User Experience with the Lync VDI Plugin

As noted previously, the primary goal for developing the VDI plugin is for Lync 2013 users to have the same experience, regardless of whether Lync is running on a physical desktop or as part of a VDI session. As such, there is practically no noticeable difference in the user experience between a local Lync installation and a VDI installation, with the exception of the initial login process. When the user signs in to the Lync client from a VDI desktop, the client detects the presence of the plugin. At that point, the user is prompted to reenter credentials, as shown in Figure 27.7. This additional credential prompt is necessary to confirm the pairing of the plugin with the client, since the plugin is installed only on the local hardware. After the Lync client and the plugin have been paired, the user is not prompted again during the session, and the Lync client looks and performs exactly the same as it would on a local desktop. Additionally, the user can select the Save My Password check box displayed in Figure 27.7 to prevent being prompted to reenter credentials when signing in to Lync from the VDI desktop in the future.

Figure 27.7. User prompted for credentials to confirm pairing of the Lync client with the VDI plugin.

There are also visual cues that appear within the VDI session that indicate the status of the Lync plugin. While the Lync client is in the process of pairing with the plugin, the status bar at the bottom of the Lync client displays two icons. As shown in Figure 27.8, the icon on the left indicates that no audio devices are yet available, and the icon on the right blinks to indicate that the VDI pairing is in progress.

Figure 27.8. Lync client status bar indicating that pairing with the VDI plugin is in progress.

After the pairing process is complete, the left icon indicates which audio device will be used for Lync calls, and the right icon indicates that pairing with the VDI plugin is complete, as shown in Figure 27.9. The user can now answer and place calls using the audio device shown, and presence will be displayed on all compatible devices.

Figure 27.9. Lync client status bar indicating that pairing with the VDI plugin is successful.