Configuring session limits

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Configuring session limits

For a Terminal Services connection, you can limit the amount of time that active, disconnected, and idle (without client activity) sessions remain on the server. This is useful because sessions that remain running indefinitely on the server consume valuable system resources. When a session limit is reached for active or idle sessions, you can select to either disconnect the user from the session or end the session. A user who is disconnected from a session can reconnect to the same session later. When a session ends, it is permanently deleted from the server and any running applications are forced to shut down, which can result in loss of data at the client. When a session limit is reached for a disconnected session, the session ends, which permanently deletes it from the server. Sessions can also be allowed to continue indefinitely.

Session limits configured in Terminal Services Configuration apply to all sessions using a given connection. Session limits can also be configured on a per-user basis using the Terminal Services Extension to Local Users and Groups and Active Directory Users and Computers.

For information on configuring time-out and reconnection settings, see Configure Time-out and Reconnection Settings.

Disconnected sessions

A session is disconnected when any of the following occurs: by request, connection error, or the active or idle session limit is reached.

Reconnecting to a disconnected session

By default, a terminal server allows you to reconnect to a disconnected session from any computer. However, you can restrict users and allow them to only reconnect from the computer where the session originated. This option is supported only for clients that provide a serial number when connecting, such as Citrix ICA-based clients. For more information, see Change settings for reconnecting disconnected Citrix ICA sessions.

Note

• As a best practice, use Terminal Services Group Policies to configure these settings wherever possible.

  For more information, see Configuring Terminal Services with Group Policy.