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Terminal Services Manager Basics
The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) interface in Windows Server 2003 is called the Terminal Services Manager. It is a graphical MMC interface that system administrators can use in order to manage Terminal Services. The Terminal Services Manager allows system administrators to perform basic administrative tasks and operations as well as control sessions, manage processes, and more.
Opening the Terminal Services Manager
Click on the “Start” button then “Administrative Tools.” Look for “Terminal Services Manager” and click on this. You should see the MMC interface on your screen.
Different Administrative Operations using a TSM
Connecting – Click on either the “Users” tab or the “Sessions” tab located on the right side of the interface. Locate the name of the server of the session you wish to connect to. Right click on this then click on “Connect.”
Disconnecting – Follow the same procedure as with connecting except click on “Disconnect” at the end.
Sending messages to users – Click on either the “Users” tab or the “Sessions” tab then right click on the user you want to send a message to. Click “Send Message.” Enter your message in the dialog box that pops-up then click “OK.”
Log off a user – To end a user’s session, right click the user’s name under the “Users” tab then click on “Log Off.” If you are prompted for confirmation, click “OK” to proceed.
Resetting a session – Resetting a user’s session will close all the open programs of the user. Unsaved files will be lost. Follow the procedure above for locating the user’s name then click on “Reset” followed by “OK” to confirm the reset.
Apart from the basic functions of the Terminal Services Manager, there are more advanced operations that system administrators can perform. A system administrator using the Terminal Services Manager can remotely control the session of any user. He can also view the different processes that are going on from all the sessions currently running. The Terminal Services Manager is an important tool a system administrator can use to ensure that the network is running as it should.
Continue reading about the common tasks of a terminal services manager