3,621 settings · 25H2 · 1.0 · 29 Sep 2025

1 settingCSV

Use a common set of exploit protection settings Computer

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Windows Components › Remote Desktop Services › Remote Desktop Session Host › Remote Session Environment

Configure compression for RemoteFX data

ComputerNative Intune settingTS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR

Supported on At least Windows Vista with Service Pack 1

25H2 · 1.0

What it does

This policy setting allows you to specify which Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) compression algorithm to use. By default, servers use an RDP compression algorithm that is based on the server's hardware configuration. If you enable this policy setting, you can specify which RDP compression algorithm to use. If you select the algorithm that is optimized to use less memory, this option is less memory-intensive, but uses more network bandwidth. If you select the algorithm that is optimized to use less network bandwidth, this option uses less network bandwidth, but is more memory-intensive. Additionally, a third option is available that balances memory usage and network bandwidth. In Windows 8 only the compression algorithm that balances memory usage and bandwidth is used. You can also choose not to use an RDP compression algorithm. Choosing not to use an RDP compression algorithm will use more network bandwidth and is only recommended if you are using a hardware device that is designed to optimize network traffic. Even if you choose not to use an RDP compression algorithm, some graphics data will still be compressed. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, the default RDP compression algorithm will be used.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry key: SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services

In Intune

Native Intune setting: Yes — Policy CSP

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_TerminalServer/TS_SERVER_COMPRESSORADMX_TerminalServer on Microsoft LearnADMX-backed: Windows ships this template, so it is set with the template's own values, without an import.Windows builds listed: 10.0.22000, 10.0.19043.1202, 10.0.19042.1202, 10.0.19041.1202.

From Microsoft's Policy CSP DDF files (DDF v2 Files, February 2026), read 18 Oct 2026.

Options

Option	Type	Registry value	Allowed values
RDP compression algorithmDefault: Optimized to use less memory	Drop-down list	`MaxCompressionLevel`	Optimized to use less memory`1` Optimized to use less network bandwidth`3` Balances memory and network bandwidth`2` Do not use an RDP compression algorithm`0`

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

Enabled · Computer · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services]
"MaxCompressionLevel"=dword:00000001

PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Configure compression for RemoteFX data
# Name: TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: TerminalServer.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services' -Name 'MaxCompressionLevel' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

These deployment candidates come from the ADMX template; they are separate from the native CSP mapping above.

The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_TerminalServer/TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_TerminalServer/TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="TS_COMPRESSOR_LEVELS" value="0"/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>

Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Configure compression for RemoteFX data
# Name: TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: TerminalServer.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services' -Name 'MaxCompressionLevel' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services\MaxCompressionLevel') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Configure compression for RemoteFX data
# Name: TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: TerminalServer.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services' -Name 'MaxCompressionLevel' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

History 5 retained releases

22H2 · 1.015 Jul 2024
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

4 later releases left it unchanged.

Template

Internal name: TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR
Namespace: Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer
Template file: TerminalServer.admx
Release: Windows 11 25H2 · 1.0 · file set de4e49983ebd651f…

Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="Machine" displayName="$(string.TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR)" explainText="$(string.TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR_EXPLAIN)" key="SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services" name="TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR" presentation="$(presentation.TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_SESSIONS" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_SUPPORTED_Vista_SP1" />
      <elements>
        <enum id="TS_COMPRESSOR_LEVELS" valueName="MaxCompressionLevel">
          <item displayName="$(string.TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR_MPPC)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="1" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR_XCRUSH)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="3" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR_NCRUSH)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="2" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.TS_SERVER_NO_COMPRESSOR)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="0" />
            </value>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="TS_SERVER_COMPRESSOR" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <dropdownList defaultItem="0" noSort="true" refId="TS_COMPRESSOR_LEVELS">RDP compression algorithm:</dropdownList>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:category:TS_GP_NODE
<category displayName="$(string.TS_GP_NODE)" explainText="$(string.TS_User_Help)" name="TS_GP_NODE" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:category:TS_SESSIONS
<category displayName="$(string.TS_SESSIONS)" explainText="$(string.TS_SESSIONS_Comp_Help)" name="TS_SESSIONS" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_TERMINAL_SERVER" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:category:TS_TERMINAL_SERVER
<category displayName="$(string.TS_TERMINAL_SERVER)" explainText="$(string.TS_TERMINAL_SERVER_Help)" name="TS_TERMINAL_SERVER" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_GP_NODE" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:definition:TS_SUPPORTED_Vista_SP1
<definition displayName="$(string.TS_SUPPORTED_Vista_SP1)" name="TS_SUPPORTED_Vista_SP1" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <reference ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindowsVista_SP1" />
        </or>
      </definition>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindowsVista_SP1
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindowsVista_SP1" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:category:TS_GP_NODE
<category displayName="$(string.TS_GP_NODE)" explainText="$(string.TS_User_Help)" name="TS_GP_NODE" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_GP_NODE">Remote Desktop Services</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_User_Help">Controls configuration of Remote Desktop Services technologies that enable access to a server running Windows-based programs or the full Windows desktop</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:category:TS_SESSIONS
<category displayName="$(string.TS_SESSIONS)" explainText="$(string.TS_SESSIONS_Comp_Help)" name="TS_SESSIONS" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_TERMINAL_SERVER" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_SESSIONS">Remote Session Environment</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_SESSIONS_Comp_Help">Controls configuration of the user interface in Remote Desktop Services sessions </string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:category:TS_TERMINAL_SERVER
<category displayName="$(string.TS_TERMINAL_SERVER)" explainText="$(string.TS_TERMINAL_SERVER_Help)" name="TS_TERMINAL_SERVER" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_GP_NODE" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_TERMINAL_SERVER">Remote Desktop Session Host</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_TERMINAL_SERVER_Help">Controls configuration of a Remote Desktop Session Host server</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:definition:TS_SUPPORTED_Vista_SP1
<definition displayName="$(string.TS_SUPPORTED_Vista_SP1)" name="TS_SUPPORTED_Vista_SP1" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <reference ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:MicrosoftWindowsVista_SP1" />
        </or>
      </definition>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_SUPPORTED_Vista_SP1">At least Windows Vista with Service Pack 1</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents">Windows Components</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents_Help">Contains settings for operating system components.</string></strings>