Virtual Desktops:Why is this so HOT?

Quick Facts

About Us• 20th Year• Grand Rapids &

Royal Oak• 25 Staff

Approach• Vendor Agnostic• Non-reseller• Professional

Services Only

Partnerships• Microsoft Gold

• Central Region Client Experience Award Winner

• VMware Enterprise• Cisco Premier• Novell Platinum• Citrix Silver

Infrastructure

Access & Identity Management

Expertise

Project Management

Collaboration

Your Presenter

• Jason L CooperMCITP:EA, MCITP:VA, VCP, MCNEJasonC@cdh.com

Agenda

• Overview of VDI• Benefits of Hosted Desktops• VDI Drawbacks• Key Players• Microsoft• Citrix• VMware• Feature Comparison• Licensing Comparison• What is Right for You?

Overview

• SBC - Server Based Computing– What’s old is new again!– Thin Client Computing

• Virtualization– Decoupling OS from hardware– Sharing hardware resources

• VDI - Virtual Desktop Infrastructure– Hosted virtual desktops– Hybrid of SBC and virtualization

Expectations

2008 IDC Report

Desktop Management

• TCO for the traditional corporate desktop– $3500 and $5000 per user, per year– End user operational costs nearly 45%

• Hosted virtual desktops 2% to 12% more cost effective than traditional PCs

*Gartner

Physical vs. Virtual

Cost Physical Desktop

Virtual Desktop

Client hardware $900 $450Server hardware - $250Virtual desktop solution - $120PC deployment costs $185 $25Operations: Support, software deployment, backup, security, virus protection

$600 $392

End-user operations: Training, self-support

$2215 $1854

Annual downtime cost $90 $30TOTAL $3990 $2821

*Gartner TCO Comparison of PCs with Server-Based Computing

Components

• Virtualization platform– Highly available, resource load balancing

• Connection Broker• Endpoint

– Desktop, laptop, thin client

• Hosted desktop• Application

deploymentprocess/solution

Benefits

• Longer life of endpoint devices*• True user mobility• Centralized administration• Improved security

– All data stored in datacenter *• Speed of deployment

– New user– New operating system– Updates / patches

• Single image – hardware independence– No longer need multiple images

• Better hardware utilization• Higher availability

Drawbacks

• Large initial investment– Servers for virtualization infrastructure– FC or iSCSI SAN for shared storage– Network infrastructure

• More expensive than other SBC solutions– Cost benefit analysis

• IT training– Steep learning curve: virtualization, application

management, user state• Reliance on network connectivity*• End-user experience

Key Players

• VMware – View– Virtual Infrastructure / vSphere

• Citrix Systems – XenDesktop– XenApp (Presentation Server)– XenServer

• Microsoft – Remote Desktop Services (Terminal Services)– Hyper-V– Windows Server and workstation operating

systems

Microsoft

• Remote Desktop Services– Remote Desktop Connection Broker– Web Access and RemoteApp– Remote Desktop Virtualization Host– Remote Desktop Gateway

• Windows Server 2008 R2• Microsoft Hyper-V• System Center Virtual Machine Manager

Virtualization

• Microsoft Hyper-V R2– Live Migration (Failover Cluster Role)– Shared Cluster Volumes– Integration with System Center Operations

Manager 2007• Virtual Machine Manager

– Management of Microsoft virtualization– Single Administrative view– Templates, cloning, library, PRO Tips

Remote Desktop Services

• Connection Broker– Desktop pools

• Secure remote access– Remote Desktop Gateway

• Web Access• RemoteApp

Connection Manager

• Remote Desktop Connection Manager– Load balancing of connections– Hosted Desktop

• Assigned– User assigned to dedicated desktop

• Pool– User connects to any available desktop

• Remote Desktop Gateway– Secure remote access to desktops

Application Deployment

• System Center Configuration Manager– Lite or Zero touch OS deployment– Application deployment

• Remote Desktop Services – RemoteApp

• App-V– Application virtualization

App-V

• Acquisition of Softricity– Originally renamed SoftGrid

• Application virtualization– Application sandbox– Streaming– Deployment– Dynamic Suite

Composition

Profile Management

• Profile Management– Microsoft roaming profiles– Maintain settings across devices

• Folder redirection– User files stored on server– Flexibility in hosted desktop

Citrix

• XenDesktop• XenServer• XenApp

– Formerly Presentation Server• Provisioning Server

– Ardence• Profile Management

Virtualization

• XenServer– Live migration with XenMotion– XenCenter for management– High availability with resource pools

