2. Go to the Mac desktop and open the Remote Desktop Connection volume. Copy the Remote Desktop Connection folder into the local disk of the Mac client.

3. Remove the Remote Desktop Connection Volume and the original installation file by placing them in the Desktop Trash.

4. Launch the Remote Desktop Connection from the Remote Desktop Folder and enter the name of the system you are connecting to, as shown in Figure 27.4. Click Connect to establish the remote connection.

   Figure 27.4. Remote Desktop Connection.

   

5. When prompted, enter the name and password of the account you configured to allow remote access to this desktop system.