more. As RDP has evolved, so too has the built-in RDC, which provides the remote
connections over RDP. As enhancements to RDP are made, the RDC is updated to take
advantage of the new capabilities. Often the RDC will be updated for the version of
Windows that offers the new RDP features, but sometimes a new version of the RDC
is created for older versions of the operating system, allowing the older operating
systems to be able to connect to newer operating systems and take advantage of new
features.
RDP supports virtual channels, which allows different types of traffic and use
scenarios for RDP to be enabled, including third parties creating additional capabilities
on top of RDP. Up to 64,000 separate virtual channels are available for an RDP
connection. The new RemoteFX technology takes advantage of RDP virtual channels
to offer its functionality.
Looking at the RDP capabilities today, it quickly becomes apparent that a full desktop
experience is possible using an entirely remote session while still accessing local
devices including printers. Key capabilities include the following:
Full keyboard, mouse, and touch redirection including keyboard hooking, allowing
special Windows key combinations to be redirected to a remote session
Support for 32-bit color and desktop composition, enabling a full Aero Glass
experience (no Aero Glass for Windows 8 and newer)
True multimonitor support, enabling discrete displays to be selected for use in a
remote session. Prior to RDP 7, while multiple monitors could be used, they were
treated as a single display with a combined dimension, which meant dialog boxes
would be displayed in the center of a dual display environment. Treating each
display separately resolves this.
Multimedia redirection, enabling certain types of media, such as those that
typically would be played in Windows Media Player, to be redirected and played
natively on the client device if the client device has the capability. This gives
cleaner media playback and saves bandwidth. For example, if I played a WMV file
in a remote session, the actual WMV primitive is sent over RDP to the local client
and rendered locally.
Progressive rendering of images, enabling a lower-quality version of the image to
display initially and then increasing in quality as bandwidth allows. Other items on
the screen such as text would still be rendered with full fidelity including font
smoothing.
Bidirectional audio, enabling sounds to be sent to the local client and from the
local client. This enables capabilities such as Voice over IP applications.
Print redirection. The RD EasyPrint functionality driverless printing is available in
remote sessions (this also works for Windows 7 target machines and newer).
Reduction of bandwidth and fully configurable experience settings to optimize the
experience based on the type of connection, including a great WAN experience