What RDP connection capability does Presentation Server 3.0 and later provide?
Presentation Server 3.0 and later allows users to launch published applications and published desktops using the Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) Client as well as the ICA client. This leads to increased flexibility in situations where downloading a Citrix client is not possible and expands the number of devices that can connect to Presentation Servers.
When should RDP be used in place of ICA?
RDP connections made through the RDC client and Web Interface can be monitored and managed through Citrix’s Management Consoles. RDP connections to Presentation Server take advantage of features like connections to published applications, load balancing, scalability and monitoring. Using RDP connections, however, does not take advantage of the advanced features of ICA like SpeedScreen Browser Acceleration, SpeedScreen Multimedia Acceleration, Universal Printing, and Seamless Windows just to name a few. Citrix recommends using Citrix ICA client for situations when a user has the ICA client installed as ICA provides a better user experience through the full functionality of Presentation Server. See below for further details.
This table is not a direct comparison of RDP and ICA protocols, rather a description of the functionality of RDP clients when connecting to a Presentation Server 3.0 or later environment.
Feature |
RDP |
ICA |
Auto-reconnect on interruption (no Secure Gateway) |
x |
x |
Auto-reconnect on interruption (through Secure Gateway) |
x | |
Bi-directional audio |
x | |
Client-side Secure (HTTPS) proxy traversal |
x | |
Client-side proxy NTLM authentication |
x | |
Client-side SOCKS proxy traversal |
x | |
Cross-server shadowing |
x | |
Secure Gateway traversal |
x | |
Custom connections for published applications |
x |
x |
Delegated administration |
x |
x |
Dynamic session reconfiguration |
x |
x |
FIPS-140 encryption using Win32 clients |
x |
x |
High color depth |
x (on Windows 2003) |
x |
Load balancing |
x |
x |
Monitor sessions for applications |
x |
x |
Monitor sessions for whole farm |
x |
x |
Multi-way shadowing |
x |
What are the license consumption rules?
RDP connections to a Presentation Server 3.0 or later server consume Citrix connection licenses. The number of RDP connections allowed to a computer running Presentation Server depends on the number of Terminal Server CALS and the number of Citrix connection licenses. For example, if a company has 30 Terminal Server licenses and a 20 Citrix connection licenses, only 20 users are be able to log on through ICA or RDP. End users are notified by the appropriate error messages.
RDP connections and ICA connections made from the same client device are unable to share licenses. If a user makes two connections to a server running Presentation Server 3.0 or later, one using ICA and another using RDP from the same desktop machine, two Presentation Server connection licenses will be consumed.
Note that remote administrative connections to the Presentation Server console via RDP do not consume a Citrix connection license.
How would you enable RDP connections to Presentation Server?
When Presentation Server 3.0 or later is installed it sets the “Only allow published applications” option as a security measure. This does not allow users using the RDP client or Program Neighborhood to connect through straight server connections (desktops). An administrator can turn the option off if they choose so.
CTX108639 – Only Run Published Applications Setting Allows Administrator Access to Custom Server Desktop Sessions
If you would like any more information on Presentation Server 3.0 or later, review the appropriate Administrator’s Guide.
