Friday, September 2, 2011

Shadow RDC Session

Ever want to shadow a session on a server?

1. Get on the server.
Either be at the physical console or start your own TS connection to the server.

2. Use the shadow command to shadow a session.
Start - Run - Type: shadow x
where X = the terminal service session ID.

What is the session ID?
Open Terminal Service Manager. there you can see what user is connected, the state and connection time. Column 'ID' shows what ID they are. Usually something like 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or some numerical value. As new TS connections are made, the next session ID is handed out.

By default, the session you are attempting to shadow will be prompted to allow your connection. Once you are connected, you will now be seeing the exact same terminal service connection. You can see each other mouse clicks and actions.

This can be really helpful in supporting other users.

Now, once you are done, how do you disconnect the shadow?
Use the hotkey: CTRL+*

You must use the * key on the 10 key of the keyboard. you can not use the shift of # 8. On a laptop this might be a little extra challenging. You will normally have to enable numlock, then the 10 key becomes active.

This is the only disconnect, so I suggest you give it a test run in preparation.


Happy clicking!

Nathan DeSutter
IT Consultant
Compnology.com

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