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when I try to connect to a remote windows 2003 server via remote desktop connection I get the following exception:

"Terminal server has exceeded max number of allowed connections"

Ho can I find out who is connected to the server? Is there a snapin to mmc that allows me to get all the users connected to the server?


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4 Answers

up vote 13 down vote accepted

Yes, you can use the Terminal Services Manager MMC to see who is connect to the terminal server and log them off if needs be. You can install this by installing the Server 2003 support tools on your machine, or by accessing it on any 2003 Server.

If you find yourself unable to logon to your server via RDP, you can connect using the console, this will connect you to the actual console session, the one you will see if you logged onto the machine using an actual keyboard and monitor to do this, run the following command from the run box:

If using RDP 6 client or above:

mstsc /v ipOfServer /admin

If using older than RDP 6:

mstsc /v ipOfServer /console
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NB - don't get in to the habit of always using the console session as well or you can end up with no easy route in - although you can connect to the TS Manager mmc from another server. Often you'll find the sessions are idle but not cleaned up from users who've closed out and not logged off. You can change your TS policy to auto close idle sessions after a fixed time limit which I always doon my servers. –  Chris W Jul 21 '09 at 10:14
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If you have your Server 200x admin tools installed somewhere, there's a Terminal Services Manager MMC. This allows you to see who's connected via RDP to a server

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you should be able to use qwinsta /server:[servername] from the command line to see who's logged on. use rwinsta to force them off. alternatively use teh console login mstsc /console to open an extra session if it's configured and not already in use

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The answer to 'how to get onto the server' has been answered.

The easiest way I've found to discover who else is logged in is this: Run Task Manager (yep, right click on start bar, select Task Manager).

It will have a Users tab that tells you who is logged in, are they idle or disconnected, and what terminal session they're using. You can right-click on a name to send a message, remote-control their session if you want to see what they're up to, or boot them off the server by selecting Log Off.

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That's going to be pretty tough if you can't get onto the box in the first place. –  mfinni Feb 1 '13 at 0:10
This is true - I was referring to Sam's answer above as to how to get past both terminal sessions being used, by invoking the console switch (/Console or /Admin, depending on version). –  George Erhard Feb 4 '13 at 16:55
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