• Platform support– Open architecture– Any endpoint device– Any virtualization platform

XenDesktop

• Desktop delivery controller• Citrix receiver, agent, web console• Desktop pools

– Pool– Assigned

• Persistent• Non-persistent

• Desktop availability– Work hours

Provisioning Server

• One to many– Streaming OS to endpoints– vDisk image

• Private to one desktop• Shared with many desktops

– WriteCache• Local, server, RAM

– Not restricted to only virtual machines

XenApp

• Citrix Presentation Server• Virtualized application delivery

– Use XenApp server for processing• Streaming application delivery

– Use virtual desktop for processing

– Sandbox– Pre-caching

Profile Manager

• Windows service that monitors logon and logoff

• Maintain settings across devices• Granular control of profile

– Reduce profile bloat• Settings deployed via GPO• Logoff

– Only changes synchronized• Logon

– Local profile synchronized

VMware

• View• vSphere - ESX/ESXi

– High Availability– Distributed Resource Scheduler– vMotion

• ThinApp– Application virtualization

vSphere

• ESX/ESXi hypervisor• Live migration with vMotion• High Availability• Resource load balancing (DRS)• High consolidation ratio

– Resource pools– Memory page sharing– Balloon driver

• Update Manager

View Manager

• View Manager– Connection Server

• Full, Replica, Security

– Authentication • Active Directory• RSA Secure Authentication

• Automated and manual pools– Persistent and non-persistent

• RDP / PCoIP• Physical PCs / blades

View Composer

• View Composer– Linked clones– Golden image (Master)– 70-90% storage savings

• Master image– Changes made to

differential– User data disk

• Disk management– Recompose, refresh

• Enable end-users to check-out desktops • Enables administrators to extend security and

encryption policies– Expiration

• Synchronizations

Local Desktop

View Manager

VMware Infrastructure 3

Centralized Virtual

Desktops

ThinApp

• Acquisition of Thinstall• Sandbox environment• Streaming or local• No server or client

– GPOs and logon scripts• Application policies• Application Link

– Dependencies with other applications• Application Sync

– Updating applications

Profile Management

• User personality disks– Application and user disk mapped to linked

clone– Folder redirection to disk

• Roaming profiles• Folder redirection

NxTop: The Best of Both Worlds?

• http://www.virtualcomputer.com/nxtop• Central Management, Distributed Execution• Client Side Type 1 Hypervisor• VMs built in Hyper-V, managed centrally• Single, self contained server for NxTop,

Application, and User State Management• The Next Generation? Here today?• As low as $100 per client – perpetual license

Feature Comparison

Feature Microsoft Citrix VMware NxTopInfrastructure Microsoft Citrix / Microsoft /

VMwareVMware Microsoft

Assigned Desktop X X X X

Desktop Pools X X X No

Secure Remote Access

RDS Gateway Access Gateway Security Server

Whole Disk EncryptionSSL

Application Deployment

App-VRemoteApp

SCCM

XenApp ThinApp NxTop Center

Profile Management Roaming profilesFolder

redirection

Profile ManagerFolder redirection

Microsoft User data

disk

User data disk

Shared storage No Provisioning Services ViewComposer

Delta synchronization (client side)

Offline desktops No No Yes Yes

Image Updating SCCM vDisk Recompose Versioning

Web console X X X X

Licensing

Microsoft Citrix VMwareVDI Standard Suite VDI Edition Enterprise- RDS CAL (Basic) - XenDesktop - Virtual Infrastructure

- MDOP - Desktop Delivery Controller

- vCenter Server

- Virtual Machine Manager - View Manager

EnterpriseVDI Premium Suite - Pooling, HA, XenMotion Premier- RDS CAL (Unrestricted) - Provisioning Services - View Composer

- App-V for RDS - XenApp for Desktops - Local Desktop

- ThinApp

Configuration Manager Platinum- Edgesight

Operations Manager - WAN Optimization

Conclusion – Which is Right for Me?

• A Few Questions to Ask Yourself:– Do virtual desktops still make sense for you?– Do you already have one of these vendors in

your environment and have experience with it?– Is there a particular feature that is very

important to you available in only one of the vendor’s solutions?

– Are you already partially or fully licensed for one of these solutions?

– Do you have in-house expertise or a qualified partner to help you with the solution?

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