Policy
Limit number of connections
Microsoft Windows
Policy overview
Key metadata and intent for this policy.
Supported OS tags: Windows10, Windows10RT, Windows11, Windows7, Windows8, Windows81, WindowsRT, WindowsRT81, WindowsServer2003, WindowsServer2008, WindowsServer2012, WindowsServer2012R2, WindowsServer2016, WindowsVista
Specifies whether Remote Desktop Services limits the number of simultaneous connections to the server. You can use this setting to restrict the number of Remote Desktop Services sessions that can be active on a server. If this number is exceeded, addtional users who try to connect receive an error message telling them that the server is busy and to try again later. Restricting the number of sessions improves performance because fewer sessions are demanding system resources. By default, RD Session Host servers allow an unlimited number of Remote Desktop Services sessions, and Remote Desktop for Administration allows two Remote Desktop Services sessions. To use this setting, enter the number of connections you want to specify as the maximum for the server. To specify an unlimited number of connections, type 999999. If the status is set to Enabled, the maximum number of connections is limited to the specified number consistent with the version of Windows and the mode of Remote Desktop Services running on the server. If the status is set to Disabled or Not Configured, limits to the number of connections are not enforced at the Group Policy level. Note: This setting is designed to be used on RD Session Host servers (that is, on servers running Windows with Remote Desktop Session Host role service installed).
Registry values
How enabled and disabled states update the registry.
No explicit registry values are set for enabled or disabled states.
Policy elements
Inputs and configuration options exposed by this policy.
| Scope | Element | Type | Registry mapping | Constraints & behavior | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer | RD Maximum Connections allowed ID TS_Maximum_Connections_allowed | decimal | Path SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services Value name MaxInstanceCount Type REG_DWORD | Range: 1 to 999999 |