User-mode based remote desktop protocol (rdp) encoding architecture

A system for encoding graphics data in the user-mode address space of a computer, comprising:

• a processor;
• a display driver executing in kernel-mode space configured to receive graphics data from a user application executing in user-mode session space;
• and
• a remote desktop protocol (RDP) encoder executing in user-mode system space process configured to receive the graphics data from the display driver, encode the graphics data, and transmit the encoded graphics data across a communications network to a client that corresponds to the graphics data.

A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-readable instructions for encoding graphics data in the user-mode address space of a computer that when executed on a processor perform operations comprising:

• sending graphics data corresponding to a request from a client from a user application executing in user-mode session space to a display driver executing in kernel mode;
• converting the graphics data by the display driver into at least one graphics command in a format understandable by a RDP encoder process;
• marshaling each PDU;
• sending each marshaled PDU across a graphics reflector, the graphics reflector comprising shared memory, to the RDP encoder processes executing in user-mode system space;
• unmarshaling each PDU;
• compressing, by the RDP encoder process, each PDU;
• sending each compressed PDU from the RDP encoder processes to the client over a communications network;
• marshaling virtual channel data corresponding to a request from the client from a virtual channel application executing in user-mode session space;
• sending the marshaled virtual channel data to the RDP encoder process across a virtual channel reflector, the virtual channel reflector comprising a named pipe;
• unmarshaling the virtual channel data;
• converting the virtual channel data into at least one virtual channel RDP PDU;
• compressing each virtual channel RDP PDU;
• and
• sending each compressed virtual channel RDP PDU from the RDP encoder processes to the client over a communications network.