Prior to Windows Server 2008, remote users were often prevented from connecting to internal network resources across firewalls and NAT's because port 3389 was typically blocked on the firewalls. Using TS Gateway you can connect to internal resources that are hosted behind firewalls on private networks and across Network Address Translators (NATs). TS Gateway provides a point-to-point RDP connection rather than blanket access to the internal network. TS Gateway also provides a comprehensive security model that enables the administrator to control access to specific internal network resources. So what benefits are there in running TS Gateway? Since the TS Gateway connection is encrypted, you do not have to configure a VPN connection. Sounds like a VPN without the actual VPN doesn't it? TS Gateway uses RDP over HTTPS to help form a secure, encrypted connection between remote users on the Internet and the internal network resources to which they need to connect. If you think about Terminal Services Gateway as Terminal Services Proxy (which was the original name for this feature) or a VPN for Terminal Services, it may help with understanding exactly what it does. The network resources can be either Terminal Servers running RemoteApp programs or systems with Remote Desktop enabled. įirst, what exactly is TS Gateway? It is a role service that enables authorized remote users to connect to resources on an internal corporate or private network from Internet-connected devices.

Count on seeing more Windows Server 2008 posts in the future - just perhaps not quite so many in such a short space of time! Anyway, getting on with the business of the day, we're wrapping up our Launch Series with an Overview of Terminal Services Gateway (TS Gateway or TSG).

Just because today is the last day in our Launch Series doesn't mean that we're going to ignore Windows Server 2008 for a while. Tomorrow is Launch Day! Over the last twenty-five days we've gone over several different aspects of Windows Server 2008.

First published on TECHNET on Feb 26, 2008

Understanding windows terminal services