New Article: Remote Desktop Server farms explained (Part 1)

My new article titled "Remote Desktop Server farms explained (Part 1)" on virtualizationadmin.com just got published.

"...Introduction
In this article, we will be taking a closer look at Remote Desktop Farms in Windows Server 2008 R2. A Remote Desktop Server farm consists of multiple Remote Desktop Session Host Servers. Why would you need a RDS Farm? What are the options? What are the scenarios? These are some of the questions we will answer in this article. There are of course also 3rd party tools available that work on top of and extend RDS farms, but in this article our main focus will be out-of-the-box Microsoft solutions..."
Read the complete article here: http://www.virtualizationadmin.com/articles-tutorials/vdi-articles/general/remote-desktop-server-farms-explained-part1.html

Next month a part II will be coming up, stay tuned.

MVP Summit 2012 coming up

Monday the 27th I’ll be heading to Bellevue / Redmond for the MVP Summit 2012! My personal schedule is planned, and with lots of great sessions it is promised to become a very existing week! It will be great to meet members of the product team(s) and other MVP’s in- and outside of my expertise!

As you hopefully understand nearly all of the MVP summit session content in under strict NDA, so unfortunately you won’t be reading blog post containing details about content provided at the Summit here. However, if I do run into information that is not under NDA and worth mentioning here, I’ll definitely write a blog on it.

In case you want to check out my MVP profile:
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=C1F3F2CC-DBFA-4C8E-BC50-EEBBA1A10BCE

"The system cannot find the file specified" error message when you print a document on a Windows Server 2008 R2-based terminal server

A new KB Article (with hotfix) was released regarding print issue when performing a printjob to a network printer from an application that hosts Internet Explorer 9 and that is compiled with the /TSAWARE:NO option on the terminal server.

 Article ID: 2646168 - Last Review: February 16, 2012 - Revision: 1.0
"The system cannot find the file specified" error message when you print a document on a Windows Server 2008 R2-based terminal server

"...Consider the following scenario:

• You establish a Remote Desktop Services session to a Windows Server 2008 R2-based terminal server that has Windows Internet Explorer 9 installed.
• You do not redirect a printer to the Remote Desktop Services session.
• You run an application that hosts Internet Explorer 9 and that is compiled with the /TSAWARE:NO option on the terminal server.
• You try to print a document to a network printer by using this application.

In this scenario, the printer does not print the document. Additionally, you receive an error message that resembles the following: The system cannot find the file specified..."

Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2646168/en-us?sd=rss&spid=14134

"Input Capture Window" shows on local desktop when you start Windows Remote Assistance as a RemoteApp

A new ("FAST PUBLISH") KB article was released by Microsoft today regarding running Windows Remote Assistance (msra.exe) as a RemoteApp hosted on a Windows Server 2008 R2. The article states that using applications like Windows Remote Assistance as RemoteApp is not a supported scenario in Windows Server 2008 R2.

Article ID: 2674002 - Last Review: February 15, 2012 - Revision: 1.0
"Input Capture Window" shows on local desktop when you start Windows Remote Assistance as a RemoteApp

"...When you start Windows Remote Assistance (msra.exe) as a RemoteApp hosted on a Windows Server 2008 R2, you may see an extra window showing up on the Taskbar with the title "Input Capture Window" on your workstation. Also the desktop is not redrawn correctly.

Using applications like Windows Remote Assistance as RemoteApp is not a supported scenario in Windows Server 2008 R2..."
Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2674002/en-us?sd=rss&spid=14134

Long logon time when you establish an RD session to a Windows Server 2008 R2-based RD Session Host server if Printer Redirection is enabled

Microsoft released a new KB article today related to long logon times on a RD Session Host based on Windows Server 2008 R2 in situations where Printer Redirection is enabled.

Article ID: 2655998 - Last Review: February 15, 2012 - Revision: 1.0
Long logon time when you establish an RD session to a Windows Server 2008 R2-based RD Session Host server if Printer Redirection is enabled

Consider the following scenario:

• You have a Windows Server 2008 R2-based Remote Desktop (RD) Session Host server in an Active Directory domain environment.
• You apply the Printer Redirection Group Policy setting to RD sessions that connect to the server.
• You repeatedly establish RD sessions to the server from a client computer that has multiple printers installed.

In this scenario, the logon time increases every time that you establish an RD connection. Additionally, the % Privileged Time count increases in the Svchost.exe process that hosts the User-mode Plug-and-Play Service (Umpnpmgr.dll) on the server. This behavior occurs every time that you log on, log off, or reestablish an RD session.

This issue occurs because the Remote Desktop Services Device Redirector service creates a new port every time that an RD session is established. However, the inactive ports are not recycled. Instead, the inactive ports for the redirected printers accumulate under the following registry key on the server: KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceClasses\{28d78fad-5a12-11d1-ae5b-0000f803a8c2}\##?#Root#RDPBUS#0000#{28d78fad-5a12-11d1-ae5b-0000f803a8c2}\

Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2655998/en-us?sd=rss&spid=14134

A multithreaded application might crash in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2

A new hotfix has been released today regarding an issue with applications running on Windows Server 2008 R2 (and Windows 7) that are multithreaded and use a heap.

Article ID: 2545627 - Last Review: February 15, 2012 - Revision: 1.0
A multithreaded application might crash in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, you use a multithreaded application that uses a heap. In this situation, the application might crash unexpectedly because of a race condition.
Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2545627/en-us?sd=rss&spid=14134

Init (be-init.nl) is live! (Dutch)

Vandaag is er een nieuwe community live gegaan onder de naam Init, bereikbaar onder http://www.be-init.nl/. Zoals wellicht inmiddels bekend gaat het Microsoft tijdschrift TechNet Magazine niet meer periodiek worden uitgegeven. Init wordt daar de nieuwe online variant van. Met de bedoeling nog meer (en sneller) feedback en interactie met de lezer mogelijk te maken. Een goed initiatief! Meld je dus aan op http://www.be-init.nl/ en Be In It ! :-)