18 MetaFrame Presentation Server Reviewer’s Guide
You publish any given application or content once on the server, but multiple users
can simultaneously access the published resources. Application processing on the
client is kept to a minimum because the application runs entirely on the server. The
ICA protocol sends keystrokes, mouse clicks, and screen updates between the
server and the client, so to the user of the client device it appears as if the software is
running locally.
Because applications run on the server and not on the client device, users can
connect from any platform. For example, Microsoft Outlook running as a published
application looks and feels the same whether the user is connecting from a
Windows CE hand-held computer, a Macintosh desktop, or a Linux workstation.
You can control user connections to the server to prevent over-consumption of
licenses or server resources.
With many clients (including the Clients for 32-bit Windows, Java, Macintosh, and
Linux), you can secure ICA communications using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
or Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols. SSL/TLS provides server
authentication, encryption of the data stream, and message integrity checks and
enables you to securely deliver applications within a LAN or across the Internet.
Program Neighborhood
With the client Program Neighborhood, users can connect to published resources
and servers running MetaFrame Presentation Server using:
• Application sets
• Custom ICA connections
An application set is a user’s view of the resources published on a given server farm
that the user is authorized to access. Resources published in an application set are
configured for such session properties as window size, number of colors, supported
encryption levels, and audio compression rate.
If these settings are not required to run the published application (such as, for
example, the audio compression rate), you can change them on the client device at
the application set level.
Program Neighborhood Agent
Using the Program Neighborhood Agent in conjunction with the Web Interface,
you can integrate published resources with users’ desktops. Users access remote
applications, desktops, and content by clicking icons on their Windows desktop, in
the Start menu, in the Windows system tray, or any combination thereof.
The Program Neighborhood Agent handles the following functions:
• User authentication. The Client provides user credentials to the Web Interface
when users try to connect and every time they launch published resources.