VDI Basics

Although there are certainly different approaches used and different technologies implemented by VDI vendors, the idea behind VDI is consistent. It is a technology that enables users to connect remotely to a desktop environment that is stored, executed, and managed centrally, with the presentation of the desktop being delivered to the user via a remote desktop protocol. VDI is also powered by virtualization technology in the datacenter, which enables the desktop to be separated from the underlying hardware. The end result is a flexible desktop environment that increases management control compared to the physical desktop environment, which can potentially decrease desktop costs. There are also potential security benefits with VDI, because it can be used to gain tighter control of corporate resources that are typically distributed on desktop systems throughout an organization, sometimes in a rather haphazard manner.

Following are the components that are commonly included in the majority of the VDI solutions on the market:

• Hypervisor—The software layer used to manage the hardware allocation of a server host, and handle the creation and management of virtual desktops on that host.

• Connection Broker—Software used to handle the provisioning of virtual desktops to users, typically based on user credentials.

• Application Presentation—A system that centrally manages the distribution of applications to the virtual desktop environment, typically allowing a centralized repository of standard applications and on-demand delivery.

• Virtual Desktop—The virtual machine that is accessed remotely by the user, providing an isolated desktop environment that can be either customizable or restricted.

• Remote Desktop Presentation Protocol—A technology used to present the desktop interface to the client device, which can either be installed as client software or integrated with the client hardware. The most common remote desktop presentation protocols are Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Independent Computing Architecture (ICA), and PC-over-IP (PCoIP).

• Endpoint Device (or Access Device)—The hardware device used to access the virtual desktop.