TIPS - Advanced Use of Remote Desktop

Have a need to figure out how to monitor various servers in a domain, using Remote Desktop is a great idea. Here're some commonly used commands and tips that may help:

To start remote desktop client, run this command (simply stands for microsoft terminal server client):

    mstsc

If you want to set the screen size, try this:

    mstsc /w=1920 /h=1200
w is the screen width, while h is the screen height

In case the remote computer has multiple monitors, try this:

    mstsc /span

Sometimes, administrators would like to have full interaction with the remote computer. There're actually 2 modes in remote client connection, namely (1) virtual mode and (2) admin mode. If you want to start the full interaction mode:

    mstsc /admin or mstsc /console

As network administrator, often we want to monitor multiple servers at the same time. This will be very handy:

    tsmmc.msc

With tsmmc.msc, you can connect to multiple computers, save your settings and reuse connections the next time you start it.

For those who would like to check the list of active connections on a certain computer, try this:

    quser /server:RemoteServerName

For those who wants to tweak the your connection performance, check and create these subkeys of the entry if they are missing:

• HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\TermDD\FlowControlDisable (DWORD 32bit, 1 to disable)
• HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\TermDD\FlowControlDisplayBandwidth (DWORD 32bit, priority to display and input, default 70, maximum 255)
• HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\TermDD\FlowControlChannelBandwidth (DWORD 32bit, priority to other data like file transfer and print job, default 30, maximum 255)
• HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\TermDD\FlowControlChargePostCompression (bandwidth calculation based on pre-compressed size or post-compressed size, 0 is pre-compressed size)

Notes: Remote Desktop is a great way to monitor and remote control servers. But, often network administrators or computer help desk needs to view and even control a computer with the user sharing same view. Then, Windows Remote Assistance should be the tool to use. Try this command:
    msra /offerra