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We have an array of terminal servers to which our customers RDP and launch a Windows Forms application. We get a lot of complaints that the sessions are slow. So, when one our technicians shadows the customer session, the customer says, 'wow, everything is responsive now.'

Our data store is MySql 5.5, servers are 2008 R2.

Edit: additional information
Each customer has their own MySql database from which to work
Terminal servers have 25Gb RAM
Most customers have business class internet connections
Server upload via 1 DS3 and 1 100Mb fiber

What are common reasons - network settings, architecture - for slowness over RDP? We are trying to figure out how come, after shadowing, the customer's experience improves so much.

Edit @syneticon-dj mentioned ColorDepth in his comment - now I can focus my question...
As far as I know, we allow our customers to set their RDP color depth to their liking. Is there a throttling mechanism we can look at on the server side? And what would be a minimum setting for a Windows Forms application?

IAbstract
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  • There is no "common reason". Take a look at the performance graphs, try to get a reliable repro scenario and do a more detailed analysis of network traffic and performance characteristics. Also check if you restrict color depths on your TS'es - you probably should. – the-wabbit Jul 27 '11 at 22:47
  • hhmmm...okay, go into a little more info on restricting color depth. – IAbstract Jul 27 '11 at 23:03
  • don't really understand how color depth is going to make a "wow" type difference I mean the winform app is not a game or some hi motion app is it? – tony roth Jul 28 '11 at 00:03
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    @tony: no...very data-intensive, lot's of controls (textboxes, comboboxes). I don't know if color depth would have any significant affect. syneticon brought it up. I'm shooting in the dark - fishing. – IAbstract Jul 28 '11 at 02:00
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    You can set the maximum color depth in the [Terminal Services Configuration console](http://weblogs.asp.net/kennykerr/archive/2008/07/24/windows-2008-remote-desktop-color-depth.aspx). There is also an ["RDP performance wallpaper"](http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/d/9/4d9ae285-3431-4335-a86e-969e7a146d1b/rdp_performance_whitepaper.docx) which might give some more insight about what might be killing bandwidth. But I'd really advise to confirm if it is a bandwidth problem in the first place. – the-wabbit Jul 28 '11 at 19:40
  • @syneticon: color depth seems a likely candidate ...another item we will be looking at is whether or not our infragistics controls are double-buffered by default. – IAbstract Jul 28 '11 at 20:32
  • http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=23236 – David d C e Freitas Jul 12 '13 at 04:08

1 Answers1

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RDP slowness could be due to one of the following: - poor internet connection (you or the customer may need a higher upload speed) - insufficient RAM on terminal servers - contention for mysql resources/objects

Rory
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