Analyzing MS-TS and Citrix communications problems

Microsoft Terminal Server (MS-TS) that uses Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Citrix Metaframe Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) protocols are widely used for local and remote connectivity for PCs and thin clients. The important thing to remember about these types of applications is that they are transferring screen changes over the network. If there are only a few changes, they will require low bandwidth. If there are many changes, they will require high bandwidth.

Another thing is that the traffic in these applications is entirely asymmetric. Downstream traffic takes from tens of Kbps up to several Mbps, while the upstream traffic will be at most several Kbps. When working with these ...

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