1.1 Glossary

This document uses the following terms:

administrative message: A message sent by the RDG administrator to all users connected through RDG. Typical messages would include those sent regarding maintenance downtimes. The term administrative message and Service Message is used interchangeably in this document.

authentication level: A numeric value indicating the level of authentication or message protection that remote procedure call (RPC) will apply to a specific message exchange. For more information, see [C706] section 13.1.2.1 and [MS-RPCE].

Authentication Service (AS): A service that issues ticket granting tickets (TGTs), which are used for authenticating principals within the realm or domain served by the Authentication Service.

binary large object (BLOB): A collection of binary data stored as a single entity in a database.

certificate: A certificate is a collection of attributes and extensions that can be stored persistently. The set of attributes in a certificate can vary depending on the intended usage of the certificate. A certificate securely binds a public key to the entity that holds the corresponding private key. A certificate is commonly used for authentication and secure exchange of information on open networks, such as the Internet, extranets, and intranets. Certificates are digitally signed by the issuing certification authority (CA) and can be issued for a user, a computer, or a service. The most widely accepted format for certificates is defined by the ITU-T X.509 version 3 international standards. For more information about attributes and extensions, see [RFC3280] and [X509] sections 7 and 8.

channel: A successful connection between the RDG client and target server via the RDG server. For more information about the connection, see [MS-TSGU] section 1.3.1.1.2.

chunked transfer: A type of transfer-encoding method introduced in Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) version 1.1 where each write operation to the connection is precounted, and the final zero-length chunk is written at the end of the response signifying the end of the transaction.

client: A computer on which the remote procedure call (RPC) client is executing.

Consent Signing Message: An End User License Agreement (EULA) which the user must accept in order to connect successfully through RDG.

cryptographic service provider: An independent software module that performs authentication, encoding, and encryption services that Windows-based applications access through the CryptoAPI.

Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS): A protocol based on the Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol that provides secure communication for UDP applications. For more details about DTLS see [RFC4347].

endpoint: A network-specific address of a remote procedure call (RPC) server process for remote procedure calls. The actual name and type of the endpoint depends on the RPC protocol sequence that is being used. For example, for RPC over TCP (RPC Protocol Sequence ncacn_ip_tcp), an endpoint might be TCP port 1025. For RPC over Server Message Block (RPC Protocol Sequence ncacn_np), an endpoint might be the name of a named pipe. For more information, see [C706].

extended authentication: Methods of authentication used by the RDGHTTP Protocol in addition to the methods provided by the transport layer (see transport authentication). Examples include smart card authentication and pluggable authentication.

globally unique identifier (GUID): A term used interchangeably with universally unique identifier (UUID) in Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the value. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] must be used for generating the GUID. See also universally unique identifier (UUID).

handle: Any token that can be used to identify and access an object such as a device, file, or a window.

handshake: An initial negotiation between a peer and an authenticator that establishes the parameters of their transactions.

handshake request: A message sent by the RDG client to the RDG server requesting information about the server's version and negotiated capabilities. In the request message, the RDG client sends information about its version and negotiated capabilities.

handshake response: A message sent by the RDG server in response to the handshake request received from the RDG client. In the response message, the RDG server sends information about its version and negotiated capabilities.

HRESULT: An integer value that indicates the result or status of an operation. A particular HRESULT can have different meanings depending on the protocol using it. See [MS-ERREF] section 2.1 and specific protocol documents for further details.

HTTP 1.1 connection: An HTTP connection created by using HTTP version 1.1.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP): An application-level protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS): An extension of HTTP that securely encrypts and decrypts web page requests. In some older protocols, "Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Sockets Layer" is still used (Secure Sockets Layer has been deprecated). For more information, see [SSL3] and [RFC5246].

IN channel: The HTTP connection responsible for transmitting data from an RDG client to an RDG server. (The connection is protected by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).) The IN channel is created after the OUT channel and has no significance apart from the OUT channel.

Interface Definition Language (IDL): The International Standards Organization (ISO) standard language for specifying the interface for remote procedure calls. For more information, see [C706] section 4.

Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4): An Internet protocol that has 32-bit source and destination addresses. IPv4 is the predecessor of IPv6.

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6): A revised version of the Internet Protocol (IP) designed to address growth on the Internet. Improvements include a 128-bit IP address size, expanded routing capabilities, and support for authentication and privacy.

main channel: The channel that uses reliable transport, such as HTTP or RPC over HTTP. This channel is used to carry all of the RDP data that is not sent over the side channel.

maximum transmission unit (MTU): The size, in bytes, of the largest packet that a given layer of a communications protocol can pass onward.

Network Access Protection (NAP): A feature of an operating system that provides a platform for system health-validated access to private networks. NAP provides a way of detecting the health state of a network client that is attempting to connect to or communicate on a network, and limiting the access of the network client until the health policy requirements have been met. NAP is implemented through quarantines and health checks, as specified in [TNC-IF-TNCCSPBSoH].

Network Data Representation (NDR): A specification that defines a mapping from Interface Definition Language (IDL) data types onto octet streams. NDR also refers to the runtime environment that implements the mapping facilities (for example, data provided to NDR). For more information, see [MS-RPCE] and [C706] section 14.

NT LAN Manager (NTLM) Authentication Protocol: A protocol using a challenge-response mechanism for authentication in which clients are able to verify their identities without sending a password to the server. It consists of three messages, commonly referred to as Type 1 (negotiation), Type 2 (challenge) and Type 3 (authentication).

opnum: An operation number or numeric identifier that is used to identify a specific remote procedure call (RPC) method or a method in an interface. For more information, see [C706] section 12.5.2.12 or [MS-RPCE].

