I attended a VDI Technical Deep Dive and Competitive Comparison Partner Day session Monday and learned about both VMware’s priorities for improving virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and some of the technologies of the new VMware View solution that will enable that vision.

Here’s my notes from the session:

VDI / VDM version 2.1 priorities at VMware fell under the following 3 categories based on customer requests and feedback.

User Experience

• 2 and 3D graphics improvements
• improve multi monitor abilities
• VOIP
• add multimedia and video playback features

Aquisition cost

• Huge storage costs asscoiated with multiple desktops, backup, and user data
• Improve desktop server density (# of VMs to host)

Management

• Solution for offline mobile workers
• Provide enterprise class desktop management

The following future technologies are being introduced to make these requests features in VMware’s new VDI solution

• SVI - Scalable Virtual Images, similar to the current Lab
  Manager linked clone technology, is the ability to deploy multiple VMs
  from a single VM template. This will work for both Persistent and Non
  Persistent VMs. Upgrading or patching the template VM will
  instantaneously update all of the deployed VMs too. This feature helps
  lower the storage aquisitions costs as less storage will be needed to
  host large numbers of VMs.
• MMR for XP - Multi Media Redirect will enable the smooth
  playback of .mpg, .mp3, .wma, and .wmv files on remote desktops. Flash
  movies still not supported. MMR wil greatly enhance the User Experience
  with multimedia playback capabilities similar to traditional physical
  hardware.
• Pools of VMs will be able to span datastores - eliminate the current limitation today. More VMs per datastore will increase the number of VMs per host server.
• VM Bulk Importer to rapidly import multiple VMs into VI. Rapid migrations to VDI will be possible.
• AD integration will allow end user password changes from the desktop VM client.
• MVDI - Mobile Virtual Desktop Infrastructure will take the
  current VMware Ace features to a new level in VDI. Possibilities
  include relocating a desktop VM to a local physical system temporarily,
  and then back to the data center again, check in and check out of a
  desktop VM with constant heartbeat back to management server, remote
  administration ability to disable VMs, and delta replication changes of
  the remote virtual desktop back to the data center.

Finally, ThinApp completes the future VDI solution by decoupling the applications from the OS.

vmware, vdi, vmwareview, vmworld2008, svi, mmr, mvdi

Related Posts

• VMware View enables new vision of VDI with a Universal Client (1)
• VMware View 3.0 perspective from the implementation angle (3)
• VMworld 2008 General Session Day 2 (1)
• VMware Site Recovery Manager - links, lessons, and labs (2)
• VDM 2.1 error - Pool control for desktop is unable to create the new VM (1)
• What does VMware MVP provide for VDI in the Cloud, businesses and users? (3)
• Quick Migration PowerShell script for VMware VI Foundation (0)
• Link summary of VMworld 2008 at VMware-land.com (0)
• VDI versus Terminal Services #VD3261 (1)
• Enterprise-class High Availability and Disaster Recovery and Management for VMware ESX Environments #BC2370 (3)

Tags: mmr, mvdi, svi, vdi, vmware, vmwareview, vmworld2008

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 at 8:08 am and is filed under vdi, vdm, vmware, vmworld. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.