Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

There are different types of virtualization technologies that we know:

server, storage, network, etc. At the core of VDI or virtual desktop

infrastructure lies virtualization as well, even though there is a slight

difference in architecture. VDI can be explained as a technique using which

conventional desktops are decoupled from physical machines. In a typical VDI

setup one would find virtual desktops and data store inside a secured data

center and these virtual desktops are accessed by users using the existing

network. As all the processing is done inside a data center there is no need for

processing units inside users machine, and users typically access their desktops

from thin clients or other internet surfing devices. VDI as technology can be a

great enabler of 'Work from Home' culture that seems to be the next big trend

giving lots of benefits, reduction of carbon footprint being a major one. There

are number of benefits associated with implementation of VDI:

Data security and disaster recovery



Often we come across situations where important data residing inside an

employee laptop is lost. If this data is of sensitive nature like a future

business plan it could effect your business negatively. But if you have VDI

deployed in your organization, data remains within four walls of datacenter,

which means it is secure from most potential threats. Besides security, most

datacenters have disaster recovery mechanisms built-in meaning most information

in form of data is recoverable. Besides security and recovery of data, VDI

technology also enables automatic load balancing feature that intelligently

distributes loads across servers that run virtual desktops for users. If one of

the server fails other servers in grid take over the work of the failed server.

Reduced costs



If you have VDI deployed in your organization, there is no need for

processing unit at users end and therefore one can use thin clients instead of

full fledged conventional desktop computers. The price of thin clients is less

than desktop machines which means lot of savings per machine, if one multiplies

the machines with the number of users, the management can save huge sums of

money. Another future trend we came across during PCQuest Infra Summit 09 was

about companies asking their employees to bring their own laptops. VDI

technology can help cut security risks associated with such a trend.

Fast deployment and efficient OS mgmt



If you probe your IT helpdesk about the biggest challenges they face, OS

patch management and creation of machines for new users would be high on their

challenge list. With VDI, both these issues could easily be taken care of. As

user desktops are created from pre-created templates, new desktops can be

created in a few clicks. Similarly, important patches can be forced on user

machines with ease. This gives IT helpdesk great relief from the conventional

system where they have to physically move to individual desktops for software

issues. Again if your organization wants to move from one OS to the other, VDI

technology enables smoother migration.

Resource optimization and scalability



VDI technology allows maximum utilization of resources, as the administrator is
the one who defines configuration (amount of RAM, frequency of processor, amount

of HDD etc ) for user, and desktop resources are optimally used. For example, if

the majority of the work of an employee is Internet based, there is no need to

give him desktop machines that have 160 GB of HDD. You may simply create virtual

desktops and assign a few GBs of storage from central data store to him. Besides

optimizing resources, scalability is another feature of a VDI deployment, and

adding new servers that run virtual desktops of users is fairly simple to

achieve. With VDI, employees can work more efficiently, leave office and start

working as soon as they reach home on the same desktop. As only browser and

remote clients are needed for access, one can even use smart phones to work.