Virtual desktops are getting a lot of attention, changing the way many companies think about desktops. And that's great, but are they right for you? View the slide deck, presented as part of C/D/H's Technology Briefing Series, and find out exactly what a virtual desktop infrastructure is, what issues you should be aware of, the key players in the space, and the benefits and drawbacks to this architecture. For more information on this or other topics, visit www.cdh.com or our blog at www.cdhtalkstech.com.

1. Virtual Desktops:
Why is this so HOT?

2. Quick Facts
About Us Approach Partnerships
• 20th Year • Vendor Agnostic • Microsoft Gold
• Central Region Client
• Grand Rapids & • Non-reseller Experience Award Winner
Royal Oak • Professional • VMware Enterprise
• 25 Staff Services Only • Cisco Premier
• Novell Platinum
• Citrix Silver

3. Expertise
Project Management Infrastructure
Collaboration Access & Identity Management

4. Your Presenter
• Jason L Cooper
MCITP:EA, MCITP:VA, VCP, MCNE
JasonC@cdh.com

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

6. 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

7. Expectations
2008 IDC Report

8. 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

9. Physical vs. Virtual
Cost Physical Virtual
Desktop Desktop
Client hardware $900 $450
Server hardware - $250
Virtual desktop solution - $120
PC deployment costs $185 $25
Operations: Support, software $600 $392
deployment, backup, security, virus
protection
End-user operations: Training, self- $2215 $1854
support
Annual downtime cost $90 $30
TOTAL $3990 $2821
*Gartner TCO Comparison of PCs with Server-Based Computing

10. Components
• Virtualization platform
– Highly available, resource load balancing
• Connection Broker
• Endpoint
– Desktop, laptop,
thin client
• Hosted desktop
• Application
deployment
process/solution

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. Remote Desktop Services
• Connection Broker
– Desktop pools
• Secure remote access
– Remote Desktop Gateway
• Web Access
• RemoteApp

17. 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

18. Application Deployment
• System Center Configuration Manager
– Lite or Zero touch OS deployment
– Application deployment
• Remote Desktop Services
– RemoteApp
• App-V
– Application virtualization

19. App-V
• Acquisition of Softricity
– Originally renamed SoftGrid
• Application virtualization
– Application sandbox
– Streaming
– Deployment
– Dynamic Suite
Composition

20. Profile Management
• Profile Management
– Microsoft roaming profiles
– Maintain settings across devices
• Folder redirection
– User files stored on server
– Flexibility in hosted desktop

22. Citrix
• XenDesktop
• XenServer
• XenApp
– Formerly Presentation Server
• Provisioning Server
– Ardence
• Profile Management

23. Virtualization
• XenServer
– Live migration with XenMotion
– XenCenter for management
– High availability with resource pools
• Platform support
– Open architecture
– Any endpoint device
– Any virtualization platform

24. XenDesktop
• Desktop delivery controller
• Citrix receiver, agent, web console
• Desktop pools
– Pool
– Assigned
• Persistent
• Non-persistent
• Desktop availability
– Work hours

25. 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

26. XenApp
• Citrix Presentation Server
• Virtualized application delivery
– Use XenApp server for processing
• Streaming application delivery
– Use virtual desktop for
processing
– Sandbox
– Pre-caching

27. 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

28. VMware
• View
• vSphere - ESX/ESXi
– High Availability
– Distributed Resource Scheduler
– vMotion
• ThinApp
– Application virtualization

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. Local Desktop
• Enable end-users to check-out desktops
• Enables administrators to extend security and
encryption policies
– Expiration
• Synchronizations Centralized
Virtual
Desktops
VMware
Infrastructure 3
View Manager

33. 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

34. Profile Management
• User personality disks
– Application and user disk mapped to linked
clone
– Folder redirection to disk
• Roaming profiles
• Folder redirection

35. 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

36. Feature Comparison
Feature Microsoft Citrix VMware NxTop
Infrastructure Microsoft Citrix / Microsoft / VMware Microsoft
VMware
Assigned Desktop X X X X
Desktop Pools X X X No
Secure Remote RDS Gateway Access Gateway Security Whole Disk Encryption
Access Server SSL
Application App-V XenApp ThinApp NxTop Center
Deployment RemoteApp
SCCM
Profile Management Roaming Profile Manager Microsoft User data disk
profiles Folder redirection User data
Folder disk
redirection
Shared storage No Provisioning Services View Delta synchronization
Composer (client side)
Offline desktops No No Yes Yes
Image Updating SCCM vDisk Recompose Versioning
Web console X X X X

37. Licensing
Microsoft Citrix VMware
VDI Standard Suite VDI Edition Enterprise
- RDS CAL (Basic) - XenDesktop - Virtual Infrastructure
- MDOP - Desktop Delivery - vCenter Server
Controller
- Virtual Machine Manager - View Manager
Enterprise
VDI 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

38. 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?

39. Thank You
Royal Oak Grand Rapids
306 S. Washington Ave. 15 Ionia SW
Suite 212 Suite 270
Royal Oak, MI 48067 Grand Rapids, MI 49503
p: (248) 546-1800 p: (616) 776-1600
www.cdh.com
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