Client-side rendering in Windows Server 2008 and in Windows Vista may decrease performance on Windows Server 2008-based terminal servers

By default, client-side rendering is enabled in Windows Server 2008 and in Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1). However, this behavior may decrease performance on Windows Server 2008-based terminal servers.

Note You can click to clear the Render print jobs on client computers check box on the Sharing tab of the Properties dialog box for the printer. However, this setting is ignored.

Client-side rendering reduces the load on print servers by moving rendering to the print clients. This action distributes the rendering job among many computers instead of concentrating the job on one print server. However, when you use a terminal server, the print clients are concentrated on a single terminal server. Because the terminal server also handles all application processing, client-side rendering increases the load on the terminal server significantly. By default, ideally, client-side rendering would be disabled on any Windows Server 2008-based terminal server.

To resolve this problem, install the following hotfix. By default, after you install the hotfix, client-side rendering is disabled on any Windows Server 2008-based terminal server.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

For Windows Server 2008-based computers, no prerequisites are required.

For Windows Vista-based computers, you must have Windows Vista SP1 installed to apply this hotfix. For more information about Windows Vista service packs, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista file information notes

The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately. MUM and MANIFEST files and their associated security catalog (.cat) files are critical to maintaining the state of the updated component. The security catalog files are signed with a Microsoft digital signature. (The attributes of these files are not listed.)

All supported x86-based versions of Windows Server 2008 and of Windows Vista

All supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 and of Windows Vista

All supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.