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When i connect to Windows 2003 machines i can use the /console switch and essentially get a third remote administration session on the server.

This doesn't seem to work on Windows 2008 R2, only 2 sessions are allowed. Has this feature been removed ?

Thanks, but my question isn't about the switch but about the behaviour of Windows 2008 v Windows 2003. Although, it's good to note the switch is releated to the client.

Windows 2003 essentially allowed 3 simultaneous connections in remote administration mode if one of them used the console switch.

Windows 2008 seems to have removed this as regardless of which switch we use we can only get two users on.

user9517
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Matthew Dalton
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2 Answers2

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Yes. Use the /admin switch now.

/console is ignored on newer versions of RDP. /admin is ignored on older versions.

So you can use:

mstsc /admin /console .....

Kevin Day
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    Am I the only one thinking that *ignoring* the old parameter is a **terrible** usability thing, as it makes you actually connect to a non-console session without any hint of that? – Massimo Oct 28 '10 at 20:16
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    Just to be clear - This is dependent on the client version, not the machine you wish to connect to. – John Gardeniers Oct 28 '10 at 21:45
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From http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753380.aspx:

"If the RD Session Host role service is not installed on the computer, a connection can only allow a maximum of two simultaneous remote connections to the computer."

The console session doesn't matter, you can't have more than two connections without proper licensing.

Massimo
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