OUT channel: The HTTP connection responsible for transmitting data from an RDG server to an RDG client. (The connection is protected by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).) The OUT channel is created after the IN channel and has no significance apart from the IN channel.

out pipe: See pipe.

pipe: A supported IDL data type for streaming data, as specified in [C706] section 4.2.14. The term out pipe refers to the pipe created between the RDG client and the RDG server for transferring data from the target server to the client via the RDG server. The term out pipe is used because the data flows out from the RDG server to the RDG client.

pluggable authentication: An option for overriding the default RPC authentication schemes by using cookie-based authentication. To use this option, the RDG loads an installed plugin to perform the authentication based on a cookie passed by the client. The cookie is retrieved when the user browses a given site and enters their credentials.

protocol data unit (PDU): Information that is delivered as a unit among peer entities of a network and that can contain control information, address information, or data. For more information on remote procedure call (RPC)-specific PDUs, see [C706] section 12.

reauthentication: A process for validating the user authorization of the user credentials after the connection is established. Reauthentication provides the ability to verify the validity of user credentials and user authorization periodically, and disconnect the connection if the user credentials become invalid. In the process of reauthentication, the RDG server expects the client to follow the same sequence of connection setup phase steps, as specified in section 1.3.1.1.1, to enable the credentials of the user to be rechecked, or reauthenticated. If the same sequence of steps is not followed, or an error occurs during the process, the existing connection is disconnected.

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP): A multi-channel protocol that allows a user to connect to a computer running Microsoft Terminal Services (TS). RDP enables the exchange of client and server settings and also enables negotiation of common settings to use for the duration of the connection, so that input, graphics, and other data can be exchanged and processed between client and server.

remote procedure call (RPC): A communication protocol used primarily between client and server. The term has three definitions that are often used interchangeably: a runtime environment providing for communication facilities between computers (the RPC runtime); a set of request-and-response message exchanges between computers (the RPC exchange); and the single message from an RPC exchange (the RPC message).  For more information, see [C706].

Remote Procedure Call over HTTP (RPC over HTTP): The Remote Procedure Call over HTTP Protocol specified in [MS-RPCH].

RPC authentication: RPC supports several authentication methods as defined in [MS-RPCE] sections 1.7 and 2.2.1.1.7. Of these, the RDG server supports NTLM and Secure channel (Schannel) authentication methods.

Secure channel (Schannel): An authentication method which can be used with RPC authentication by using RPC_C_AUTHN_GSS_SCHANNEL security provider as defined in [MS-RPCE] section 2.2.1.1.7.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL): A security protocol that supports confidentiality and integrity of messages in client and server applications that communicate over open networks. SSL supports server and, optionally, client authentication using X.509 certificates [X509] and [RFC5280]. SSL is superseded by Transport Layer Security (TLS). TLS version 1.0 is based on SSL version 3.0 [SSL3].

server: A computer on which the remote procedure call (RPC) server is executing.

service message: See administrative message.

SHA-1 hash: A hashing algorithm as specified in [FIPS180-2] that was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Security Agency (NSA).

side channel: The channel that uses non-reliable transport, such as UDP, to tunnel audio and video RDP data.

smart card authentication: An authentication method implemented using a smart card.

statement of health (SoH): A collection of data generated by a system health entity, as specified in [TNC-IF-TNCCSPBSoH], which defines the health state of a machine. The data is interpreted by a Health Policy Server, which determines whether the machine is healthy or unhealthy according to the policies defined by an administrator.

statement of health response (SoHR): A collection of data that represents the evaluation of the statement of health (SoH) according to network policies, as specified in [TNC-IF-TNCCSPBSoH].

target server: The resource that the client connects to via RDG server. The target server name is the machine name of such a resource. For more information about the Target server name ADM element, see sections 3.1.1 and 3.5.1.

terminal server: A computer on which terminal services is running.

Triple Data Encryption Standard: A block cipher that is formed from the Data Encryption Standard (DES) cipher by using it three times.

tunnel: (1) The encapsulation of one network protocol within another.

(2) Establishes a context in which all further method calls or data transfer can be performed between the RDG client and the RDG server. A tunnel is unique to a given combination of a RDG server and RDG client instance. All operations on the tunnel are stateful.

UDP authentication cookie: An 8-bit (byte) binary large object (BLOB) sent by the RDG server to the RDG client on the main channel. The RDG client uses the same byte BLOB to authenticate to the RDG server on the side channel.

UDPCookieAuthentication: An authentication method that is used by the RDG clients to authenticate to the RDG server by using a UDP authentication cookie.

Unicode: A character encoding standard developed by the Unicode Consortium that represents almost all of the written languages of the world. The Unicode standard [UNICODE5.0.0/2007] provides three forms (UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32) and seven schemes (UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-16 BE, UTF-16 LE, UTF-32, UTF-32 LE, and UTF-32 BE).

universally unique identifier (UUID): A 128-bit value. UUIDs can be used for multiple purposes, from tagging objects with an extremely short lifetime, to reliably identifying very persistent objects in cross-process communication such as client and server interfaces, manager entry-point vectors, and RPC objects. UUIDs are highly likely to be unique. UUIDs are also known as globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) and these terms are used interchangeably in the Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the UUID. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] must be used for generating the UUID.

User Datagram Protocol (UDP): The connectionless protocol within TCP/IP that corresponds to the transport layer in the ISO/OSI reference model.

well-known endpoint: A preassigned, network-specific, stable address for a particular client/server instance. For more information, see [C706].

MAY, SHOULD, MUST, SHOULD NOT, MUST NOT: These terms (in all caps) are used as defined in [RFC2119]. All statements of optional behavior use either MAY, SHOULD, or SHOULD NOT.