RDP Modes of Operation in Windows CE (Windows CE 5.0)

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In Windows CE, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) has two modes of operation. By default, RDP runs in Graphics, Windowing, and Events Subsystem (GWES) rather than in its own process space. RDP runs in GWES as a Windows control, and the interface to it is through standard window messages. This means if RDP is configured to run in GWES, it cannot be run inside a Web browser. You can configure RDP to run as Microsoft® ActiveX® Control instead of a standard windows control.

When not running in GWES, RDP calls into GWES frequently to perform tasks related to updating the graphical display. Because GWES runs in its own process space, each call into it has the overhead of a call to a function in another process. When running in GWES, this overhead does not exist, so performance increases significantly. However, because RDP shares the heap with GWES, the maximum number of simultaneous sessions is reduced.

If you want to host RDP inside a Web browser, you should set SYSGEN_RDP_AXCTRL so that RDP control is built as an ActiveX control instead of a standard Windows control. If this variable is set, RDP does not run in GWES.

See Also

RDP OS Design Development | RDP Support in Windows CE | RDP Functions

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