Remove “Disconnect” option from Shut Down dialog
This policy setting allows you to remove the “Disconnect” option from the Shut Down Windows dialog box in Remote Desktop Services sessions. You can use this policy setting to prevent users from using this familiar method to disconnect their client from an RD Session Host server. If you enable this policy setting “Disconnect” does not appear as an option in the drop-down list in the Shut Down Windows dialog box. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting “Disconnect” is not removed from the list in the Shut Down Windows dialog box. Note: This policy setting affects only the Shut Down Windows dialog box. It does not prevent users from using other methods to disconnect from a Remote Desktop Services session. This policy setting also does not prevent disconnected sessions at the server. You can control how long a disconnected session remains active on the server by configuring the “Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Remote Desktop Services -> RD Session Host -> Session Time Limits -> Set time limit for disconnected sessions” policy setting.
Limit number of connections
Specifies whether Remote Desktop Services limits the number of simultaneous connections to the server. You can use this setting to restrict the number of Remote Desktop Services sessions that can be active on a server. If this number is exceeded addtional users who try to connect receive an error message telling them that the server is busy and to try again later. Restricting the number of sessions improves performance because fewer sessions are demanding system resources. By default RD Session Host servers allow an unlimited number of Remote Desktop Services sessions and Remote Desktop for Administration allows two Remote Desktop Services sessions. To use this setting enter the number of connections you want to specify as the maximum for the server. To specify an unlimited number of connections type 999999. If the status is set to Enabled the maximum number of connections is limited to the specified number consistent with the version of Windows and the mode of Remote Desktop Services running on the server. If the status is set to Disabled or Not Configured limits to the number of connections are not enforced at the Group Policy level. Note: This setting is designed to be used on RD Session Host servers (that is on servers running Windows with Remote Desktop Session Host role service installed).
Set the Remote Desktop licensing mode
This policy setting allows you to specify the type of Remote Desktop Services client access license (RDS CAL) that is required to connect to this RD Session Host server. You can use this policy setting to select one of two licensing modes: Per User or Per Device. Per User licensing mode requires that each user account connecting to this RD Session Host server have an RDS Per User CAL. Per Device licensing mode requires that each device connecting to this RD Session Host server have an RDS Per Device CAL. If you enable this policy setting the Remote Desktop licensing mode that you specify is honored by the Remote Desktop license server. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting the licensing mode is not specified at the Group Policy level.
Hide notifications about RD Licensing problems that affect the RD Session Host server
This policy setting determines whether notifications are displayed on an RD Session Host server when there are problems with RD Licensing that affect the RD Session Host server. By default notifications are displayed on an RD Session Host server after you log on as a local administrator if there are problems with RD Licensing that affect the RD Session Host server. If applicable a notification will also be displayed that notes the number of days until the licensing grace period for the RD Session Host server will expire. If you enable this policy setting these notifications will not be displayed on the RD Session Host server. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting these notifications will be displayed on the RD Session Host server after you log on as a local administrator.
Use the specified Remote Desktop license servers
This policy setting allows you to specify the order in which an RD Session Host server attempts to locate Remote Desktop license servers. If you enable this policy setting an RD Session Host server first attempts to locate the specified license servers. If the specified license servers cannot be located the RD Session Host server will attempt automatic license server discovery. In the automatic license server discovery process an RD Session Host server in a Windows Server-based domain attempts to contact a license server in the following order: 1. Remote Desktop license servers that are published in Active Directory Domain Services. 2. Remote Desktop license servers that are installed on domain controllers in the same domain as the RD Session Host server. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting the RD Session Host server does not specify a license server at the Group Policy level.
Configure keep-alive connection interval
This policy setting allows you to enter a keep-alive interval to ensure that the session state on the RD Session Host server is consistent with the client state. After an RD Session Host server client loses the connection to an RD Session Host server the session on the RD Session Host server might remain active instead of changing to a disconnected state even if the client is physically disconnected from the RD Session Host server. If the client logs on to the same RD Session Host server again a new session might be established (if the RD Session Host server is configured to allow multiple sessions) and the original session might still be active. If you enable this policy setting you must enter a keep-alive interval. The keep-alive interval determines how often in minutes the server checks the session state. The range of values you can enter is 1 to 999999. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting a keep-alive interval is not set and the server will not check the session state.
Deny logoff of an administrator logged in to the console session
This policy setting determines whether an administrator attempting to connect remotely to the console of a server can log off an administrator currently logged on to the console. This policy is useful when the currently connected administrator does not want to be logged off by another administrator. If the connected administrator is logged off any data not previously saved is lost. If you enable this policy setting logging off the connected administrator is not allowed. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting logging off the connected administrator is allowed. Note: The console session is also known as Session 0. Console access can be obtained by using the /console switch from Remote Desktop Connection in the computer field name or from the command line.
Enforce Removal of Remote Desktop Wallpaper
Specifies whether desktop wallpaper is displayed to remote clients connecting via Remote Desktop Services. You can use this setting to enforce the removal of wallpaper during a Remote Desktop Services session. By default Windows XP Professional displays wallpaper to remote clients connecting through Remote Desktop depending on the client configuration (see the Experience tab in the Remote Desktop Connection options for more information). Servers running Windows Server 2003 do not display wallpaper by default to Remote Desktop Services sessions. If the status is set to Enabled wallpaper never appears in a Remote Desktop Services session. If the status is set to Disabled wallpaper might appear in a Remote Desktop Services session depending on the client configuration. If the status is set to Not Configured the default behavior applies.
Limit maximum display resolution
This policy setting allows you to specify the maximum display resolution that can be used by each monitor used to display a Remote Desktop Services session. Limiting the resolution used to display a remote session can improve connection performance particularly over slow links and reduce server load. If you enable this policy setting you must specify a resolution width and height. The resolution specified will be the maximum resolution that can be used by each monitor used to display a Remote Desktop Services session. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting the maximum resolution that can be used by each monitor to display a Remote Desktop Services session will be determined by the values specified on the Display Settings tab in the Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration tool.
Allow users to connect remotely by using Remote Desktop Services
This policy setting allows you to configure remote access to computers by using Remote Desktop Services. If you enable this policy setting users who are members of the Remote Desktop Users group on the target computer can connect remotely to the target computer by using Remote Desktop Services. If you disable this policy setting users cannot connect remotely to the target computer by using Remote Desktop Services. The target computer will maintain any current connections but will not accept any new incoming connections. If you do not configure this policy setting Remote Desktop Services uses the Remote Desktop setting on the target computer to determine whether the remote connection is allowed. This setting is found on the Remote tab in the System properties sheet. By default remote connections are not allowed. Note: You can limit which clients are able to connect remotely by using Remote Desktop Services by configuring the policy setting at Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Remote Desktop Services -> Remote Desktop Session Host -> Security -> Require user authentication for remote connections by using Network Level Authentication. You can limit the number of users who can connect simultaneously by configuring the policy setting at Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Remote Desktop Services -> Remote Desktop Session Host -> Connections -> Limit number of connections or by configuring the policy setting Maximum Connections by using the Remote Desktop Session Host WMI Provider.