Take Two Web Applications and Call Me in the Morning?
One reader wondered why he should bother with the TS headaches: "With the maturity of Web-based applications, we no longer need TS for application accessibility," he said.
Alex responded, "We see TS as being complementary to Web applications, but you want TS any time you want to make a rich application available. I don't think it's an either-or question at all."
Tad pointed out, "Simple HTML pages were designed to go over links that are fairly static so you can cache on either side. As soon as you need to pull data down, if you're on a thin link you can get a poorly performing application even if it's Web."
"In fact," Alex continued, "many Web applications can benefit if you put them close to the data in the data center. Then, using TS, you remote just the UI and save bandwidth, increase the application's performance, and improve the user experience. TS provides a rich experience without your having to worry about what the target platform is or isn't capable of."
Tad added: "And TS simplifies the security model. You can have one security model for all your apps, whether they're Web apps or non-Web apps. You don't differentiate at the app level. You just differentiate at the user experience level."
Alex agreed. "Security is a good point. The interface between Remote Desktop clients and the client you're running on is quite constrained in terms of the interactions allowed across that barrier, so with TS, no customer data is left on the local machine. For example, we see healthcare organizations with rich Web applications still delivering over TS to rooms in the hospital because they can help comply with HIPAA guidelines."
Tad went on, "Looking forward to the Longhorn timeframe, TS for Remote Applications lets you seamlessly launch an application from your desktop, and you don't have to worry about doing all the VPN plumbing to get back to the application."
Alex said, "Instead of remoting whole desktops, we can remote just the application and integrate it seamlessly with your local desktop so it looks and behaves like a local application."
No Panacea, but Progress
Alex and Tad understand the pain points with TS and are focusing on the problems you identified in this month's survey. Although the problems are clearly not solved, new functionality in Windows 2003 SP1 and imminent functionality in Longhorn Server seem to be moving in the right direction. Have you found solutions to some of the concerns the survey brought to light? I'd love to learn about your workarounds.
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