Remote Desktop Protocol
proprietary protocol that can provide a user with the graphical interface of another, remote, computer
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft Corporation which provides a user with a graphical interface to connect to another computer over a network connection. The user employs RDP client software for this purpose, while the other computer must run RDP server software.
Several clients exist for most versions of Microsoft Windows (including Windows Mobile but the support has ended), Linux (for example Remmina, Vinagre or rdesktop), Unix, macOS, iOS, Android, and other operating systems. RDP servers are built into the server and professional editions of Windows operating systems but not home editions; an RDP server for Unix and OS X also exists (for example xrdp). By default, the server listens on TCP port 3389 and UDP port 3389.
Microsoft currently refers to their official RDP client software as Remote Desktop Connection, formerly "Terminal Services Client".
The protocol is an extension of the ITU-T T.128 application sharing protocol. Microsoft makes some specifications public on their website.
History
Every server and professional version of Microsoft Windows from Windows XP onward includes an installed Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) ("Terminal Services") client (mstsc.exe) whose version is determined by that of the operating system or by the last applied Windows Service Pack. The Terminal Services server is supported as an official feature on Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, released in 1998, Windows 2000 Server, all editions of Windows XP except Windows XP Home Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows Home Server, on Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs, in Windows Vista Ultimate, Enterprise and Business editions, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 and on Windows 7 Professional and above.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Remote Desktop Protocol” is proprietary protocol that can provide a user with the graphical interface of another, remote, computer. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Remote, Desktop and Protocol, not as a finished interpretation.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q49150. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2008.
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This entry incorporates text from “Remote Desktop Protocol” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.