In Windows 2000, each new Terminal Server remote connection to a computer is distinct and separate from that of the locally logged-on user at the console. Thus, in Win2K, if two people simultaneously use Terminal Services to remotely connect to a computer, each will have a separate desktop that's different from the desktop of the person who's actually at the console. However, like Windows XP, Windows 2003 lets a user actually connect to the local console desktop. This functionality helps bypass some application incompatibility with Terminal Server that would otherwise require that a user remain logged on at the console.
To create a new connection to the console, run the command
mstsc /v:servername /console
from the command prompt. Doing so launches the Remote Desktop Client, instructing Remote Desktop to connect to the server named servername and to connect to session 0, which is the console. Note that if you connect to the console remotely, the actual console will become locked. If someone logs on to the actual console directly, the RDP connection to the console will become disconnected.
