Command-line control of Terminal Services

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Command-line control of Terminal Services

• Christa Anderson

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Agenda

• Why is command-line editing useful?
• What tools are available for command-line
  editing?
• Using TSCMD.EXE for simple configuration
• Using WMI and VBScript for more advanced
  configuration

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Why Command-Line Editing?

• Editing settings from the GUI is time-consuming
  on more than a few servers
• Command-line edits can be scripted and are
  therefore more consistent.
• Command-line edits dont need to be done either
  at the console or by using a TSCAL to connect to
  the terminal server to be edited

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What Tools Are Available?

• Command-line configuration tools in Terminal
  Services
• TSCMD.EXE
• The new WMI provider for Terminal Services

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Using TSCMD

• Command-line support for common Terminal Services
  settings, based on a WTS API
• Requires Windows 2000 or later on client and
  server
• Edit the settings on the server where the
  settings are stored (e.g., domain controller)
• Basic TSCMD syntax
• tscmd ltServergt ltUsergt ltSettinggt New Value

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Using TSCMD.EXE

• Works across the network
• Point it to the terminal server and user account
  you need to configure
• Returns net error messages, so if you get an
  error run net help to troubleshoot
• Settings take place immediately for the next user
  sessionno need to reboot.
• To make TSCMD.EXE report existing settings, run
  the command with no new value

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TSCMD.EXE Settings

• InitialProgram
• WorkingDirectory
• InheritInitialProgram
• AllowLogonTerminalServer
• TimeoutConnection
• TimeoutDisconnect
• TimeoutIdle
• DeviceClientDrives
• DeviceClientPrinters
• DeviceClientDefaultPrinter

• BrokenTimeoutSettings
• ReconnectSettings
• ModemCallbackSettings
• ModemCallbackPhoneNumber
• ShadowingSettings
• TerminalServerProfilePath
• TerminalServerHomeDir
• TerminalServerHomeDirDrive

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Disabling User Access
tscmd sandworm scott allowlogonterminalserver 0
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Editing Remote Control Settings
tscmd sandworm scott shadowingsettings 1
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Configuring Printer Settings
tscmd sandworm scott deviceclientprinters 1
tscmd sandworm scott deviceclientdefaultprinter 1
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Configuring Timeouts and Reconnects
tscmd sandworm scott timeoutconnection 100 tscmd
sandworm scott timeoutdisconnect 200 tscmd
sandworm scott timeoutidle 120
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Starting a Program in the Session
tscmd sandworm scott initialprogram
wordpad.exe" tscmd sandworm scott
workingdirectory c tscmd sandworm scott
inheritinitialprogram 0
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Limitations to TSCMD.EXE

• Functions on a per-user and per-server basis only
• Not all settings exposed through this API
• Requires the person running the command to be an
  administrator
• Very limited error reporting
• No built-in event logging

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Using VBScript to Edit Settings

• The Windows Scripting Host allows you to run
  VBScript from within the operating system
• Windows Server 2003 has a new WMI provider that
  allows you to edit settings programmatically,
  using VBScript

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What can VBScript Do that TSCMD cant?

• Heres a short list
• Configure color depth for the session
• Adjust mandatory encryption settings
• Define the session directory location
• Configure Time Zone redirection
• Disadvantage it takes longer to learn. Knowing
  TSCMD can be helpful for learning some values
  edited through WMI

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Parts of a Script

• Actions you can take
• Things you can act on
• Statements defining the conditions under which
  youll take those actions

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Data Types

• Numbers
• Strings
• Date/Time data
• Boolean values

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Variables and Constants

• Both have assigned valuesuser input, object
  properties, or calculations from another part of
  the script
• Variable values may change in the course of the
  script
• Constant values do not change

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Arrays

• Groups of variables, as many as you like when you
  define the array
• Array sizes may be static or dynamic
• Can contain any data type numbers, strings,
  date/time information, etc.
• Find data by its index number (beginning with 0)
• Arrays may have more than one index, but more
  than two gets confusing

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Built-in Functions

• Combined sets of instructions for doing things
  that are hard to do with the operators supported
  in VBScript
• Several different kinds
• String functions
• Date and time functions
• Array functions
• Working-with data types functions
• Mathematical functions
• Other functions (InputBox, MsgBox)

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String Functions

• Character/ANSI conversion and checking
• String Size
• String Editing
• Replacing text in a string

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Date and Time Functions

• Returning date and time information
• Converting string data to a date/time
• Returning and computing the date and time

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Numeric Functions

• General mathematical functions
• Rounding functions
• Random number generators

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Array Functions

• Join merges arrays
• Split divides arrays

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Functions for Working with Data

• Determining data type
• Conversion functions
• Formatting

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Other Functions

• Input and output boxes
• Error handling/notification
• Determining engine version

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Statements

• If Then
• Select Case
• Do Loop
• For Next

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Basics of WMI

• WMI exposes underlying parts of the operating
  system to scripting languages such as VBScript.
  If a part is exposed, its said to have a
  provider.
• You cannot access settings without a provider.
• To edit a setting on a remote computer, that
  computer must support WMI and must have the
  provider the script refers to.

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Terminal Services Support in WMI

• The provider exposes TS-specific structures,
  including
• Sessions
• Session environments
• Remote control settings
• Logon settings
• To edit the settings, you enumerate the instances
  of these objects on the selected server

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ADSI Objects

• To get to the servers, youll often use ADSI
• Any object found in a directory structure
• User accounts, organizational units, domains,
  printers
• Uses same property and method structure as WMI or
  file system objects
• Not limited to Active Directoryworks also for
  SAM and NDSbut namespace and syntax varies with
  the type of information you need

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Key ASDI Functions and Methods

• GetObject function connects to an object so you
  can access its properties and methods
• GetInfo queries the directory structure and
  repopulates the local cache
• Put sets a property in the local cache
• SetInfo writes the cached value to the original
  object

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Running a Script on Multiple Servers

• Connect to the OU in which all terminal servers
  reside and run the script on all members of that
  OU
• Store the names of all terminal servers in a file
  and input that file into the script
• Accept server names as arguments to the script

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Scripting Tips

• Keep the lines in scripts short
• Comment liberally
• Mix case in your code to enhance readability
• Use the WSH command-line environment
• Name variables and constants according to data
  type
• Explicitly define variables
• Write scripts in a text editor

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Summary

• Use command-line tools to edit terminal settings
  more quickly and consistently
• TSCMD.EXE for basic configuration
• VBScript and WMI for more complex settings
  (Windows Server 2003 only)

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Need More Information?

• TSCMD.EXE is a free download from
  http//www.systemtools.com/free_frame.htm
• Brief user guide to TSCMD.EXE at
  http//www.termservhub.com
• My Scripting Solutions column in Windows and
  .NET Magazine offers step-by-step explanations of
  VBScript, WMI, and ADSI
• Check out Microsofts script center at
  http//www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.
  asp?url/technet/scriptcenter/default.asp