Terminal Services is a new application server in Windows 2000
that integrates the functionality from the previously separate Windows
NT 4.0 Terminal Server into the base Server operating system. As a
terminal emulator, Terminal Services allows users on remote computers to
access applications running on the server. Once Terminal Services is
setup and configured properly, users connect to the server using a
client connectivity tool. Microsoft provides Terminal Services clients
for all 16-bit and 32-bit Windows platforms. To connect to a Terminal
Server from a non-Windows machine such as the Macintosh or Linux, you
will need to install a new network protocol and client support that are
provided by third parties such as Citrix
Corporation. From the user's standpoint, the application may as well
be running on the local computer. Even at modem speeds, Terminal
Services is fast and seamless.
The most popular group of applications that administrators will want to
install on Windows 2000 Terminal Services is Microsoft Office 2000. And
though Office 2000 was designed with Terminal Services in mind, you
can't just install it on a Terminal Server out of the box. Let's take a
look at how you need to install Office 2000 to work with Terminal
Services.
Obtaining and installing the Office
2000 Resource Kit Terminal Services Tools
If you have the Office 2000 Resource Kit, you're all set: The tools you
need can be installed right from the CD-ROM. But purchasing the full kit
isn't necessary because Microsoft makes the tools available for free
from the World Wide Web. Navigate to Microsoft's Office Web site and
follow the links to the Office
Resource Kit (ORK) and then the Office
Resource Kit Toolbox. The file you're looking for is called the Office
Resource Kit core tool set; it's a 9MB download.
Once you've obtained either the full Resource Kit or the core tool set,
you can install the Terminal Services Tools. Launch the ORK setup
program and navigate past the license agreement. Then choose an install
location (C:\Program Files\ORKTools by default). In the next step of the
install wizard, you will need to choose the components that you'd like
to install. The only component that needs to be installed for Office
2000 to install on Terminal Services is the Terminal Services Tools; you
may optionally choose to not install any of the other tools (Figure
1).
Then click Install Now and the Terminal Services Tools will be installed
on the server.
Installing Office 2000
Once the tools are installed,
you'll need to prepare a custom command line to install Office 2000.
This command line will resemble the following:
"<Full path to install files>" TRANSFORMS="<Transform file>"
So, for example, you might use the following command line to install Office 2000:
"c:\program files\office\cd1\setup.exe" TRANSFORMS="C:\Program Files\ORKTools\ToolBox\Tools\Terminal Server Tools\TERMSRVR.MST"
In this example, the Office installation files from the first CD are found in c:\program files\office\cd1\setup.exe and the location of the transform file points to the appropriate place in the Office 2000 Resource Kit Terminal Server Tools directory that we just installed. These tools include the appropriate transform for Office to install properly on a Terminal Services server.
Note too that the location of the Office files is not on a CD-ROM in this example: Because Office 2000 includes an install on demand feature, you should copy the contents of the Office CD-ROMS to a hard drive that is shared for your users. This way, Office can easily and quickly install new features each time your users need them.
To execute this command line, you'll need to launch the Add/Remove Programs applet in Control Panel; you can't just run this from a Windows 2000 command line (Figure 2). That's because you need to put the server in Install mode. Otherwise, the application you're installing won't be available to users of Terminal Services. To do this, launch the Add/Remove Programs applet, select Add New Programs, and click the CD or Floppy button. Using the example command line above as a starting point, add the proper command line to the Open text box and click Finish. The Office 2000 Setup wizard will open and you can install the components you desire.And that's all there is to it: Now even your legacy Windows users will have access to Office 2000, courtesy of Windows 2000 Terminal Services (Figure 3 and Figure 4).
--Paul Thurrott
September 5, 1999
This technology showcase is excerpted from Paul Thurrott's upcoming
book, Teach Yourself Windows 2000 Server, coming in mid-2000 from IDG
Books.
