Remote Desktop and user profile

[736xl]

Not sure where to start. I'd like for several users to use RDP. When logged onto server I'd like them to have access to pretty much the same as they would on the local.
I am looking at roaming profile but not sure, do I copy them to the server?

greatly appreciate any help.

 

[lhuegele]

Ok, I'm a little confused here:

Are you trying to find a way to have their user profiles be the same no matter which SERVER they log-in to? When you state the following:

"When logged onto server I'd like them to have access to pretty much the same as they would on the local."

are you talking about "local" versus "remote" on the same machine?

Any user that you have logging into 1 particular machine will have the same access whether they are logging in locally or remotely using RDP. In otherwords, their user profile and what they see on their desktop will be the same no matter HOW they are logging into that said machine.

Roaming profiles is useful if the user does NOT have their own machine and uses many different machines, such as in a lab setting where you have a bank of computers that multiple people can use any of them at any given time.

Good luck,

 

[736xl]

To clarify my need for remote desktop is that I have an application that is terribly slow over a VPN connection. My only option is RDP. Now, when the person logs on using remote desktop, obviously the profile is empty. My question is can I move his/hers profile (from his/her laptop) to create the roaming environment and whenever he/she is logging on wheatear it is remote desktop or laptop, the applications will be available.

Thanks again for any help. It has been a long time since I’ve touched terminal server.

 

[lhuegele]

A roaming profile will take things like the users "My Documents" folder, desktop icons, etc. and will centralize it on a network share that you set-up. Roaming profiles will actually slow your users down and won't solve the problem you're trying to solve.

To have the application available for all users on a terminal server, just install it with an administrator account first. Then, you can have a shortcut to the application show up on each users desktop by just putting that shortcut in the following folder:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop

Hope this helps. Good luck,

 

[736xl]

Thanks for your post lhuegele. The problem I am having is this how can I sync files that could be created on the server profile?

Thanks

 

[lhuegele]

You mean between their server profile and their local workstation profile???

 

[JONxNJxIT]

736xl,

Ideally, all "business" related data should be getting saved to centralized server shares only. If this is the case, and all data is saved to your S: drive (for instance), then S: would be available to users whether they were logged in to a computer locally or logged into a RDP session.

You can use Group Policy to automatically redirect everyones local My Documents to server network shares. Again, this way everything is centralized.

As lhuegele was saying, if ALL you need to improve is the performance of this particular application for your users, then you can simply create RDP sessions that ONLY run this application. As soon as the user exits the application, the RDP session logs off. You could have a RDP shortcut on each user's desktop, which ONLY runs your application within it's own RDP window.