Taking a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of terminal servers

Terminal Servers enable organisations to centrally host applications and resources and publish them remotely to client devices – regardless of the location or platform of the end device. Advantages of terminal servers are, for example, more flexibility for users and a less costly IT infrastructure for maintenance and security. Disadvantages are the high data load and possible higher costs.

What is a terminal server?

A terminal server is a server or network device that can make connections to multiple client systems toconnect to a LAN network without a modem or network interface. In effect, it acts like your own computer, even though you can access it remotely.

Advantages and disadvantages of desktop virtualisation

Advantages of terminal servers

  • More flexibility for employees: Direct access to the workplace is no longer tied to the desk, but is possible from anywhere and at any time via the virtual desktop.
  • More security: IT security is now focused on a single device. In addition, server systems can be better secured, as backup, firewall and security policies only need to be implemented centrally.
  • Less effortiT staff only have to maintain and update this one device.
  • Uncomplicated outsourcing: The location and maintenance of the terminal server can also be outsourced to an external partner. This keeps the hardware investment low, flexible and gives you the option of buying some IT services externally.

Disadvantages of terminal servers

  • Large data load and high latenciesbecause only the image is usually transmitted at a few KB/s between a thin client and a terminal server, most connections are sufficient. It is somewhat more problematic if the users are to be able to copy data to the terminals or print something
  • Online constraint for workstationsif the server is not located in your own building, nothing works without the Internet because client and server can no longer communicate with each other. In order not to slow down work, employees can work from their home office or via hotspots, or a second internet connection can be provided. It should also be taken into account that there is no or very poor access from the train or on the plane. Then you can at least set up the Office package, including Outlook, locally on the end device, but this softens the overall concept somewhat.
  • Higher server costs: High availability and performance, perhaps even 3D graphics performance, are the requirements for a server for desktop virtualisation. You can rent a ready-made solution from a cloud provider; the high level of standardisation at the provider usually reduces the investment costs.

The costs

Virtualised desktops are not necessarily cheaper than classic server-client models. In addition to the good server components, there is the licence for the use of desktop virtualisation. On the other hand, you can save on the client side because you don’t necessarily need strong devices, but weaker ones that are much cheaper. If, for example, you don’t have your own IT department that can take care of the administration of a powerful terminal server, this can also be done by an external partner – for example as a managed service. Central administration saves costs.