Sep 14
Microsoft Enters VDI Ring
Eric Inch
I enjoy learning, using and helping others through technology. This is my second year with C/D/H after many years of consulting for numerous small and mid-sized companies. I enjoy challenging projects and continual improvement in all areas. Most recently, I have been working to help grow the virtualization practice at C/D/H and hopefully add that area to the already impressive expertise in infrastructure consulting at C/D/H.
When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my family. I have two little girls who keep me extremely busy but are always the highlight of my day.
For a more in-depth bio and a list of my areas of expertise, please visit http://www.cdh.com.
More about Eric
Articles by Eric Inch
There is a lot of buzz going around with different technologies, new releases (see Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2), and companies buying other companies. The one area I see that continues to get a lot of excitement is VDI, or Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.
Microsoft was a pioneer in Server Based Computing (SBC) and the virtual desktop with their Terminal Services offering. VDI has taken the concept of SBC and virtualization and transformed this area into hosted virtual desktops running the most popular desktop operating systems. With the release of Windows Server 2008 R2, and the rebranding of Terminal Services and Remote Desktop Services, Microsoft has an entry into VDI.
VDI is more than just installing Windows 7 (I picked Windows 7 for my example since it will be everywhere before too long) on a virtual machine and providing remote access to users. It involves decoupling not only the OS from the hardware, but also separating the applications and user data from the OS. And Microsoft, well, they have the solutions available to accomplish all of these things.
With Remote Desktop Services, they now have a connection broker to provide users secure access to individually assigned, or a pool of, desktops. The virtual desktops can be hosted on Hyper-V R2, managed with System Center Virtual Machine Manager, and monitored with System Center Operations Manager. They can deploy applications into the desktop via their application virtualization solution (App-V) or via their enterprise desktop management solution (System Center Configuration Manager). The ability to separate user data can be accomplished with roaming profiles and folder redirection.
This is their first release into the hosted virtual desktop area, but as we’ve seen over and over, Microsoft will surely be a player in the VDI space before long. Once again, VMware and Citrix need to take notice.
