When you begin to work on a server that is running Windows Server 2003 remotely via Windows Remote Desktop, more commonly referred to as RDP, you will quickly run into an issue that will plague all new comers. You will soon find that that server 2003 allows up to three (3) remote desktop sessions.

What does this mean? This means that you can all up to three (3) people logged into remote desktop at the same time, all running their own desktop session (You will not see what each other is doing, running, etc.). This is great if you have multiple people needing to work on the same server at the same time, however this feature also causes agony.

When you disconnect from RDP (without logging off) your session on the server will continue to run. Just like at home, if you get and walk away from your PC, it will continue to sit there doing whatever you left running on it.

When you go to log back into RDP next time you may or may not get the same session, allot of times you will end up starting an all new session on the server and in turn anything you had running on your other session you will not be able to see or interact with.

The easiest solution to this issue is, is to connect to the console session on the server. The console session on the server is unique in the sense you can force remote desktop to connect to it every time you connect via RDP. So each time you log in, you will be right where you were when you disconnected earlier.

Later down on this article we will go through the steps on how to connect to the console session, however before we do we are going to discuss a few more important things about the console session.

Beyond the console session being able to be accessed via RDP each time, it also plays another very important role. It is the session where all services you have running on your server will run.

So if you install a service and check off "Interact with Desktop", the console session is where you will be able to see them.

This little tidbit is very important if you are running game servers or various other software that is  set to interect with the server desktop. In turn, when the service is running, you will be able to see the application up and running and interact with it as you would any other time.

The console session like all server session has a limitation on how many people can be connected to it at any one time. You can only have one person connected to an RDP session at any given time, if someone else needs on the console session, you will need to disconnect first.

Now that we know the basics and some additional help details on how the console session works, we can now look into how exactly we connect to it using our windows home or workstation computer.

Depending on the operating system you are running, there are different ways to invoke the console session when connecting with the RDP client, so please choose your local operating system before going into how to connect (very important).

Windows XP (32-bit, SP1 – SP2 | 64-bit, SP1 – SP3) & Original Vista (Before any updates)

1. On your home computer, go to "Start" –> "All Programs" –> "Accessories"
2. Choose "Remote Desktop Connection"
3. When the Remote Desktop Connection window appears, you will need to enter your server IP where it asks for your "Computer"
4. Once you have your server IP entered you will need to make a space and then enter "/console" – Without the quotes.
5. Once you have the above information entered, you window should look like that below (Only with your server IP):

6. Once you have the above, just click "Connect"
7. The next window will prompt you for a userame and password, it is the same username and password you would use when connecting without the /console switch.

Windows Vista (After intial updates), Windows 7, & Windows XP (32-bit, SP3)

1. On your home computer, go to "Start" –> "All Programs" –> "Accessories"
2. Choose "Remote Desktop Connection"
3. When the Remote Desktop Connection window appears, you will need to enter your server IP where it asks for your "Computer"
4. Once you have your server IP entered you will need to make a space and then enter "/admin" – Without the quotes.
5. Once you have the above information entered, you window should look like that below (Only with your server IP):

6. Once you have the above, just click "Connect"
7. If it is the first time you are connecting to this remote server, you will get a yellow window pop-up. This window is to tell you that the server you are connecting to is running an OS that came out before windows Vista or Windows 7. You will need to click "Yes" in order to continue connecting.

8. The next window will prompt you for a userame and password, it is the same username and password you would use when connecting without the /admin switch.

9. Once you have connected, you should be all set to go. You are now connected to the all important console session on a windows server 2003. If you run into any issues while trying to connect, post up in our forums and we will get you setup!