I have 10 Windows 98 machines that are only used to launch a Remote Desktop connection to a Windows 2000 Terminal Server. They aren’t used to authenticate to the domain, run applications, access the Internet, email, etc. They used to be used in that fashion but now we use the Terminal Server exclusively for everything. They are monitored and scanned routinely for viruses by Symantec Corp anti virus and we also have an enterprise-class firewall in place.
I am faced with a situation of either upgrading the OS to Windows XP Pro (along with a hardware upgrade) on all the machines just to continue running the Remote Desktop software which connects to the Terminal Server or purchasing Thin-client units to replace the existing workstations.
I am aware that support for Windows 98 from Microsoft has expired but does anyone have any recommendations on the cost effectiveness and risks of staying with the current setup when it works? I have looked at a product called “DOSRDP” which can connect to a Terminal Server via a DOS floppy boot disk but my evaluations of this product have not been very positive and Windows 2000 Terminal Server doesn’t have a DOS client. My other option would be to upgrade our Terminal Server with Citrix but there again, is a significant cost increase for something that currently works.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
John Bennett