Does a minimized Remote Desktop session uses bandwith?

I have a simple question. Does a minimized Remote Desktop session uses bandwidth? I would like to have remote connections permanently up but I was wondering if this would increase the bandwidth consumption of my hosts.

Thanks.

Ignacio Soler Garcia

Posted 2012-05-30T10:28:25.250

Reputation: 1 729

Answers

As I know it should send keep-alive (or something like that) packets, so the connection does not end and it use very little band. When it is minimized it does not use a lot of bandwidth. Even when it is up and you are working it just refresh a block when it is changed. Good Luck.

Hamed JML

Posted 2012-05-30T10:28:25.250

Reputation: 387

I forgot to mention that there will be activity on the connected hosts. I just don't want the updates if I'm not looking at them 'cos the remote session is minimized. – Ignacio Soler Garcia – 2012-05-30T10:43:36.977

1Logically the remote host sends the data because it doesn't know if you had minimized the remote Desktop. But to be sure and see what is going on, Try using wireshark as Cipi said or in linux you can use tcpdump. – Hamed JML – 2012-05-30T10:56:26.883

As the client knows the server can know. Anyway I'll try Cipi approach. Thanks. – Ignacio Soler Garcia – 2012-05-30T11:02:40.527

1I tried the scenario. It uses bandwidth. Good Luck – Hamed JML – 2012-05-30T11:17:17.620

You're right. It still uses bandwidth. Thanks. – Ignacio Soler Garcia – 2012-05-30T12:08:44.077

It looks like NO. How you can check it (how I checked it):

Start Wireshark live capture on the network interface that you use to connect to the remote host
Keep the remote session visible - you can see the packets arriving from the IP address of the remote host
Minimize the remote session - you can't see anything coming from the remote host, or the traffic gets drastically reduced

Cipi

Posted 2012-05-30T10:28:25.250

Reputation: 168