Terminal Services on SBS 03?

IT seems like everything happens in waves. Lately I have had a wave of calls and emails questioning running Terminal Services on Small Business Server 03. Can you run Terminal Services on SBS 03? The short answer is NO. The confusing part to most out there is that in Windows 2003 SBS, you can only use Terminal Services in the Remote Administration mode. So why can’t I access via Terminal Services if I am not the administrator? Simply put, it is a security threat! SBS 03 will not allow you access via Terminal Services in application mode. How many of you are having your employees using your server as a work station? Do you think that is a good idea? Probably not!
So what do you need to do to run Terminal Services when using SBS 03? There are a couple things you can do,
1. You can ditch the SBS 03 and upgrade to the newer, bigger, more advanced SBS 08 Premium edition. This will allow you to use the second server to run T.S.
2. This is the least expensive way to do this running SBS 03. You can create a virtual environment (this will require no additional hardware) you can download VmWare esx server for free at www.vmware.com this will allow you to create a virtual environment. The only software you will need to purchase will be a additional copy of Windows Server and T.S. cal’s to install Terminal Services in your virtual environment and Wahlah!!! You now have a inexpensive way to run T.S. without spending thousands to upgrade your whole network.
3. You can purchase a additional server to run Windows Server and Terminal Services, the only downside to this is you will be purchasing additional hardware (the server) to complete the project.
If you have any questions on how to do this please give Wasatch Software a call, we are happy to help any way we can.